Asset Requirements for Digital Releases

The quality of all releases distributed through Endelium is of the utmost importance to us. In order to maintain our high standards and comply with Digital Service Provider requirements, we have devised the following asset requirements with which all releases must comply.

Should you have any questions about these or anything else, please speak with your Account Manager or contact us and we'd be glad to help.


Audio Files

Format PCM / WAV
Bit Depth 16-bit or 24-bit (24-bit preferred)
Sample Rate 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz (96 kHz and above preferred)
LUFS Between -12 and -14 LUFS recommended target
Not a hard requirement, and discouraged for highly-dynamic tracks

 

  • Masters should be provided at the native Sample Rate in which they were recorded. Please do not up/downsample.
  • Bext chunks may optionally be embedded, but this is not a requirement.

Please inform us if your Mastering Engineer is on Apple's Certified Mastering Studio (MFiT) list, as this will allow us to mark the release as "Mastered for iTunes" / as an "Apple Digital Master".

Artwork

Size 3000 x 3000 pixels (1:1)
Resolution Minimum: 72 dpi
Recommended: 300 dpi
Colour Mode RGB - not CMYK
Format JPEG
Filesize Maximum: 50 MiB

Additional Requirements

  • The title presented on the artwork MUST match that in the metadata
  • Must not contain time-related information (e.g. the release date, "Exclusive", "Out Now", etc.)
  • Must not contain UPCs, QR codes or any other kind of barcode
  • Must not contain website addresses
  • Must not contain logos or trademarks for which you do not have the rights to use
  • Must not contain social media handles
  • Must not reference physical packaging medium (e.g. "Compact Disc" mark)
  • Must not contain inappropriate / adult imagery

File Naming Convention

Adhering to the following file naming convention will aid you and us in keeping files for your releases organised. This is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.

We suggest that you have a base folder in which to store all of your releases (e.g. "Releases"). Within this, you should have a folder per release, named "<Cat Num> <Release Title>" (e.g. "ENDCD-1009 A Season to Sing"), which will house all of your assets for the release. Optionally within that, you can have an Assets folder which will house all the files that are distributed, leaving room for any other internal files that you need for the release (e.g. booklets, press releases, social media assets, etc.).

Within the folder that is submitted to us, you can optionally create sub-folders for audio, lyrics and artwork - this will be helpful for large albums, but will not be necessary for the vast majority of singles and EPs.

The naming of individual files is perhaps more important than the folder directory itself, and we suggest the following:

Asset Suggestion Example
Audio Files CatNum_CDNum_TrNum_TrTitle_BD-SR.wav ENDCD-1009_01_11_WinterFreeze_24-48
Artwork CatNum_ReleaseTitle_Cvr.jpeg ENDCD-1009_ASeasonToSing_Cvr.jpeg
Lyrics CatNum_CDNum_TrNum_TrTitle_Lyr.txt ENDCD-1009_01_11_WinterFreeze_Lyr.txt

 

This will make it much easier to find the files that you need, and will ensure that they are displayed in the correct order.

Article Details

Article ID:
1