← Back to Blog

How to Switch Music Distributor Without Losing Streams

Switching distributors is one of the riskiest moves an artist can make. Done wrong, you lose stream counts, playlist placements, and algorithmic momentum built over months or years. Done right, your listeners notice nothing at all. The entire process comes down to one rule: deliver first, take down second.

Step 1: Build a complete release inventory

Before touching either account, record every detail of each release while your old account is still open and paid: the exact song titles, artist name formatting, original release dates, track order, ISRC code for every recording, UPC for every release, cover artwork, the exact audio master used, label and copyright lines, and your important playlist placements. If the only copy of an ISRC lives inside a dashboard you are about to lose access to, you will regret it.

Step 2: Upload to the new distributor first

Recreate each release at your new distributor using the same ISRCs and UPCs, identical audio, identical artwork, and identical metadata. Even small changes — adding "(Remastered)", changing capitalisation, or adding a featured artist — can create a duplicate release instead of a match. Most major distributors allow custom ISRC entry. Do not delete or take down the old release yet. Both versions will coexist temporarily, and that is exactly what you want.

Step 3: Wait for track linking

Streaming platforms match the new delivery to the existing release by its ISRC, a process called track linking. This takes days to weeks depending on the platform — RouteNote advises allowing 3 to 5 business days, while other guides suggest waiting up to a few weeks for a full sync. During this window, confirm the new release appears on your artist profile, stream counts are intact, and playlists still point to your song. Some distributors offer migration tools that import metadata and artwork automatically and flag mismatches before submission.

Step 4: Only then request the takedown

Once everything is verified live under the new distributor, contact your old distributor and request a takedown. Taking releases down before the replacement lands is the most common way artists open a gap, and a gap is where royalties go missing. After the takedown, update your links: smart link pages, social media bios, press releases, and your artist EPK.

What if your ISRC changes?

If your ISRC stays the same, editorial playlists, user playlists, and algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly usually remain connected. If your ISRC changes, you lose playlist placements, algorithm data, and social proof — you start from zero. That is why reusing ISRCs is the single most important step in the whole switch. Test the process with one release before moving your entire catalogue.

Moving to TIR? We help artists transfer catalogues safely →