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Music Distribution

Music Video Quality Control: Common Rejection Reasons

How Quality Control Works

Every music video submitted through InterSpace is reviewed by our delivery team before it is sent to YouTube, VEVO, Apple Music, Tidal, or Amazon. Review takes 5 to 7 business days. If your video does not meet platform requirements, it is returned to you with a rejection reason. There is no extra charge to re-edit and resubmit the same video.

Most Common Rejection Reasons

1. URLs, Hashtags, or Social Handles in the Video

Promoting external destinations inside the video frame is not allowed by any of the major video platforms. Remove anything like "@artistname", "follow me on TikTok", or "youtube.com/example".

2. Burn-In Logos

Logos baked into the video (your label logo, sponsor logos, watermarks from editing software) are not allowed. The platforms attach their own UI on top of your video; burn-in branding double-stacks and is rejected.

3. Title Cards or Slates

An opening card that says "Artist Name presents..." or a closing slate is not allowed. The platform itself displays title and artist metadata. Begin and end the video on actual visual content.

4. End Credits Longer Than 5 Seconds

A short credit (under 5 seconds) is fine. Anything longer is rejected. Move full crew credits into the video description on YouTube or into your artist EPK instead.

5. Third-Party or Stock Footage

Footage you did not film yourself or did not own outright (including licensed stock footage) is not eligible. Every frame must be original.

6. Still Images Instead of Active Visuals

A static image with a song over it is a visualiser, not a music video, and will be rejected for music video distribution. (You can still upload visualisers to YouTube directly through your own channel.)

7. Wrong Technical Specs

Common technical rejections:

  • Resolution below 1920 x 1080
  • Frame rate below 23.98 FPS
  • Audio sample rate other than 44.1 kHz (HD) or 48 kHz (4K)
  • Audio not encoded as 320 kbps AAC, stereo
  • Container other than ProRes .mov or H.264 .mp4

See Music Video Technical Specifications and Content Policy for the full spec sheet.

8. Audio in the Video Does Not Match the Audio Release

If your music video is tied to an audio release, the audio in the video must match the master that was distributed (same mix, same length, same edits). A different mix counts as a separate work and needs its own release.

9. Explicit Content Not Flagged

If your video contains explicit lyrics, nudity, drug imagery, or graphic violence, the corresponding flag must be set on the release. Unflagged explicit content is auto-rejected.

How to Resubmit

After fixing the issue, go back into Releases » Videos, open the rejected release, upload the corrected file, and click Resubmit for QC. There is no additional fee for resubmissions of the same video.

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