Quick Answers

The things creators ask us most, each answered as a short set of steps you can follow right now. Every section ends with when to ask ONCE Support, so you know the point at which a person needs to get involved.

If you are looking for depth rather than steps, each section links to the full guide.

Take my release off stores

Self-serve, per store or everywhere at once.

1. Open the release from your Releases page.
2. Click View details next to the status to open the Distributions panel.
3. One store: click the takedown icon next to that store and confirm.
4. All stores: click Take Down From ALL Stores under the store list, then type TAKE IT ALL DOWN to confirm.

Takedowns take several days to clear at stores. The release stays in your ONCE account, and Distribute to N Stores in the same panel puts it back later, though store links and playlist placements may not survive the gap.

You do not need a takedown to change artwork or metadata, and you do not need to run one yourself to replace audio.

Ask ONCE Support if: the release is not distributed yet (cancelling a submitted release needs the team), or a takedown you confirmed has not taken effect after a week.

Full detail: Changing a Release.

Change something on a release I already submitted

1. Draft: expand the track in the chat sidebar and click Replace audio, or just tell the agent what to change.
2. Submitted, not live yet: open the release and click Edit & Redistribute. Stores have not accepted it, so even audio, UPC, and ISRC changes save with no takedown.
3. Live on stores: Edit & Redistribute again. Metadata and artwork go out directly. New audio, UPC, or ISRC needs a takedown first, which ONCE runs for you after one confirmation.

Edits never cost credits. You are charged once per release, at first submission.

Ask ONCE Support if: the change is a royalty split, or an edit you queued never applied.

Full detail: Changing a Release.

Replace the audio, or release a new version?

• Same recording, fault fixed (artifact, click, clipping, bad export, wrong master): replace the audio. You keep the UPC, ISRCs, links, and streams.
• Different recording (acoustic, remix, live, radio edit, re-record): submit it as a new release. An ISRC identifies one specific recording, and replacing audio keeps the existing ISRC.

Want the original gone too? Take the original down and submit the new version separately. Those are two actions, not one.

Full detail: Replace or release new.

My release says Rejected or Attention Needed

1. Click View details on the status bar. It names the store, the error, and likely causes.
2. Fix what it names. Most are metadata: invalid characters, a mismatched explicit flag, artwork that breaks store rules, or a missing field.
3. Click Retry Distribution (or Edit & Redistribute on a rejected release), correct the fields, then Save & Retry Distribution.
4. If mastering failed, use Retry with Mastering or Retry without Mastering to keep moving.

Ask ONCE Support if: the release is held for a recognizable-artist review. That check cannot be retried past, and only the ONCE team can clear it after verifying the release is yours. Send your ownership context in the thread.

Full detail: Status & Action Bar.

My release is submitted but not live yet

1. Check the status on the release page. Submitted means stores have it and have not confirmed publication.
2. Allow for store processing. Delivery is not instant, and each store publishes on its own schedule.
3. If the release date passes without it going live, ONCE detects that automatically, emails you, and alerts the team. You do not need to open a ticket.
4. Once it is Distributed, search the store by exact title, artist, UPC, or ISRC.

Ask ONCE Support if: the status has not moved in over a week with no error shown, or the release is live on stores but its ONCE page is missing its track or cover art (that is a sync issue, and resubmitting would create a duplicate).

Full detail: Status & Action Bar.

My music is on the wrong artist profile

1. Find the correct artist profile link on Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, or Facebook.
2. Give that link to ONCE Support. It validates the link and files a tracked remap request, then points you to its status on your artist profile page.
3. Save the correct link on your artist store links page so future releases map correctly on their own.

Profile merges happen at the store, not through a redistribution, so the ONCE team performs the move. Redistributing will not fix it.

Full detail: Artist store links.

YouTube: Music, Content ID, and Official Artist Channels

These are three separate things, which is where most of the confusion starts.

• YouTube Music is the streaming service. ONCE still delivers new releases to it, which usually creates an Art Track on an artist Topic channel. Nothing to request.
• Content ID finds your audio in other people’s videos and claims it. Since July 17, 2026, new enrollment is limited to approved ONCE distribution partners.
• Official Artist Channel (OAC) organizes your own channel’s surfaces. New requests are open to ONCE Insiders and approved partners.

Existing Art Tracks, OACs, and Content ID coverage are not being removed. Track every request in one place at the YouTube Toolkit.

Before submitting an OAC request: you need your own channel’s full URL including the 24-character UC code (not a vanity URL), your Topic channel URL, and the artist’s country. Approval is entirely YouTube’s decision and can take weeks to months.

Full detail: YouTube Toolkit.

Register publishing and set royalty splits

Two different systems that are easy to mix up.

• Publishing registers songwriter and publisher details for each track. Click Register Publishing on the release page. You can draft any time, but final registration needs the release distributed to at least one store and an assigned ISRC. Details you gave the chat agent are queued automatically and register once each ISRC arrives.
• Splits divide the royalties from a release between collaborators. Open Splits from More Tools on a distributed release, add recipients by email, and set percentages release-wide or per track.

Each split recipient is paid through their own payout setup, not yours.

Full detail: Publishing with ONCE and Royalty Splits.

Where are my ISRCs and UPC?

1. Open the release page and find the Identifiers panel. It shows the release UPC and each track’s ISRC.
2. Anything you left blank is assigned automatically at delivery and appears there on its own. No need to ask for it.
3. Pending assignment means the code has not synced back yet, not that something failed.
4. To use codes you already own, click Add your own in that panel before you submit.

Changing a UPC or ISRC on a live release needs a takedown first, so get them right before submission if you can.

Full detail: Identifiers.

Credits, costs, and refunds

• 1 credit ($1) per human track, 2 credits per AI track (generated with OMG, or flagged by ONCE’s detector on upload). The AI surcharge funds the Artist Compensation Fund.
• Edits and redistributions are free. You are charged once per release, at first submission.
• Buy credits on the pricing page with a card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
• Refunds are tracked requests: Settings > Account, click Request refund, then follow its status on the same page.

Full detail: Credits & Referrals.

When do I get paid?

1. Royalties appear on the Payouts page as stores report them, usually on a one to three month delay.
2. When your first earnings post, Start Payout Setup unlocks. Complete the Tipalti form (tax details and payment method).
3. Payouts are sent automatically every quarter for balances of $20 or more. There is no withdraw button and nothing to request.
4. Balances under $20 roll over. They are never lost.

ONCE takes 0% of your royalties.

Ask ONCE Support if: a release shows a notice that it will not be paid out automatically, or a payment failed.

Full detail: Payouts.

Still not answered?

• ONCE Support in the app, for anything account-specific. It can look up your releases, make metadata edits, and bring in the ONCE team when needed.
• ONCE Discord, usually the fastest way to get unstuck.
• hey@once.app, for account, rights, payment, and refund matters. Replies come as the team is able.