Release reference guides — read these before your first run
Assign the ISRC
01
- Using your Panorama registrant prefix, generate the next code in sequence for Track_XYZ (e.g. following on from Pipeline's number). This one code is what ties every downstream system together.
Embed metadata into the file itself
02
- Open the final WAV in Mp3tag or BWF MetaEdit and write in the Title, Artist (Zacoon), ISRC, Writer, and Publisher fields directly. This is your portable, distributor-independent copy of the facts.
Log it in your catalog tracker
03
- Add a new row for Track_XYZ in your song catalog spreadsheet — title, ISRC, writer split, publisher, master owner — before it gets easy to forget once other steps are underway.
Register the work with SOCAN
04
- Submit Track_XYZ as a new work: title, writer(s) and split, publisher (yourself, self-published). This registration is what generates the ISWC — attach your ISRC to it once assigned.
Register the same work with CMRRA
05
- Submit Track_XYZ for mechanical royalty collection. Since International Collections is active on your account, this single registration also routes US (via MLC) and rest-of-world (via IMPEL) mechanicals to you, at the 5% add-on fee.
Upload to TuneCore
06
- Enter title, artist, genre, and artwork. Manually input the ISRC you already generated — don't let TuneCore auto-assign one. Set the release date to match their scheduling queue, and enable social-platform delivery if you want TikTok/Instagram included.
Cross-check metadata everywhere
07
- Confirm the title, artist spelling, and ISRC are byte-for-byte identical across SOCAN, CMRRA, and TuneCore. This is the single most common point where black-box mismatches get created.
Verify the live listing
08
- Once Track_XYZ appears on Spotify/Apple Music, check that title, artist, and writer credit match exactly what you submitted. Fix immediately if not — errors are far cheaper to correct on day one than after streams accumulate.
Claim your artist dashboards
09
- Link Track_XYZ under Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists using your distributor's verification flow. These become your independent check against your royalty statements later.
Ongoing — not a step
Reconcile the dashboards
Compare stream counts on your artist dashboards against what actually lands in your SOCAN, CMRRA, and TuneCore statements. This is the habit that catches mismatches before they age into black-box money.