Please review this guide carefully to help you import your back catalogue into Label Engine.
Step 1: Checking and Cancelling your Existing Contract
Before we can welcome you to Label Engine, please ensure that you have explicit confirmation that you are no longer under contract with your existing distributor.
Transferrable stores (Beatport, Juno Download, and Traxsource) will not transfer content to us unless they are authorized by your existing distributor.
Your existing distributor will take down your content from all other stores.
Step 2: Setting Up your Label Engine Account
Fill in your basic information by creating an account with Label Engine here.
This step is required to ensure we have the correct contact info as well as payment details for future payments.
Step 3: Upload up to three new releases
Once your account has been setup you should see a link that reads “Distribute Now” on your homepage. You can start uploading your latest music.
When uploading your first new release, we will ask you some additional questions. Please tell us who your current distributor is to expedite the label switch process for the transferrable stores.
We will review the releases. Once a release is approved, you will be able to upload your back catalog to Label Engine.
Step 4: Store Transfers
Once we have confirmed that your existing contract has ended, we will send a request to all transferrable stores, requesting for your content to be switched to us from your existing distributor. This usually takes around a week.
You will only be able to distribute new content once all stores approve of the transfer. However, you can proceed with importing existing releases and distributing back catalogue content immediately.
We will notify you by email once the transfers are complete and you can begin distributing new content.
Step 5: Importing Releases / Distributing Back Catalogue
To get your content back into stores, and to receive daily statistics, you will need to upload and re-distribute your entire back catalogue through Label Engine.
This feature will import your releases metadata including:
Artwork
Release Artist
Release Title
Low resolution cover artwork
UPC (Spotify only)
Catalogue Number (Beatport only)
Low resolution track previews
ISRC
Original release date
Genre
Track Artists
Track Titles
Although half of the work is now done for you, you’ll still need to:
Upload the original .wav file and artwork and edit each release.
Finish editing each track’s metadata and royalty pre-allocations for each artist, company, and your label.
Re-distribute the content to all stores.
We recommend using the same metadata such as UPC and ISRC codes and original wav files, so you don't lose any current stream numbers or placements on Spotify.
When switching over from another distributor, there will be an overlap between your old distributor's releases and ours. This happens so that you can check on Spotify to make sure your catalog distributed with us links with the original catalog. Typically, it takes 5 days for all releases to link once they have been processed and accepted by the store.
Step 6: Earnings & Royalties
You will still receive money from your past distributor for some months after you take down your catalog due to the way stores pay out.
As for Label Engine, you will start to receive money from us for your back catalog about 3 months after the date it was distributed.
Additional notes:
When importing from Spotify, the original UPC will be imported into the Catalog Number field by default. This should be changed to your original catalog number style (usually consisting of three letters to abbreviate your label name and number of releases, i.e. BFR013)
Be sure to keep “Back Catalog” as marked, along with original release date to keep catalogue accurate and consistent with the existing content in stores.
If you have any questions, or would like a walk-through on the process, don’t hesitate to send us a live chat message or email us.