Status & Action Bar (STAB)
The Status & Action Bar is the colored bar at the top of every release page. It shows where your release is and gives you the actions that make sense for that state. The bar changes its color, dot, label, and buttons as the release moves through its lifecycle.
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Status dot + label | The current status, e.g. “Distributed” |
| Store bubbles | Icons for the stores the release was sent to (Submitted and Distributed only) |
| View details | A pill that opens a detail panel for the current status |
| Action buttons | Contextual actions such as Edit & Redistribute or Retry |
On mobile, the store bubbles and View details wrap to a second row.
Statuses
There are six statuses. When more than one condition is true, the highest-priority one wins: Taken Down → Rejected → Distributed → Attention Needed → Submitted → Draft.
Draft
The release exists but has not been submitted. Nothing has been sent anywhere, so everything is editable from the chat.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Delete Draft | Permanently deletes the draft |
| Continue Chat | Returns to the conversation that created the release (only when one exists) |
Submitted
The release is queued and being delivered. Stores are receiving it but have not confirmed it is live. Submitted releases also go through a human inspection; most clear it within a day, nearly all within two to three days, and there is no guaranteed turnaround. Store bubbles appear in this state.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Register Publishing | Opens the publishing workflow. Final registration waits until the release is distributed; see Publishing. |
| Edit & Redistribute | Opens the editor. Because stores have not accepted the release yet, even audio, UPC, and ISRC changes save without a takedown. See Changing a Release. |
| View Performance | Disabled until the release is distributed. Stats appear 2–3 days after a successful distribution. |
If a submitted release passes its release date without going live, ONCE detects it automatically, emails you, and alerts the team. You do not need to open a ticket.
Attention Needed
Something went wrong during distribution: a store returned an error, metadata contained invalid characters (for example emojis in a label field), a mastering step failed or timed out, or a distribution worker got stuck. ONCE also uses this status when a previously distributed release is pulled back into inspection.
View details tells you what happened. When stores return errors, it groups the affected stores by shared response, shows any distributor status codes, and adds likely-cause hints for common metadata failures, so you can see whether one store or several are affected. When a release is held for a recognizable-artist review (for example AI tracks mapped to an existing artist profile), the panel explains that too: retrying does not bypass the check. Ask ONCE Support to pass your ownership details to the team, and distribution resumes once they clear it.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Retry Distribution | Opens the Fix and Retry Distribution editor, the same form as Edit & Redistribute. Correct anything the error names (or nothing, if nothing is needed) and click Save & Retry Distribution. The View details dialog has the same button. |
If the error came from Peak mastering, two options replace Retry Distribution:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Retry with Mastering | Tries mastering again, then continues distribution |
| Retry without Mastering | Skips mastering and distributes your original audio |
Distributed
Your music has been delivered and at least one store has confirmed it. The pulsing dot means the release is live. Store bubbles are visible.
The bar keeps to four buttons: the three you reach for most, plus More Tools for everything else.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit & Redistribute | Update metadata, swap artwork, or replace audio and push the changes to stores. Audio, UPC, and ISRC changes go through a takedown first. Disabled while a redistribution is already under review. See Changing a Release. |
| View Performance | Streams, revenue, and listener data for this release |
| Share Release | Turn the public release page on or off and copy its link. See Share Your Music. |
| More Tools | Opens the More Tools panel: Register Publishing, Splits, YouTube OAC |
Two variants of this status exist:
- Delivered: stores have received the release but have not published it yet. The label reads “Delivered” and the dot does not pulse.
- Future release date: the release is on stores but not public yet. A clock icon and “Available [date]” appear next to the label.
If a release has Content ID coverage, the distributor may note that it is not eligible for YouTube Content ID (for example because of non-exclusive samples). The release stays live everywhere, including YouTube Music, and the note appears in View details.
Rejected
The release was rejected during inspection. View details shows the review team’s note with the exact reason, including any message the reviewer wrote for you, plus suggested next steps for common reasons. The same reason is in the rejection email and your in-app notification. For what each reason means and how to fix it, see common inspection rejections.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Delete | Permanently deletes the rejected release |
| Edit & Redistribute | Fix the metadata, artwork, or audio the reviewer flagged and resubmit |
Taken Down
The release has been removed from most stores. The label shows a count, and store bubbles only show stores where it is still live. There are no action buttons; use View details for the full takedown picture, and Distribute to N Stores inside the Distributions panel to put it back on stores. See taking a release down.
View details
The View details pill appears for every status except Draft. What it opens depends on the state:
| Status | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Submitted | Per-store status (empty until stores begin reporting back) |
| Attention Needed | The error, grouped per-store failures, inspection notes, likely-cause hints, and recovery actions |
| Distributed | Per-store status plus any warnings such as Content ID eligibility. Also where you take a release down, per store or everywhere. |
| Rejected | The inspection note, or support guidance when no clear note exists |
| Taken Down | Which stores are down and which are still up |
Store bubbles
When a release is Submitted or Distributed, small icons show the stores it went to. Featured stores (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, TikTok) appear individually; the rest collapse into a “+N” bubble you can hover for the full list.
More Tools
On a distributed release, everything beyond the three main actions lives behind More Tools. Clicking it dims the page and opens a panel listing each tool with a one-line description and its current state. On a phone it slides up from the bottom; on a wider screen it opens centered. Click a tool to open it, or click outside, the ✕, or press Esc to dismiss.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Register Publishing | Register songwriter and publishing details for every track. Tracks whose details were collected in chat show Queued • awaiting ISRC and register on their own once distribution assigns the ISRC. See Publishing. |
| Splits | Set release-wide or per-track royalty percentages and invite collaborators. See Royalty Splits. |
| YouTube OAC | Submit or follow an Official Artist Channel request for the release’s primary artist. New requests are an ONCE Insider perk (and available to approved partners); on other accounts the tool is greyed out, though an existing request stays open so its owner can finish or correct it. See YouTube. |
Notification dots. Tools keep the same dots they would have in the bar: amber for something waiting on you, red for an error, blue for work in progress. If any tool inside has a dot, the More Tools button wears the most urgent one, so nothing gets buried.
Audio match indicator
If ONCE finds that a track matches audio already on music services, a badge appears next to View details while the release is Submitted:
Hover or focus it to see the matched recordings. A match to your own recording (for example after a migration) needs no action. If you do not recognize it, tell ONCE Support. How matches are detected is covered in Rights checks.