Overview
The release wizard has four steps, shown along the top:
Create — release details and artwork
Upload — tracks, scheduling, and optional metadata
Review — confirm everything
Publish — choose how to sell it (covered separately — see Next steps)
Throughout the wizard you'll see: "This information & artwork is encoded into your tracks. Please be as accurate as possible." Take the reminder seriously — this metadata travels with your files.
1. Start a new release and pick a type
Go to Digital Delivery → Create Digital Release. You'll be asked which type of release to create:
Album, EP, or Single — a standard music release or pre-order. You don't need all assets before publishing a pre-order. Eligible sales report to Billboard, OCC, and ARIA.
Instant Grat Tracks — attach instant-grat tracks to physical formats like CD or Vinyl. The digital components won't report on their own, but can be associated with a charting physical album. For the full setup — including the fulfillment and reporting settings — see Attach Instant Grat / Pre-Release Tracks to a Physical Album.
For a normal digital album, choose Album, EP, or Single.
2. Create — release details
Fill in the core details for the release:
Artwork — drag and drop or Browse to upload. JPG or PNG, 1400 x 1400 minimum resolution.
Release Title
Main Artists — search for an existing artist or create a new one.
Release Date and Release Time (ET)
Primary Genre
Release Price (USD)
Click Continue.
3. Upload — add tracks and details
On the Upload step you'll add your audio and fine-tune the release.
Upload your tracks
In the Tracklist section, drag and drop or click to bulk-upload your audio files. WAV, AIFF, or FLAC required, each file under 750 MB. Each uploaded file becomes a track in the list.
Edit a track's details
Click Edit on any track to open its detail page. The breadcrumb at the top shows where you are (Digital Delivery → [Release] → Track 1), and Save and Delete sit in the top-right corner.
Track Info
Titles, artists, and credits entered here are what fans see in the audio player.
Track Title — required.
Main Artists — required. Search for an existing artist or create a new one.
Featured Artists — optional.
Explicit Content — toggle on if the track contains explicit lyrics.
Source File — the audio file you uploaded. Read-only.
Track Preview
Choose whether fans can hear part of the track before the release date. Previews require the Tracklist Player block in your theme — see "Adding the tracklist block to your Shopify Product templates."
30s Preview On — fans can stream the first 30 seconds wherever the Tracklist Player sits in your theme. The full track stays locked until the release date.
Preview Off — the track is silent in the Tracklist Player. Fans hear nothing until they purchase the release.
Scheduling
Set the Track Release Date and Track Release Time (ET) for this track. Every track can have its own date, as long as it falls on or before the album release date.
Additional Metadata
Expand Additional Metadata for the remaining per-track fields, including ISRC, Price, and Album Only Track.
Click Save when you're done, then return to the Tracklist to edit the next track.
4. Review — confirm the details
The Review step shows a summary so you can double-check everything before publishing.
Note: Once a release has been submitted you won't be able to add additional tracks — but you can still edit existing tracks.
Confirm the release details (UPC/EAN, release date, presale date, availability, genre) and the Tracklist (title, track release date, track price). Use Edit Info or Edit Tracklist to make changes, or Expand All to see full track details.
When everything looks right, click Ready to Publish.
Next steps - publishing your release
Clicking Ready to Publish takes you to the Publish step, where you choose how to sell the release to fans. Pick the guide that matches what you're doing:
Selling the album as its own product page — see Selling a Digital Release as a standalone Product in Shopify.
Selling it as a format alongside vinyl/CD on one page — see Adding a "Digital" variant to an existing Product in Shopify.
Want fans to see the songs on the product page? See Adding the tracklist block to your Shopify Product templates.