Quality Standards & Content Guidelines for Music Distribution
Pubdish maintains strict content standards to protect the platform's reputation and ensure quality music distribution across all major streaming platforms.
Violations of these policies will result in immediate content removal, account suspension, or permanent termination with forfeiture of all accumulated revenue.
Last Updated: January 2026
Strict enforcement policies to maintain platform integrity and quality standards
All AI-generated music, vocals, melodies, and artwork are strictly prohibited. Three strikes results in permanent account termination.
Strike 1
Content removal + warning
Strike 2
Content removal + final warning
Strike 3
Permanent ban + revenue forfeiture
Music created by AI tools like AIVA, Amper, Soundraw, Suno, Udio, OpenAI Jukebox, or any other AI software is strictly prohibited.
All music must be 100% human-created
Vocals created using AI voice synthesis, voice cloning, AI vocal enhancement or similar tools are all prohibited.
Real human vocals required
Melodies, beats, instrumentals created by or primarily assisted by AI are not permitted.
Original composition only
Album/single artwork created by Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, Leonardo AI or other AI tools are all prohibited.
Human-designed artwork only
Streaming platforms are increasingly detecting and removing AI content. To protect the platform's reputation and your account, we maintain this policy. All music must be 100% human-created.
Copyright infringement is treated with zero tolerance. No strike system applies - violations result in immediate permanent ban and revenue forfeiture.
Consequences
Using beats, instrumentals, samples without proper rights or licenses
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Using "free for profit" beats without streaming distribution license
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Covering other artists' songs without mechanical license or permission
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Remixing or mashing up other artists' music without proper authorization
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Re-uploading music from other singers, composers, or copyright holders
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Claiming ownership of content you don't have rights to distribute
Result: Immediate permanent ban
Quality standards for song/album cover images
Any artwork that appears blurry, pixelated, stretched, compressed, or of poor quality will be rejected immediately.
Artwork ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT contain any promotional information, contact details, or external references.
🚨 STRIKE ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM:
1st Time: Promotional content detected on artwork → Rejected + 1 strike warning
2nd Time: 2nd violation → Rejected + 1 strike (total 2 strikes)
3rd Time: 3rd violation → PERMANENT BAN
Types of PROHIBITED promotions:
You must own or have explicit permission to use all visual elements in your artwork.
Artwork must comply with all major streaming platforms' content policies.
Artwork must accurately represent the artist and not impersonate others.
Accurate and complete information is mandatory
No Impersonation: You cannot use the name of an established artist, band, or celebrity without being that artist or having explicit permission.
Accurate Credits: Featured artists must be accurately credited and must have given permission to be listed.
Consistent Naming: Use consistent artist names across all releases to avoid confusion and maintain your artist profile.
No Misleading Titles: Titles like "Feat. [Famous Artist]" when they're not actually featured are strictly prohibited.
No Keyword Stuffing: Titles filled with unrelated keywords, tags, or promotional text will be rejected.
No Excessive Capitalization: Titles in ALL CAPS or with excessive punctuation (!!! ???) are not allowed.
Proper Formatting: Use standard title case and proper grammar. Include version information in parentheses if needed (Remix, Acoustic, Live, etc.).
Select accurate genres that genuinely represent your music. Misclassifying your music to appear in trending or popular categories is considered manipulation and may result in content removal.
Primary Language: Must accurately reflect the main language of the lyrics. For instrumental tracks, select "Instrumental/No Lyrics."
Explicit Content Tag: Must be marked as "Explicit" if your track contains profanity, sexual content, violence, or drug references. Failure to properly tag explicit content may result in removal from certain platforms.
Clean Versions: If you release both explicit and clean versions, they must be clearly labeled and the clean version must have all explicit content removed or edited.
Professional audio quality is mandatory
Format: WAV or FLAC (lossless)
Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz or higher
Bit Depth: 16-bit minimum (24-bit recommended)
Bit Rate: 1411 kbps or higher (for WAV)
MP3 files (lossy compression)
Files with low sample rates (below 44.1 kHz)
Audio ripped from YouTube or streaming platforms
Files with audible compression artifacts
Audio must not have digital clipping, distortion, or peaks above 0 dB. Proper mastering with headroom is required.
Excessive background noise, tape hiss, or recording artifacts are not acceptable. Professional-level noise reduction is expected.
Tracks must be properly mixed and mastered. Muddy mixes, imbalanced frequencies, or amateur production quality will be rejected.
Tracks should not have more than 2 seconds of silence at the beginning or more than 5 seconds at the end. No excessive dead air in the middle of tracks.
Songs that fade out abruptly, have cut-off endings, or sound incomplete will not be accepted.
Recommendation: Have your tracks professionally mixed and mastered by experienced engineers. Poor audio quality reflects negatively on your brand and reduces listener engagement.
Violating any of these rules will result in immediate termination
Any attempt to artificially inflate streams, saves, or playlist placements is strictly prohibited and will result in permanent ban plus revenue forfeiture.
Streaming platforms use sophisticated fraud detection. Artificial streams will be detected, removed, and your account will be permanently banned.
Do not upload the same track multiple times under different names or variations to game the algorithm.
Uploading the same song with slightly different titles, artwork, or artist names to appear multiple times in search results.
Uploading the same track with minimal changes labeled as a "remix" or different version when it's essentially the same song.
If you've already distributed a track through another distributor, you cannot upload it again through Pubdish without removing it from the other service first.
Claiming collaborations with famous artists when they didn't contribute to or approve the track. This includes using "Feat. [Artist Name]" without permission.
Using trademarked names, brands, or titles without authorization. This includes using famous brand names in your artist name or track titles for recognition.
Each artist or label should have only one Pubdish account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or after being banned is prohibited.
Submitting forged contracts, fake licenses, or falsified documentation to prove ownership or rights. This is fraud and may result in legal action.
Content related to politics, religious insults, or national offense will be handled with extreme severity:
Pubdish does not tolerate any content of a political nature, inciting, or insulting religion or nations.
How we enforce policies and consequences for violations
Every release is manually reviewed by our team before distribution. We check for copyright issues, quality standards, and policy compliance.
We continuously monitor for streaming fraud, copyright claims, and platform violations even after content is live.
When violations are detected or reported, we investigate thoroughly and may request additional documentation to verify ownership and rights.
| Violation Type | Penalty | Appeal |
|---|---|---|
| Copyright violation | Permanent ban immediately, revenue forfeited, NO strikes applied | No |
| Political/religious content | Permanent ban + Government authorities reporting + Legal prosecution | No |
| AI content (music/vocals/artwork) | Content removed + 1 strike | 3 strikes = Permanent ban + revenue forfeited | No |
| Promotional content on artwork | Release rejected + 1 strike | 3 strikes = Permanent ban | No |
| Streaming manipulation | Permanent ban immediately, revenue forfeited | No |
| Low quality artwork | Rejected until fixed, repeated errors may result in suspension | Limited |
| Metadata errors | Rejected until fixed, repeated errors may result in suspension | Yes |
| Minor quality issues | Requested to fix, release delayed until completed | Yes |
Pubdish builds reputation based on quality and transparency. We maintain strict standards to protect the platform and the entire music industry.
By using Pubdish, you agree to comply with these standards. Violations will result in severe and permanent consequences with no exceptions.
If you need clarification on any policy or have questions about your content, please contact us.
Last updated: February 2026 | Pubdish reserves the right to update this policy at any time.