How To Resolve Spotify Watchlist Matches

Overview

Spotify maintains an internal Watchlist of high-profile artists that require extra verification before their music can be distributed live. When distributing to Spotify, if an artist on a release matches an artist on this Watchlist, the release may be held in review and require your distributor to confirm the rights to distribute music by the artist before it can go live.

This process is now flagged directly in Revelator’s inspection flow, allowing inspectors to see potential issues early and take the required action before delivering to Spotify under your own Direct deal, via Merlin, or with us.

This helps reduce last-minute delays while keeping Spotify deliveries compliant and error-free.

Who This Applies To

1. Your workspace account has access to release inspection.
2. A release has been flagged with an artist match on Spotify's Watchlist

Client accounts and portal payees do not get access to inspection, and therefore cannot resolve watchlist issues themselves. However, when a release is failed & returned, it can be tagged with a Watchlist-related reason that is visible to all.

What Happens if Artist Match Is Flagged?

We automatically check artists against Spotify’s Watchlist whenever a release is submitted for distribution.

If a match occurs, it may be triggered by:

• The artist’s name, and/or
• The artist’s Spotify profile URI

Matches can occur at:

• The release level artists, and/or

• The track-level artists

  (However, only artists with key roles such as, Main Primary Artist, Primary Artist, Featuring, With, and Remixer will require checking)
  
  

If You Distribute to Spotify via Revelator’s Spotify Deal

An artist match will appear as an issue in Release Inspection. The release cannot be approved for distribution until all watchlist issues have been resolved.

The inspector must review the matched artist and confirm one of the following options:

• I have rights to distribute this release
• I have rights to distribute all current and future releases by this artist
• This artist is not the same as the one on Spotify’s Watchlist

Once a response is submitted:

• The Watchlist issue is resolved in Release Inspection
• The release can proceed to approval

Important: Even after approval, Spotify may still review the release before it goes live. Revelator does not receive status updates during Spotify’s review, but the submitted response allows our team to handle the clearance process efficiently.

If You Use a Direct or Merlin Spotify Deal

• An artist match will appear as a warning in Release Inspection
• The release can still be approved and distributed, as you are using your own direct deal or Merlin deal.
• If you do proceed with approval, the release will still be held in review by Spotify, and you or your deal owner must resolve it directly in their Spotify for Music Providers dashboard, according to your existing Spotify Watchlist workflow.

Returning a Release to the Client

In either case (Direct/Merlin deal or Revelator’s deal), if the inspector cannot confirm rights:

• The release can be failed and returned to the client,
• A specific return reason related to the Spotify Watchlist matches can be selected, and
• The client must correct the issue by changing the artist and resubmitting the release for distribution again

Important Notes & Limitations

• In both cases when a release is flagged with a match on Spotify’s Watchlist, the release will still need to be cleared by the deal owner from their held in review queue on the Spotify for Music Providers dashboard.
• Spotify will make the final decision on all reviews.
• Revelator does not automatically clear releases to Spotify under our deal, but instead will rely on inspector responses submitted via inspection in order to clear a release on the Spotify for Music Providers dashboard.
• If further information is ever required, a member of our Trust & Safety team will reach out to you directly.
• Revelator is not able to receive status updates when Spotify holds a release for review.
• For clients with direct or Merlin Spotify deals, warnings cannot be resolved inside Revelator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I seeing this for a well-known artist?

Spotify’s Watchlist is not limited to fraudulent activity. It does include high-profile artists, name similarities, or profiles that require additional verification to ensure compliance.

Does this prevent my release from going live?

Yes, if you distribute via Revelator’s Spotify deal and the Watchlist match has not been resolved.

For clients using Direct or Merlin Spotify deals, releases can still be delivered, but will be held in review by Spotify for the deal owner to clear on the Spotify for Music Providers dashboard.

Does this apply if Spotify is not selected as a DSP?

You may still see a warning when not distributing to Spotify. This is for your information only, and no action is required unless you plan to distribute the release to Spotify in the future.