What is an Original Release Date?

The original release date is the date a recording, album or video was first made available to the public, digitally or physically, anywhere in the world. It's not the date you deliver it to us, and it's not the go-live date of the edition you're releasing now.

A remaster, reissue, anniversary edition or catalogue migration keeps the date of that very first release. Only genuinely new material, such as a new recording, remix or re-recording, gets today's date.

Getting this right matters beyond the metadata field: editorial and algorithmic playlists, outlet recommendation engines, and year-end features like Spotify Wrapped all rely on it. A reissue delivered with today's date looks like new material, which distorts both your discography and the recommendations built on it.

Original release date, release date and ℗/©-lines: what's the difference?

Three different dates travel with every release, and they're allowed to differ:

Original release date: when the work first came out, ever, in any format.
Release date (go-live date): when this specific edition becomes available on the outlets.
℗ and © years: the years from which the rights in the recording (℗) and in this release as a product (©) are claimed.

On a brand-new release, all three are usually the same. On catalogue, compilations and reissues, they often aren't, which is exactly why the original release date field exists. A difference isn't an error, but it is checked (see “How do we check this, and what if my release gets flagged?” below).

The ℗ line and the original release date describe different things and are filled in independently. The ℗ line is a rights notice: the year of first publication of the recording, plus who owns the master rights. On catalogue this often doesn't match the original release date, for example when a 1974 recording is now issued by a company that acquired the catalogue later, or the ℗ year reflects a remastering notice. Both can be correct at the same time.

The © line has no relation to the original release date at all. It simply carries the year this edition, as a product, was created.

How precise does the date need to be?

Enter the date as precisely as you can support: YYYY-MM-DD.

For anything released from 2000 onwards, we expect a full date: day, month and year. For older catalogue, deliver what's actually documented. YYYY-MM or YYYY are accepted, but only when a more precise date genuinely isn't known. Don't invent a day just to fill the field.

What do I choose under “Date accuracy”?

Next to the date field, you'll also set a date accuracy. This is mandatory, and there's no default.

Option	What it means	When to use it
Accurate	The exact release date is entered.	Required for anything released after 1 January 2020. Use it whenever you have a documented release day.
YearMonth	Month and year are confirmed, day is not.	Common for physical catalogue from the 1970s and 80s.
Year	Only the year is known.	The standard choice for deep catalogue.
Unknown	No traceable release date.	Rare. Expect us to follow up before delivery.

A date alone doesn't say how reliable it is: 1974-01-01 could mean “released on New Year's Day 1974” or “we only know the year”. Outlets treat those very differently, so be explicit.

Two things to keep in mind. Accurate is mandatory for anything released after 1 January 2020, since recent releases are expected to have a documented, exact date. And don't claim more precision than you actually have: choosing Accurate on a guessed date is worse than honestly choosing Year, because a wrongly precise date can end up baked into discographies and year-end recaps, while an honest Year is handled correctly by outlets.

Only choose Unknown when there's genuinely no traceable first release date. Expect us to follow up, since most catalogue does have a documented date somewhere.

Not allowed: a date that doesn't exist (e.g. 2020-02-30), or a date later than the release date of the product itself.

Which date applies to remasters, compilations, remixes and other special cases?

Here's what date to use for common release types:

Release type	Which date to use
Compilations / soundtracks	Album: the date the compilation was released. Each track: the date that track was first released. Different dates within one product are normal here.
Deluxe / extended editions	The date the deluxe edition itself was released. Tracks carried over from the standard edition keep their original dates.
Instrumental	The date the instrumental version was released, not the date of the vocal version.
Karaoke / cover / tribute	The date that version was released. The date of the original song doesn't apply, since this is a new recording.
Live	The date the live recording was released, not the date of the performance.
Medleys / continuous mixes	The date the mix was released, as a new product in its own right.
Remastered	The date of the original release. Put the remaster year in the version title instead (e.g. “2026 Remaster”).
Remixes	The date the remix was released, even when the underlying recording is decades older.
Re-recorded	The date the re-recording was released. Mark it in the version title so it isn't mistaken for the original.
Re-released (e.g. anniversary editions)	Album level: the original release date. Any newly added tracks: their own, later date.
Stereo / mono	One date for both versions, the original release date, regardless of when each mix actually came out.
Unreleased / archive material	The date it's finally made available to the public, never the recording date.

How do we check this, and what if my release gets flagged?

Before a delivery goes out, we automatically validate the original release date:

The date exists (2020-02-30 is refused).
It isn't later than the release date of the product itself.
The format is supported (YYYY-MM-DD, or YYYY-MM / YYYY only when a fuller date isn't known).
The date accuracy matches the date (e.g. a post-2020 release must be marked Accurate).

A flag isn't a rejection. It just means the combination is unusual enough that we want to confirm it before it reaches the outlets. An incorrect original release date is hard to fix once it's been absorbed into a discography and the recommendations built on it.

If your release is flagged, we'll contact you and ask for a short explanation or supporting evidence (for example the original catalogue number or acquisition documentation). The release stays with us until we hear back, which can delay delivery to the DSPs, so please respond quickly. If the date turns out to be wrong, we'll correct it together before it goes out.

You can avoid this delay entirely: fill in the original release date and the ℗/© lines correctly from the start, add a note if you already know a gap is intentional (for example a 2026 edition of a 1974 recording), and plan catalogue deliveries with enough lead time.

Corrections aren't automatic once a release is live. They have to be redelivered per outlet, and each outlet processes them at its own pace. It's much cheaper to get the date right the first time.