RouteNote Troubleshooters: What audio file formats can I upload?

By Jacca-RouteNoteJanuary 17, 20202 mins read

When you’re uploading your music to RouteNote it’s important that you upload your music in a file format that we accept.

Whether you’re releasing your music with us for free or you’re using our Premium platform; there are two types of audio file that we accept.

You can upload your music in MP3 as long as the sample rate is 320Kbps or higher. You can also upload your music in FLAC format.

If you’re having any trouble uploading your audio check out our Troubleshooter for that here.

If you’re still having issues our friendly support team will be happy to help you out so just send them a message at support@routenote.com.

Join the conversation

12 replies

Enric Boro says:

November 7, 2020 at 3:56 pm

Hey um My file is mp3 already with 320kbs but still it doesn’t support why?

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  November 9, 2020 at 1:00 pm
  
  If your audio file is not uploading during the releases’ creation process there are a few ways you can fix the issue. Before you try these please clear your internet history or try an alternate browser:
  
  1. Metadata Removal
  
  You will need to remove all metadata, including artwork, that is attached to your audio
  
  You can do this easily on a PC, here’s a link that will walk you through this
  
  ttps://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-pictures/how-to-add-and-delete-image-files-from-mp3-files/5cdf8ee3-f7b3-4020-8cd8-bf58393b7108
  
  If you are using a Mac you can get an app from the store called ‘Tag stripper’ and this will remove your metadata
  
  Our tools section has some great sites that can help you here too https://routenote.com/tools
  
  2. File name conflicts
  
  While we work to enable all special symbols to be accepted by our system sometimes conflicts can arise. If your file name is particularly long or has special characters try renaming the track to something simpler before uploading.
  
  3. Track bit rate
  
  If you are receiving the error
  
  ‘The selected file can not be uploaded, because Bitrate of mp3 is not greater than or equal to 320kbps and sample rate invalid. MP3 sample rate must be set to 44.1kHz.. Track 1 is broken’
  
  Or believe your track Bit rate is lower than required (320 Kbps) then you will need to change the bit rate of your track.
  
  You can do this via the desktop version of iTunes:
  
  https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204310 or head to the tools section on your RouteNote account and check out some resources there https://routenote.com/tools
  
  If you’re still having difficulty here, please attach one of your files in an email to support@routenote.com along with the UPC you’re using, and we’ll try to identify the issue for you
  
  Reply
Zedes L says:

August 17, 2021 at 5:39 pm

Hi, I am looking at distributing services and your services are in one of my considerations. Couple of questions before I sign up. According to your troubleshoot site, its stated that we can upload mp3 of 320Kbps or higher as well as FLAC. What about to services like Tidal and Apple Music that currently supports lossless format with higher sample rate (48khz above)? Does your service supports uploading in lossless format?

And secondly, what is the recommended LUFS to upload on your services, since different platforms have different requirement (example: -14LUFS on Spotify and -16LUFS on Apple Music).

Would be glad if you could help me with this few questions I have before making up my mind to use your distributing services, as it seems like a fantastic way to get my music out to multiple platform in one go. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  August 18, 2021 at 10:44 am
  
  Hi Zedes, at the moment the sample rate we accept is 44.1kHz. Regarding the recommended LUFS, as they are different I would recommend exporting based on the platform your audience is primarily on so that your main listener-base has the best experience. It shouldn’t make too dramatic a difference between platforms. You also have the option to create separate releases of the same track with alternate LUFS and then select the appropriate platforms based on their loudness normalisation.
  
  If there’s anything else you’d like to know or that we can help with, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
  
  Reply
  1. Nam Thanh says:
    
    February 13, 2022 at 9:12 am
    
    Why is Routenote so different. Other providers all reject the MP3 format and ask for the WAV format. But Routenote rejects WAV.Stores like Apple Music always demand high quality sound for distribution. And one more thing, I have uploaded the required MP3 format but there is an error. Please answer these two questions for me . Thank you !
    
    Reply
    1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
      
      February 14, 2022 at 9:39 am
      
      Hi, we accept MP3 as an easy solution for artists to upload their music in a format recognised by most music services and we also accept FLAC files for high quality uploads. If you have an error or issue with your release and have any questions about it you can get in touch with us at support@routenote.com for assistance.
      
      Reply
      1. Suspended Solitude says:
        
        January 2, 2024 at 11:22 am
        
        In the near future, please add WAV files to your format selection. Everybody uses WAV or AIFF files to produce music with for the best sound quality. It’s tedious to format everything to FLAC. Both FLAC and MP3 are lossless formats, meaning they are compressed. No matter how high you set the quality settings, it is still compressed. Is there a way for me to go into Spotify and other places to change the file format myself? I know you can do it with Soundcloud, as the tracks uploaded are already in a WAV format.
      2. Jacca-RouteNote says:
        
        January 2, 2024 at 12:58 pm
        
        Hey, thanks for your comment and it’s good to hear the you’d appreciate more format options. I’ll pass it on to them team. Just a correction, MP3 is not lossless. FLAC is lossless and this means there is no loss in audio quality. We offer MP3 and FLAC so that there are both lossy and lossless options.
        There’s no way to edit your file format on streaming services once it has been uploaded.
John says:

February 21, 2022 at 11:45 pm

Hi, just fyi, when I google about preparing audio for RouteNote, the first article that comes up is outdated on its audio and cover file requirements compared to this one.
Perhaps you should take down this one (https://routenote.com/blog/what-file-formats-should-i-prepare-for-uploading/#:~:text=Audio%3A%20RouteNote%20can%20only%20accept,jpeg%2F.).

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  February 23, 2022 at 9:54 am
  
  Hey John, thanks for notifying us. We’ve fixed that now, hopefully this article should appear higher in the results soon.
  
  Reply
Abhay says:

December 23, 2023 at 4:23 pm

having this big issues! I have recorded my complete song in 48k and now when I upload it for distribution it says the bitrate is too high, now how do I downsample without ruining the song? downsample is going to cause artifacts and what not, I am already suffering from anxiety and now this

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  December 28, 2023 at 1:27 pm
  
  Hey Abhay, sorry to hear about your issues with upload. Please let us know at support@routenote.com so our Support team can help you to get your audio uploaded.
  
  Reply

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