By Jianda Monique

This is the companion piece to what Songtradr's split between MassiveMusic and Bandcamp means — if you haven't read that one yet, it's worth starting there for context. This piece is the practical part: what to do, in order, if you want your music to stay live on Spotify, Apple Music, and the other stores past September 1, 2026.

To be clear up front: staying with MassiveMusic (for licensing) or moving to Bandcamp (for direct sales) doesn't keep your streaming distribution alive. If Spotify and Apple Music matter to you, this is the path — whether you're moving to a new distributor entirely, or just making sure you've backed everything up first either way.

Step 1 — Get your final balance out

Request any accumulated balance withdrawal directly through your Songtradr dashboard before September 1. This isn't strictly required — balances are designed to carry over — but requesting it early is a reasonable belt-and-suspenders step if you'd rather see it settled in your own account than trust the transition. Any balance remaining after September 1 is held as unclaimed property and has to be recovered manually — per Songtradr's own help center, that's through distributionsupport@massivemusic.com, not automatically.

Step 2 — Copy your ISRC and UPC codes before anything else

These are the codes that identify your recordings (ISRC, one per song) and releases (UPC, one per album/EP/single) to every streaming platform. You'll find them in your Songtradr distribution dashboard next to each release. Copy them somewhere you control — a spreadsheet is fine. This is the single most important step in the whole process, because it's what lets a new distributor link back to your existing streaming history instead of starting from zero.

Step 3 — Download everything that's genuinely yours

Step 4 — Upload to your new distributor with the exact same codes

Sign up with whichever distributor you're moving to (DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby are all common choices — our own catalog tool can help you keep track of where everything's going if you're weighing options). Upload the identical audio files, with matching track titles, artist names, and — this is the part worth being careful about — the exact same ISRC and UPC codes you copied in Step 2. Most distributors support entering your own codes rather than being assigned new ones; look for that option specifically, since new codes mean streaming platforms treat the upload as a brand-new release with zero history.

Step 5 — Wait for the new release to go live before taking the old one down

Once your new distributor's version is confirmed live and linked correctly on Spotify (matching ISRC codes usually cause platforms to merge the listings automatically, preserving your stream counts and playlist placements), then — and only then — request a formal takedown from Songtradr's distribution team, referencing the relevant UPCs. Taking the old version down too early leaves a gap where the song is simply missing everywhere, which is the exact outcome all of this is meant to avoid.

A couple of things worth knowing before you start

• You don't have to pick just one new distributor. Many are non-exclusive, so staying on more than one at once is often genuinely possible — but uploading the identical recording through two distributors at the same time usually splits into two separate listings on the same platform rather than merging, so if you want redundancy, consider a genuinely distinct version (a different mix or edit) through each rather than a true duplicate.
• Keep your own copies of everything, permanently, regardless of where your music lives day to day. This is really the whole point, and it's worth doing as a standing habit, not just a one-time reaction to this particular deadline.