I mentioned some weeks ago that a preorder was getting started for the Sept 1 release of my latest album, “Tonal Eclipse.” As of right now it is fully available on Bandcamp (yayyy! Go pick up a copy!)
I was sincerely expecting all the usual streaming options to be up and running by that time, too, based on my previous experience with the same distributor. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.
My submission for “Tonal Eclipse” kept coming back with issues with it, like improper track or genre labeling; that part’s pretty normal for me. But the newest issue that plagued this submission was the automated message that there seemed to be a cover song on my album that I didn’t have proper licensing for. That was a surprise.
At first I thought it must be the title of the first track—“Tonal Eclipse (Of the Heart)”. *wink* But after resubmitting again and again with tweaks and submitting a couple of support tickets for more specifics on the exact issue… I finally got an unexpected answer.
The problem was my inclusion of my soundtrack from the recent short film “I Spy a Foodie”! I’ve released my soundtracks with this distributor before (“Shady Oaks Takedown” for example), and I’ve never had this issue. Once I replied with the fact that this music was indeed my own and I had permission to release it, I got a prompt and friendly reply back that the distributor just needed to see signed proof of this, which I sent this morning.
So, all this is to say that the full release I planned on happening a couple days ago should be happening very soon, barring any unforeseen issues that might come up. And I’m not upset at distributors like mine who take great care not to release something that might get everyone sued. I only wish the time spent back-and-forth asking for more information to clarify the issue had been cut in half.
Perhaps improvements could be made to create a separate appeals process for releases, rather than having replies sent into the queue with all other general support tickets. That would be nice. 🙂
