AWAL adheres to the iTunes Store Music Style Guidelines when inspecting releases for delivery to the digital services.
We encourage you to first review Apple’s asset specifications before beginning the upload process. This will help prevent your product from potentially getting queried by our Operations team and ensures delays are avoided in your release schedule.
We've put together examples below of common issues with artwork that we cannot accept.
Note: In addition to the examples mentioned in this article, there may be more instances where amendments are required before your release art can be approved.
Extra Text
All of the text featured on your artwork must match your product metadata. Any text that has not been recorded in the release metadata must be removed from the image or it will not be accepted for delivery.
In the example above, the artist added the extra text, ‘timbleweed records presents’, which would need to be removed first to be approved.
If the additional text on your artwork is lyrics from the tracks on your release, please get in touch via the Contact Us page in your Portal for further assistance.
Low-Resolution Images
Your artwork must not be blurry, pixelated, mismatched, misaligned, rotated, or have other quality issues. Pro Tip: Check that your cover art is not pixelated at 100% zoom.
Uneven & White Borders
Artwork must have a border size that is equal across all four sides. The image must fill to the edges unless it is a central, perfect square. Additionally, we cannot accept white borders due to display issues on digital services.
Physical Products and Social Media References
Your artwork should not contain references to anything outside of the artist content and metadata. This includes social media handles or logos, mention of physical products such as CD1, Side A, RPM, or any outlets the release may be available from. AWAL also does not accept artwork containing a barcode that does not match the digital barcode.
For the latest information on cover artwork requirements, see our support article here.