Uploading Audio Files
Audio files can be uploaded for each Artist on your account and will allow you to start using the Winamp for Creators' services.
To upload audio files on Winamp for Creators, navigate to the the Artist profile for which you'd like to upload an audio file. Navigate to the Media tab on the left side of the navigation screen.
You can either click the Upload media to browse audio files from your local storage, or simply drag and drop the files you'd like to upload.
If your files meet the upload requirements, a progress bar will appear, showing the status of your upload.
Once the upload is successfully completed, your track will become available. You can edit the metadata and information needed to submit your track for one or more of the Winamp Monetization Programs.
Audio File Formats
It's a good practice to always upload for the best quality you can.
Winamp accepts:
- WAV, PMC, MP3, AAC, but we recommend FLAC files for best quality
- Bit depth: 16 or 24
- Sample rate: 44.1 or 48 kHz
- Mono or stereo
- Maximum size of a single file is 100 MB.
Any other format cannot be uploaded correctly. These requirements and restrictions have been put in place to ensure the best sound quality.
Copyright Scan
Every track that gets uploaded on Winamp for Creators will undergo a copyright check, which entails comparing your track to a broader database of registered tracks. If your track doesn't pass the copyright check, your track will be flagged as "Copyright Infringement" , it will not be accepted in any of our monetization programs and you will be asked to delete the track.
Common Failure Reasons
If your track has failed the copyright scan, please check some of the reasons why a that might have happened:
- You don't have rights to the track.
- Your track is a cover or a remix of someone else's track.
- Your track is a free sample registered by a different artist.
- Your track is based on a classical piece of music.
- Your track contains a watermark.
- Your track is a royalty-free sample that was already registered by another artist.
If none of the above applies to your track, and yet it has been flagged as copyright infringement, please contact us via the contact form in our Support Center.
Please provide the following information so we can assist you as best as possible:
- Your artist name on Winamp
- The title of the track that has been flagged
- Reason why the track's copyright check should be reevaluated
- If you have purchased a sample for this track, provide the receipt, and terms of use of that sample
- Any further information that helps prove that you are the rights holder of that track
Media Statuses
Once uploaded, your track will be given a status. Here is a brief explanations of what each status means.
Status | Description | What to do |
Upload Failed | Your track couldn’t be processed successfully. | You can delete the uploaded audio file, and try re-uploading it. Make sure the track complies with the accepted file formats. |
Copyright Match | Winamp for Creators has identified your track as matching copyrighted material. | If the audio file you uploaded is flagged as Copyright Infringement, that means that you don't own the rights to that piece of music and you are not allowed to monetize it. You need to delete the track from your account. |
Edit | Information or specific metadata is missing before you are able to submit your track for any of Winamp's Monetization Programs. | Edit your track and fill in the missing metadata. |
Ready | All metadata has been completed and the track has all the necessary information to be used for the selected service. | Submit your track for one or more of Winamp's Monetization Programs. |
In Use | The track is currently being used in the service line for which all metadata has been completed and the track has been published. |
Track Metadata
Adding your track's metadata is very important as it might impact whether your track will be accepted for a specific monetization program or not.
To edit your track and add your metadata, click on the three dots right next to your track and click the Edit button.
Below is an overview of all track metadata fields, their description and the Monetization Program they are relevant to:
Field | Description |
Ownership Type | You can choose between:
You have to own the rights to the track to be able to submit it for one of our Monetization Programs. |
Spotify or Deezer track URL | If your tracks are already published to Spotify, you can add a link to them and we will automatically pull the available track metadata into our system. |
Track title | The title of your track. We recommend using our Beautify tool to ensure the title doesn't include non-standard capitalization, numerical or special characters. Your title should not contain any of the characters below as it might not be accepted by our Distribution partners.
|
Version | The version of your track:
|
Genre & Subgenre | Selecting the right genre & subgenre is one of the most important things to do on when editing your track. Choose the genre & subgenre from the dropdown menus on a track level. |
Vocal Performance | The performance type of your track allows you to indicate whether there is a Vocal Performance, and if so, you can choose a type:
|
Audio Language | If your track has a vocal performance, use this field to specify the language of the audio. |
Content Rating | You can choose between:
If your track is Explicit or Censored, you will not be able to submit it for Distribution, Licensing or Fanzone. |
Licensing | You can choose between:
Click here to learn how to choose the right license type. |
ISRC Number | An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is an international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. Each track has their own ISRC number and if you don't have one, we can automatically provide one for you. If you already distribute your tracks to the mainstream streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, etc) through a distributor ( Distrokid, CD Baby, TuneCore, Ditto, etc.), then you already have an ISRC code. To get your ISRC, simply visit the website of your distributor to discover what ISRC codes are assigned to your tracks and enter them in Winamp for Creators. |
Credits | Use this section to add the collaborators of your track, including their role. Crediting your collaborators is especially important if you're looking to submit your track for out Copyright and Distribution service. |
Artists | Normally auto-populated with the name of the artist under whose profile the track was uploaded. |
Songwriters | For each collaborator in this group, you can select a rolefrom the Role dropdown menu. Additionally, you can select the collaborator from the list of artists and collaborators associated with your account/label or add a new collaborator that is not part of your account yet. You can add multiple collaborators with different roles, including:
|
Producers and engineers | For each collaborator in this group, you can select a rolefrom the Role dropdown menu. Additionally, you can select the collaborator from the list of artists and collaborators associated with your account/label or add a new collaborator that is not part of your account yet. You can add multiple collaborators with different roles, including:
|
Musicians | For each collaborator in this group, you can select a roleand instrument from the Role dropdown menu. Additionally, you can select the collaborator from the list of artists and collaborators associated with your account/label or add a new collaborator that is not part of your account yet. |
Artwork | Adding Artwork to your tracks helps capture the listener's attention, convey the theme or mood of the music, and brand or identity for the artist. We recommend always adding artwork to your tracks, but this required if you're seeking to use our monetization programs. Artwork Requirements:
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Collections
A group of tracks can be organized in a Collection from the Media tab.
To create a Collection, after you've uploaded your audio files, navigate to the Media tab and select the tracks you'd like to include in a Collection.
It is recommended to complete the metadata first and only consider adding tracks marked as "Ready" to your collection as this might impact the possibility to submit it for Distribution.
After selecting the desired tracks, click on the small folder button as shown in the screenshot below, then click Create a new collection. A new screen will appear, prompting you to provide a name for the collection and upload a cover picture.
Once the collection is created, it will appear in the Media library under the Collections tab.
From the Collections section of the Media tab, you can submit your collection for Distribution or add it to your Fanzone.