If you’ve released an album on Spotify but it’s not showing up correctly, there are a few potential reasons why this might happen. Here are some quick answers to common questions about missing or incomplete albums on Spotify:
My album is missing some songs
If your album is on Spotify but some of the songs are missing, here are a few things that could be going on:
- The missing songs may not have been properly delivered to Spotify. Double check that all the album’s tracks were sent and approved by Spotify.
- The release date or geographic restrictions on the missing songs may not match the rest of the album. Spotify requires all tracks in an album to have the same release date and geographic availability.
- The metadata like artist name, track name, or ISRC codes on the missing tracks may not exactly match the metadata for the rest of the album. Metadata inconsistencies can prevent tracks from being grouped together into an album.
My album says “unavailable” or has no songs
If your whole album is showing up but appears empty or unavailable, a couple issues could be occurring:
- The release date entered is in the future. Spotify won’t display albums until the release date specified.
- The territory settings are incorrect. Double check the album and track territories match where the release should be available.
- Technical issues occurred during delivery that prevented the album from being imported into Spotify’s systems. You may need to redeliver or fix errors in the delivery package.
My album isn’t indexed or appearing in search
It can take some time after delivering an album for it to appear in Spotify’s search results and be indexed into their systems. Here are some common reasons an album may not show up in searches right away:
- Normal processing time is 1-2 days. After delivering an album, allow up to 48 hours for the album to be searchable.
- Album metadata like title, artist name, or label name has errors that are preventing indexing. Check for typos or inconsistencies.
- Search optimization settings like keywords or genres haven’t been properly set by the label. Optimizing search metadata helps Spotify index albums.
- Explicit content filter settings are enabled. Search visibility is reduced for albums labeled explicit.
My single or album isn’t appearing under my artist profile
If your new music is on Spotify but not showing up on your artist profile, a couple things could be going on:
- The artist name on the new release doesn’t exactly match your artist profile name. Even small differences prevent grouping.
- The new release is under a different distributor or label than your previous music. Releases have to share metadata to get grouped.
- It can take up to 2 weeks for new eligible releases to appear under your profile as Spotify’s systems index the music.
What are the most common metadata issues?
Here are some of the most common metadata problems that can prevent your album from appearing properly:
- Spelling errors – Any typos or errors in the album title, artist name, track titles etc will cause linking issues.
- Inconsistent artist names – Releasing under slight variations of your artist name prevents Spotify grouping all your music together.
- Wrong or missing ISRC codes – ISRCs uniquely identify each track release. Missing or duplicate ISRCs can create album issues.
- Mismatched release dates – Album release dates need to match your actual release plan. Setting the wrong release date can cause your album to not appear when expected.
How can I check if my album’s metadata looks correct?
Here are a couple ways you can verify your album’s metadata looks accurate to Spotify:
- Use Spotify for Artists – This dashboard shows how your upcoming releases look indexed within Spotify’s systems.
- Search Spotify – Search for your artist name and album to preview how it will appear before the release date.
- Ask your distributor – Most distributors provide release previews or metadata validation tools prior to delivering music to DSPs like Spotify.
- Download your album – Listen through your album after delivery and check if the metadata matches your delivery spreadsheet.
What should I check if my album is still missing after delivery?
If your album is still not appearing correctly after you’ve delivered it to Spotify, here are some things to double check:
- Confirm the delivery was approved and ingested properly without errors.
- Verify the release date is in the past or today.
- Check the territory settings match where the release should appear.
- Look for metadata inconsistencies like typos, duplicate information, etc.
- Ensure all tracks intended for the album were delivered together.
- Wait 48 hours as albums can take up to 2 days to fully index and appear.
What can I do if Spotify support can’t resolve my missing album?
If you continue having issues getting your album on Spotify after contacting their support team, here are a few additional troubleshooting tips:
- Try delivering through a different distributor – This eliminates potential issues with your existing distributor.
- Double check your master recording rights if you don’t own the content.
- Update any erroneous metadata and redeliver the album.
- Remove the album and create a new album profile starting fresh.
- As a last resort, change any potentially problematic album or track names.
Why did my old album suddenly disappear from Spotify?
There are a couple reasons an older album may suddenly disappear from Spotify:
- Licensing rights expired – If you had a limited licensing period for the album content it may have been removed after expiring.
- Label or distributor lost rights – Similar to licensing expiring, if your distributor or label lost rights the content may get removed.
- Content identified as unauthorized – Spotify regularly scans for unauthorized or copied content uploaded without rights.
- Album metadata changed – Large metadata edits on an existing album can cause it to disappear then reappear updated.
How can I minimize album issues on Spotify in the future?
Here are some tips to help avoid album release issues on Spotify moving forward:
- Carefully check metadata before delivery for typos or inconsistencies.
- Make sure all tracks have complete metadata like ISRC codes entered.
- Use an authorized, reputable distributor that checks your metadata pre-delivery.
- Preview your album profile on Spotify ahead of the release date to catch errors.
- Plan releases and metadata edits far in advance in case issues need redelivering.
What steps can I take if Spotify removes my album due to an unauthorized sample?
If Spotify removes your album because it contains an unauthorized sample, here are a few things you can do:
- Remove the sample – Consider editing the song to remove the unauthorized sample entirely.
- Obtain sample clearance – Contact the rights holder of the sample to negotiate obtaining proper approval and clearance to use it.
- Dispute the claim – If you believe your use of the sample is legally permissible as fair use, contest Spotify’s copyright claim.
- Edit song metadata – An option is listing the sample in the songwriting credits to clarify its authorized usage.
- Distribute to other platforms – Distribute the album to platforms that may have different sample usage policies than Spotify.
Should I take my album down and reupload to fix issues?
In most cases, you should not delete then reupload an album to try and fix issues like missing songs. Here’s why reuploading can make issues worse:
- It can reset and delay indexing, requiring Spotify’s systems to recrawl the album.
- Any users who saved the album lose it from their libraries and playlists.
- Streaming numbers and playlist additions reset to 0 when an album is reuploaded.
- Adding an album with the same metadata may trigger duplicate content issues.
Instead of taking your album down, have your distributor properly redeliver any fixes when possible. Or, release the album under a slightly different title as a last resort.
Conclusion
Troubleshooting album issues on Spotify requires carefully checking for metadata errors, proper rights management, understanding their indexing processes, and using authorized distributors. Communicating promptly with Spotify support and your distributor can help minimize release delays when problems occur. Following best practices for metadata quality, advance planning, and release lead time can reduce the chances of album issues in the future.