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Content Guidelines

What We Distribute.

A guide to what ARCRYN™ accepts, what gets rejected, and the technical bar every release has to clear before it reaches a DSP.

Effective Date

Jan 1, 2026

Last Updated

January 2026

Version

1.0

Applies To

All releases

Reading Time

6 min

01

Accepted Content.

  • Original music of any genre.
  • Covers, provided they are properly licensed.
  • Instrumentals.
  • Podcasts.
  • Meditation and ambient audio.
  • Audiobooks.
  • Spoken word.
02

Rejected Content.

  • White noise or ambient-noise spam uploaded in bulk to farm streams.
  • Rain, nature, or background-noise uploads with no meaningful production.
  • Fake albums — releases misrepresenting artist identity or catalog structure.
  • AI spam — low-effort, mass-generated AI content submitted at volume.
  • Empty or silent tracks.
  • Pirated songs you do not hold rights to.
  • DJ mixes assembled without rights to the included tracks.
  • TV audio or movie rips.
03

Artwork Guidelines.

Resolution.

Minimum 3000×3000px, square aspect ratio, RGB color space.

Safe Area.

Keep essential text and imagery within the central 90% — edges may be cropped by some DSPs.

No Blur or Pixelation.

Artwork must be sharp at full resolution — no upscaled or compressed source images.

No Watermarks or Logos.

No stock-site watermarks, and no third-party logos without documented permission.

No Explicit Imagery.

Artwork must not contain explicit or graphic content, regardless of the audio’s explicit rating.

No Contact Info.

No URLs, phone numbers, or social handles overlaid on the artwork itself.

04

Metadata Guidelines.

Every release requires complete, accurate metadata across the following fields:

  • Artist name — must match your verified artist profile.
  • Title — accurate, without excessive punctuation, emoji, or promotional text.
  • Genre and language.
  • Composer and songwriter credits.
  • ISRC and UPC identifiers.
  • Explicit content flag, set accurately.
  • Release date.
  • Featuring artists, credited correctly and consistently across all tracks.
05

Audio Specifications.

Minimum Format.

24-bit WAV, 44.1 kHz, stereo.

Loudness.

True Peak at or below -1 dBTP; target loudness recommended around -14 LUFS for streaming.

Silence Limits.

No more than 3 seconds of unintentional silence at the start or end of a track.

06

DSP Compliance.

Releases most commonly fail at the DSP level — after passing our review — for reasons including:

  • Misleading metadata that doesn’t match the audio content.
  • Duplicate content already present on the platform under a different release.
  • Fake or inconsistent artist identities across releases.
  • Unresolved copyright claims on included material.
  • Spam-pattern uploads flagged by DSP-side fraud detection.
07

Quality Standards.

Releases are rejected at the quality-review stage for:

  • Clipping or audible distortion.
  • Poor or inconsistent exports across tracks in the same release.
  • Mono files submitted as stereo, or channel-collapse errors.
  • Corrupted or unplayable audio files.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions.

The most common reasons are misleading metadata, duplicate content already on the platform, low-quality audio exports, or artwork that fails our resolution or content requirements. Rejections include the specific reason.

Only if you hold the rights to every track included in the mix. Mixes assembled from unlicensed commercial tracks are rejected.

Minimum 24-bit WAV, 44.1 kHz, stereo. Lower-quality or lossy source files (e.g. re-exported MP3s) will not pass quality review.

Yes, provided the cover is properly licensed. You are responsible for securing mechanical or cover licenses as required in your territory.

Need Help?

Questions About Your Release?.

If you’re unsure whether your content, artwork, or metadata meets these standards, check before you submit.

Content questions

content@arcryn.com

Response time

Within 3 business days

Ready to submit a release?

Releases are checked against these standards before delivery to DSPs.