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How do I upload my audio?

  • Updated

If you're ready to upload your audio files to your release, you'll need to know what specifications are required. Don't worry, we've got you covered! Below, you'll find what file types we can accept, as well as step-by-step instructions to upload your audio and to troubleshoot any issues that you may encounter.

 

Audio requirements

  • High quality files in either WAV or FLAC
    • You can also upload MP3 files, though we don't recommend it.  
  • Stereo
  • 44.1 kHz sample rate
  • 16bit
  • File names can only include letters & numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). 
    •  Any other special characters ( !,@,#,$,%,^,&,*,?,+,=,~,/,<,>,\ ) may cause problems.

How to upload audio

  • Log in to your account.
  • Click Album & Singles tab at the top of the page.
  • Click the "view/edit" button to the right of your release title.
  • On the Title Overview page, click the "Tracks & Audio" tab.
  • Click "Add/Edit Audio"
  • On the following page, select "choose file" to select and upload your audio to any applicable tracks. You can also remove audio you've uploaded previously, if needed, and choose a new file. audio upload screenshot.png
  • Click "Save and continue" at the bottom of the page to proceed!

 

What if my track won't upload?

Check the properties of your audio files:

  • Right-click on your file on your device.
  • Select "Properties" in the drop-down menu (Windows) or "Get Info" (Mac).
  • In the "General" tab, check your "Type of File" and make sure it says .WAV, .FLAC, or .MP3.
  • Under the "Details" tab, scroll down to "Bitrate." Make sure you have a bitrate of 1,411.2 Kbps if WAV, or 320 kbps if MP3, meaning your file is 16-bit with 44.1 kHz. 
  • If your file type doesn't match what is listed above, you'll need to reformat your audio before you upload it.

What if I'm still having trouble?

  • If you're still having trouble after checking properties and allowing enough time to upload, you can use this form to send us a link to your audio files using a file transfer service (e.g. WeTransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).

 

Why shouldn't I use MP3s?

  • When we send your files to our digital partners, we encode your files into many different formats to meet their requirements. There can be quality loss in the formats we encode to, so starting out with the highest quality format as possible is recommended. 
  • MP3s are an inherently lower quality file format than WAV or FLAC. This existing quality loss gets delivered along with any additional quality loss from encoding. This isn't ideal. To ensure the best version of your audio makes it to our partners, use a higher quality format from the start!

 

Does CD Baby offer ADM (Apple Digital Masters)?

  • CD Baby no longer offers Apple Digital Masters service as of February 2025. All audio must conform to the specifications listed above in order to be distributed through CD Baby.

Will the metadata embedded in my audio files remain after processing?

No. Any metadata you have embedded in your audio files will be not be retained once we complete our processing. This is true if we pull the audio from your CD or if you upload your content to us directly. 

 

Things to note

  • Your tracks must meet all of these requirements before we can begin processing your release. If there are any problems, we will email you immediately so you can upload new audio.
  • Due to the closure of our warehouse and retirement of our physical distribution service in 2023, we are no longer able to receive physical CDs for audio ripping, cover art scans, or physical sale.

 

 

 


 

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