For: Releasing artists (RA) and label managers (LM) whose release has been sitting in pending longer than expected You'll need: The release page open in front of you Time: 2 minutes to diagnose
Pending means the release has cleared our internal review and is on its way to Spotify, Apple Music, and the rest.
Quick answer
A release in pending is being delivered to streaming services. Typical delivery is 24–72 hours, but the full route to every store can take up to 7 days depending on the release date you set. If it's been longer than that, check your release date first, then contact support.
Decision tree
Is the release date in the future? If yes, that's expected — we deliver shortly before the release date so stores can pre-process. The status will move to published on or around that date.
Was the release submitted in the last 72 hours? Give it more time. Most stores accept the delivery within a day, but a few (notably smaller regional DSPs) batch ingestion.
Is it past your release date and still pending? Open the release and check the per-store delivery list at the bottom of the page. Some stores may already show delivered; others may still be processing.
Past release date + everything still pending after 7 days? Contact support with the release name and UPC.
Symptom → cause → fix
Status flipped from submitted to pending and stopped moving — that's the normal flow. Pending is the longest phase because it covers every store independently. See Article 2.2 — What do the release statuses mean? for the full state map.
Release date is today but no streams yet — Spotify and Apple typically light up within hours of the release date, but smaller stores can lag a day or two. See Article 2.6 — When will my music appear on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.?.
You see "delivered" on one store but not another — totally normal. Stores ingest at their own pace and we show each one separately so you can tell.
You changed something after submitting and now it's stuck — some fields trigger a re-delivery. If a re-delivery is in progress, the previous version stays live while we ship the update.
What you can't fix from pending
Once a release is in pending, the UPC and track order are locked. If you spot a mistake at this stage, you'll need to take the release down and start a new one. See Article 2.3 — Why can't I edit certain fields after submitting? and Article 2.7 — Why is my UPC / ISRC fixed?.
When to contact support
Pending for more than 7 days past the release date.
Per-store list shows an error on a specific store.
You need to pull a release that's already in pending (we can usually request a takedown, but it's not instant).