Understanding Violation Codes in Distribution Reports

Modified on Wed, 8 Oct at 5:38 PM

Understanding Violation Codes in Distribution Reports

Effective October 2025

As of October 2025, your Distribution Reports and CSV exports will include a new column: Violation Codes.

This update improves visibility into how royalties are calculated and why revenue may be withheld.

Violation Codes help identify which revenue lines were flagged for issues such as copyright conflicts, metadata manipulation, or streaming anomalies.

What’s Changing

New Column: Violation Codes

A new column will appear at the end of your CSV exports. It contains a short code (2–3 letters) that flags any sale line where revenue has been withheld due to a violation.

Removed Columns: Opening Balance and Closing Balance

These fields are no longer used in current royalty calculations and have been removed for clarity.

How Violation Codes Work

If a sale line in your report contains a Violation Code, this means the revenue for that line has been flagged and is not included in your payout.

Violation Codes are applied as part of a Trust & Safety review process. In some cases, flagged lines may be reinstated if the issue is resolved.

This data is now included directly in your reports to help you:

Review and identify withheld revenue
Filter by violation type or affected asset
Analyze patterns across your catalog, artists, or clients

Each sales line will only contain one Violation Code. If multiple issues are detected, the most serious category is used.

Violation Code Reference

Code	Description	Common Examples	Revenue Action
QO	Questionable Ownership – There is cause to doubt that the account is the legitimate rights holder of the music content. The metadata may appear accurate, but the uploader may not have rights to the content.	A user uploads tracks from The Beatles, ABBA, and Carlos Santana with no indication of ownership.	Withheld from all DSPs
ARI	Artist Imposture – Metadata is manipulated to deceive listeners into thinking content is by another artist. Slight changes to spelling or naming conventions are common.	A song is uploaded under the name “Beyoncè” to mislead listeners into thinking it is by Beyoncé.	Withheld from all DSPs
SRF	Sound Recording Fraud – The audio file does not match the metadata or is unrelated to the claimed track.	A track labeled “Blue Monday” is actually “Let It Be” by The Beatles.	Withheld from all DSPs
NL	Needs License – A copyrighted component (vocals, melody, sample, etc.) is used without a license. Applies to remixes, karaoke, lo-fi edits, sped-up/slowed-down versions.	An artist uploads a sped-up version of a well-known song without proof of permission.	Withheld from all DSPs
CON	Content Violation – The content violates DSP or platform guidelines, such as hate speech or self-harm references.	—	Withheld from all DSPs
ART	Violative Artwork – Artwork violates copyright or DSP guidelines around decency, hate, or other restrictions.	Use of cartoon characters, logos, or graphic content in cover art.	Withheld from all DSPs
FA	Fraudulent Account – The account has a pattern of repeated violations and is no longer considered trustworthy.	A user with a history of infringing uploads.	Withheld from all DSPs
UGC	Ineligible for UGC DSPs – The audio triggers conflicts with UGC content identification systems (e.g., TikTok, YouTube, Meta). Often caused by overly similar cover versions or reused royalty-free beats.	A royalty-free beat causes false claims against unrelated creators.	Withheld from UGC DSPs: TikTok, Meta, YouTube CID, Snap
CID	CID Violation – The content abuses YouTube Content ID to claim unrelated material, violating monetization policies.	A track falsely claims videos of a cartoon or Bob Marley compilation it is not part of.	Withheld from CID only
AS	Artificial Streaming – Streaming data indicates potentially non-organic activity, such as bots or paid streams.	A song experiences a sudden spike in streams without any social engagement or fan growth.	Withheld from some DSPs (ad hoc)

What You Need to Know

Any line with a Violation Code has already been excluded from your payout.
These flags appear directly in your downloadable CSV.
If a violation is cleared, the associated revenue may be reinstated in a future statement.