DSP Cover Artwork Guidelines: How to Avoid Release Rejections
Incompliant cover artwork is the number one reason music releases get delayed by store inspection teams. Streaming services evaluate every image using strict automated and manual quality checks. If your cover fails these criteria, your release will be rejected immediately.
Technical Core Specifications: Dimensions, Format, and Color Space
Every DSP mandates a strictly square image with a 1:1 aspect ratio. The industry standard is exactly 3000 x 3000 pixels. Resolutions below 1400 x 1400 pixels are instantly rejected by platform servers because they look degraded on high-resolution mobile displays and smart TVs.
Submit your file as a non-progressive JPG or PNG. Your color profile must strictly be RGB. CMYK color profiles designed for physical print will either throw an ingestion error or display distorted colors across streaming apps.
Text and Typography: Critical Rules Enforced by Streaming Services
Text on your artwork is optional, but if present, it must mirror your release metadata with total precision. If artist names or release titles appear on the graphic, any typo or variation against your delivery data triggers a quality control rejection from Spotify and Apple Music.
Promotional text, URLs, social media handles, and pricing tags are completely forbidden. Phrases like 'Out Now', 'Includes Hit Single', or external web links will cause an automatic flag. Do not embed visual barcodes, as identifiers like UPC and ISRC are delivered digitally via DDEX feeds.
Restricted Logos, Trademarks, and Legal Bottlenecks
You must not feature third-party trademarks or platform branding. Spotify logos, Apple Music badges, and social platform icons are strictly banned. Furthermore, you may only place the official 'Parental Advisory' logo on your graphic if the track or album is flagged as explicit in your metadata.
Never utilize copyrighted photographs, artwork, or prominent brand trademarks without documented clearance. Ingesting unauthorized imagery violates digital store guidelines and exposes your catalog to immediate takedowns.
Frictionless Artwork QC with OGRECORDS™
To guarantee smooth delivery, OGRECORDS™ runs automated inspection routines on pixel boundaries, scaling, and color spaces before dispatching via DDEX 4.3.2 to 38+ DSPs across 240+ territories. This preserves your promotional schedule for your Pre-Save campaigns and release milestones.
Our straightforward Musikvertrieb requires no recurring subscriptions and no per-drop fees. Operating on a simple 10 % revenue share, you retain 100 % ownership of your masters and pay exclusively when you earn.
Upload your artwork and distribute your catalog globally with OGRECORDS™.