Why stores reject releases: the metadata, audio and cover mistakes, and how to fix each
By the SUF Digitals team · Updated
Most rejected releases fail on the same handful of rules: a cover that breaks the artwork rules, a title that describes a video instead of naming the song, featured artists typed into the title, ALL CAPS, credits that do not match, or a cover or remix without a licence. None of them is a judgement on your music. This list covers every common reason with the fix, so your next release goes through the first time.
Cover art: the most common reason by far
| Mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Smaller than 3000 x 3000 px, or stretched up from a WhatsApp or Instagram copy | Export the original design at exactly 3000 x 3000. Stretching a small image makes it blurry, and blur is rejected. |
| Not square, or bars added to make it square | Crop the design to a square. Bars and borders are rejected. |
| Promotional words: Out now, New, Coming soon, Exclusive, a price or a date | Keep only the title, the artist name and your own label logo. |
| Links, @handles, phone numbers, emails, QR codes or barcodes | Put them in your bio and smart link instead. |
| Spotify, JioSaavn, YouTube, Instagram or other store and app logos | Remove every store and app logo. |
| Words on the cover that do not match the release | Spell the title and artist name exactly as in the release details. |
| Faces or names of artists who are not on the release | Credit them on the release, or take them off the cover. |
| Stock photo watermarks, other brands' logos, nudity or graphic violence | Use artwork you own or have licensed, with nothing explicit. |
Check your cover before you submit with the free cover art checker. It runs in your browser and tests size, shape, colour, sharpness and borders.
Titles: name the song, not the video
- Words that describe a video or a promotion. Official, Lyrical, Lyric Video, Video Song, Full Video, Full Song, Audio Song, HD, 4K, Latest, New Song, Trending and Viral are rejected in titles. Tera Naam is a title; Tera Naam (Official Lyrical Video) is not.
- Featured artists inside the title. Take feat. or ft. out of the title and add each featured artist in the featured artists field; the stores add them to the title themselves.
- ALL CAPS. Write Tera Naam, not TERA NAAM. Stores reject all-caps titles.
- Emoji and hidden characters. Remove emoji, and retype a title copied from a chat app if it carries hidden characters.
- Versions written loosely. A remix, slowed or acoustic version goes in brackets at the end, in words the stores know: (Remix), (Slowed and Reverb), (Acoustic), (Live).
Names and credits
- One person per name box. A comma separates names, so Raj, Simran cannot sit in one box: add each artist on their own.
- English letters for names. Artist and writer names go in English letters, numbers, spaces and . ' & ( ) - only. Write the name the way your fans type it.
- One spelling for life. A new spelling becomes a new artist page. See song on the wrong artist profile.
- Real people as composer and lyricist. Not the label, not Traditional when a living writer wrote it, and on a cover, the original writers.
- Language that matches the vocals. An instrumental has no language and no lyricist; a sung track needs the language it is sung in.
Audio
- MP3 or low quality files. Masters must be WAV or FLAC, 16 or 24 bit, at 44.1 to 96 kHz.
- Very short tracks. A full track under 60 seconds can be refused.
- Phone numbers, addresses or promotions spoken in the song. These are rejected, like links on a cover.
- Audio that matches a song already out. If the same recording already exists, it must be delivered as that song, with its ISRC, not as a new one.
- Clipping and distortion. Stores can refuse a badly clipped or distorted master. Leave a little headroom when you master.
Rights: covers, remixes, samples and AI
Covers need a licence or written permission from the song's owner, remixes need permission from the owner of the original recording, and samples or a leased beat need the licence that allows streaming release. Releases that look like someone else's song, or a film song, without the paperwork are held. Fully AI-generated tracks are not accepted at SUF, and stores are tightening their rules on AI uploads. See cover songs in India and AI music: what stores accept.
Caller tune details
On SUF you set where the caller tune starts, at the hook, with at least 30 seconds of the song after it; the form will not take a start time later than that. Telecoms also refuse some content as caller tunes even when the stores accept it: brand names, pranks, political content, advertisements, corporate tones, the national anthem, current affairs and objectionable words.
What happens after a rejection
On SUF, every release is checked before it ships, and when something fails you get the reason in writing in the portal. Fix the point and submit again from the same release page; nothing is lost and you do not pay again. If a store sends a release back after delivery, the reason comes to you the same way, with what to change.
Common questions
Why was my cover art rejected?
Usually because it is blurry from being stretched to 3000 px, carries promotional text, links, handles or a store logo, has borders, or its words do not match the release. Check it with the free cover art checker before you submit.
Can I write my song title in Hindi script?
Write the store title in Roman letters, the way listeners type it on a phone, and keep the spelling the same everywhere. Use the Devanagari or other script in your descriptions and captions.
Why can't I put Official Video or Lyrical in my title?
Stores list songs, not videos. Words that describe a video or a promotion are against their style rules, so the title must be only the song's name and its version.
Do I pay again if my release is rejected?
No. You fix the point and submit the same release again under the same plan.
Do I need a minimum number of followers to be approved?
No. SUF has no follower requirement. Releases are checked against store rules and song rights only.
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