Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to common questions about ONCE.

Getting Started

Visit beta.once.app and click Sign Up. You’ll need to verify your email address before you can start releasing music.

Is ONCE free to use?

ONCE uses a credits-based system. You purchase credits and spend them when submitting releases. You can also earn free credits through our referral program.

What platforms does ONCE distribute to?

ONCE distributes to 30+ streaming platforms and stores including:

Featured: Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, TikTok
Also included: Amazon Music, Tidal, Pandora, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, Audiomack, Facebook/Instagram Audio Library, Snapchat, Peloton, Mixcloud, Boomplay, and more
Content ID: YouTube Content ID and Facebook Rights Manager for royalty collection on user-generated content

Releases

Can Note submit my release, edit metadata, or map IDs?

No. Note is for ONCE product/technical questions and bug reporting only.

Note cannot perform release actions (setup, edits, metadata changes, submission/distribution), ID mapping tasks, or other Chat Agent workflows.

For those tasks, use the main chat agent in the ONCE app.
See Releasing Music.

Can Note generate images or navigate me to pages in the app?

No. Note cannot generate images or take actions like opening pages for you.

Note can share direct links for you to click. For image generation and other action-based workflows, use the main chat agent in ONCE.

What are Note-ifications?

Note-ifications are proactive messages from Note when ONCE has important product or account information to share with you.

When you have a new Note-ification, Note shows a red dot and an excited bounce animation until you open Note and read it.

Can I view past Note-ifications and conversations with Note?

Yes. In the Note panel, click History (next to the close button) to view previous Note conversations.

Admin-sent Note-ifications appear in History as Notification items. In some cases, ONCE may also send a Proactive Response inside a past conversation so you can see the full context in one place.

History items are read-only — to respond or continue talking with Note, click Back to Note and start a new chat.

Can I schedule a release date?

Yes! You can set a future release date when working with the chat agent. This allows time for platform processing.

Can I distribute a cover song?

Yes, but only when your release is a straightforward cover recording of a song that has already been released to the public and you have the rights needed to distribute it.

Keep the song as a faithful cover. Small style or arrangement changes are fine, but translated lyrics, rewritten lyrics, melody changes, or use of any original master audio move the release out of standard cover-song handling.
Instrumental covers are allowed.
Keep the original song title as the base title. If you need a qualifier, use a title version such as Cover or Techno Version rather than Mix or Remix.
Credit the original writers, lyricists, and publisher accurately.
If you plan to release a premium music video version of a cover to YouTube/VEVO, you also need sync rights for the video.
ONCE does not support cover-song delivery for India or Pakistan territories.

What if my artist name includes “and” (like “Simon & Garfunkel”)?

The chat agent will ask whether that is one artist name or two separate primary artists.

If it is one artist name, ONCE keeps it as a single primary artist (for example, “Art and Garfunkel”)
If it is two artists, ONCE keeps the first as the main primary artist and saves the others as additional primary artist contributors

What audio formats do you accept?

Recommended: WAV files for best quality
High-quality audio files are recommended

What are the cover art requirements?

Size: Square image, high resolution recommended
Format: JPG or PNG
Content: No streaming platform logos, no URLs, no excessive text

Can I change my release after it’s live?

You can update metadata (titles, artwork, etc.) but not audio files. See Things to Know for details on how edits affect release dates.

Does ONCE support publishing registration?

Yes. ONCE includes a publishing workflow where you can prepare and register per-track songwriting and publishing details from your release page.

See Publishing with ONCE for the full flow and requirements.

Credits & Payment

How do credits work?

Purchase credits from the My Account page, then spend them when submitting releases. Each submitted song costs 1 credit.

How do I earn free credits?

Share your referral link from the My Account page. When someone signs up and submits their first release, you earn +5 credits.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe.

Discord

How do I ask ONCE questions in Discord?

Use the /ask command in a Discord channel where the ONCE bot is available, then enter your question.
For more details, see Discord on ONCE.

How do I report a bug in Discord?

Use /bug-report and put your details in the details field. Include what you tried, what happened, and steps to reproduce.

Can I reply to Note’s message with a follow-up?

Yes. Use the follow-up button on Note’s message:

Ask follow-up continues an /ask conversation
Add bug update forwards more context after /bug-report

Will Discord answers always include docs links?

Not always. The assistant prefers docs.once.app sources when relevant, but it can still answer using best-effort guidance when specific docs links are not available.

Do I need Discord to use ONCE?

No. Discord is optional and helpful for fast Q&A, but all core release workflows happen in the ONCE app.

Royalties

Do I keep my royalties?

Yes! You keep 100% of your streaming royalties. ONCE only charges for distribution via the credits system.

How do I get paid?

Royalty collection and payment depend on your distributor agreement. Check the My Account page for payment settings and schedules.

Account & Support

How do I contact support?

Reach out through the support channels on the My Account page or via our website contact form.

Can I delete my account?

Yes, contact support to request account deletion. Note that distributed releases may remain on platforms unless explicitly taken down.

I forgot my password

Use the “Forgot Password” link on the login page. You’ll receive an email to reset your password.

Troubleshooting

Why did my performance totals just change?

Performance pages now auto-refresh when new analytics arrive, so totals can update while you are viewing the page.

ONCE uses Revelator as the primary source for stream counts, then adds YouTube Music view deltas from ONCE’s view tracking. This keeps release totals, top releases, and track-level numbers aligned as fresh data comes in.

My release is stuck in “Submitted”

After submission, releases go through processing and platform review. This is normal. Your status will change to “Delivered” then “Distributed” once platforms confirm. If you haven’t seen any status change after an extended period, contact support.

I can’t find my release on Spotify/Apple Music

Search by exact title and artist name
Wait for the status to show “Distributed” on the Releases page
Try searching by UPC or ISRC code

My cover art was rejected

Common reasons:

Contains streaming platform logos (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.)
Contains website URLs
Is too low resolution or blurry
Contains inappropriate content without explicit marking

Upload new artwork that meets the requirements and resubmit.

I need to take down my release

Contact support with your release details to request a takedown.

Things to Know Overview