Content Policy

This Content Policy explains the standards every release and campaign must meet. It works alongside our Terms of Use and Distribution Terms, which go into more detail and prevail where they are more specific. Stores, streaming platforms, and our delivery partners also set their own rules. Where any of them is stricter than this policy, the stricter rule controls, and we may need to act on it immediately.

The short version: distribute and pitch music you made or fully control, describe it honestly, and do not try to game the platforms. If you are unsure about something, contact us before you submit.

1. Content you can distribute and pitch

• Original recordings that you own or fully control, including the master and the underlying song.
• Cover versions, where you hold the licences they require and cover any royalties due on them.
• Music that includes samples, beats, loops, stems, or vocals only when you have cleared every required permission and can prove it.

2. Content we cannot distribute or pitch

The following are not eligible. Submitting them can lead to rejection, removal, withheld revenue, or account action.

• Music that uses samples, loops, beats, vocals, or stems you do not fully own or cannot prove you cleared.
• Royalty-free or stock music that you do not hold exclusive rights to.
• Public domain, traditional, or classical recordings that you do not own, including most classical performances.
• Soundalikes or karaoke versions that closely imitate another song where you do not own the original.
• Bootlegs, leaks, unauthorised live recordings, or any material you do not have the rights to.
• Misleading titles, fake artist names, false collaborations, or metadata built to manipulate search results (for example, naming a track as another artist's "type beat").
• Incorrect or duplicate ISRCs, UPCs, or credits, and artwork that does not match the release or that includes copyrighted images, logos, QR codes, or low-quality designs.
• Non-musical audio such as podcasts, speeches, sermons, and audiobooks, or white noise, nature sounds, and meditation tracks without a musical composition.
• Broken, distorted, or silent audio, or long silence at the start or end of a track.
• Content that promotes hate, discrimination, harassment, sexual exploitation, self-harm, dangerous misinformation, or illegal activity.

3. AI-generated and AI-assisted music

You must tell us when a release involves AI assistance, AI generation, voice synthesis, or AI-based production tools. Disclosing AI does not, by itself, make a release eligible.

• Fully or partly AI-generated material, and AI material where you cannot clearly prove ownership and copyrightability, may be rejected, restricted, or refused by stores.
• AI voice cloning of a real person without their written permission is never allowed.
• AI-assisted music is generally safer when there is meaningful human authorship. Final approval always sits with the stores, and some may remove AI content under their own rules.

4. Stores and content platforms

Stores (such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon) sell or stream your release. Content platforms (such as YouTube Content ID, Meta, and TikTok) monetise through audio fingerprinting and apply stricter rules. To be eligible on content platforms:

• You must own 100% of the exclusive master rights.
• The audio must be unique and original and pass fingerprint scans with no conflicting matches.
• It must be a musical recording, not speech, ambience, or sound effects.
• It cannot rely on public domain, stock, or non-exclusive content. Beat leases and non-exclusive production are generally not eligible for fingerprint-based monetisation.

5. Compilations, re-releases, and duplicates

• Compilations must be labelled clearly and honestly.
• Re-releases need a genuine change, such as a remaster, a re-recording, an official remix, or a live version. Small tweaks like trimming or light EQ do not make a new version.
• The same recording should not appear across multiple releases, and near-identical uploads without official documentation are not allowed.

6. Honest streaming, no manipulation

• No artificial streaming, bots, click farms, or any scheme to inflate streams, playlist followers, saves, or other metrics.
• Releases linked to artificial streaming or platform manipulation may be reviewed, restricted, or removed, and stores may withhold related revenue.

7. Accurate metadata and identity

• Titles, artist names, credits, and identifiers must be accurate and not misleading.
• Do not impersonate other artists, labels, or people, or claim collaborations that did not happen.

8. If content breaks this policy

Where required or justified, we may refuse, limit, pause, de-monetise, geo-restrict, or take down a release, and in serious or repeated cases suspend or close an account. Stores, platforms, payment providers, and partners can also require any of these actions, and legal requirements, court orders, or rights complaints can trigger them. See the Distribution Terms for the full enforcement and takedown process.

9. Questions and appeals

If your content was restricted or removed and you believe that was a mistake, email support@notnoise.co with your ownership documentation and we will review it. This policy may change as store and platform requirements evolve. Last updated June 15, 2026.