When adding your release to the EmuBands dashboard area we’ll ask for two pieces of information with regards to your release date, under the ‘Availability & Pricing Information’ section; ‘Release Date’, and ‘Original Release Date’. So what is the difference?
Release Date
This is the date you would like the release to be made available on your chosen digital platforms. It is worth taking into consideration how long it takes for digital services to process your release after we distribute it to them, if you’d like the release to show on all services on the same date.
If you’d like the release to be made available as soon as the platforms complete processing it, simply enter today’s date in the ‘General Release Date’ box.
Original Release Date
After you’ve entered the General Release Date, you’ll be asked ‘Has This Release Been Made Available Before?‘ – this is because digital platforms need distributors to let them know if this is the first time this specific release has been made available to the public. This includes both digital and physical versions of the release. You should enter the earliest date your release has ever been made available before, in any format.
So, for example, if you first released an album in CD format on 2nd January 2012, but never got round to putting it on digital platforms, then you should enter 2nd January 2012 in the ‘Original Release Date’ box when you are adding this album to the EmuBands dashboard.
It’s important to make sure you’re giving us the most accurate information possible. Digital platforms get their Original Release Date information from a number of different sources, including distributors. If they think the original release date you have given us is incorrect, it can cause your release to be delayed.
If you have any doubts about what your Original Release Date might be, simply speak with your account manager and they’ll be happy to advise you.