Songs Taken Down? Here's How to Reupload & Keep Streams

Imagine waking up to find your song gone from Spotify. No warning. No explanation. Just… gone. The streams you worked so hard for? Vanished. The playlist placements? Erased. The momentum? Dead.

For independent artists, this is one of the most gut-wrenching experiences in music. But here’s the thing - it’s not always Spotify’s fault.

In most cases, your distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, etc.) is the one that removed your song. And while it feels like your career just got sucker-punched, there’s good news: you can get your song back up - without losing your streams.

Before We Dive In…

If you’re an indie artist looking to grow your audience, Pitch-Us offers powerful services that take the guesswork out of music promotion. From Spotify playlist pitching to social media growth campaigns, we connect your music with real listeners, so you can focus on what matters - creating.

Here’s How Pitch-Us Helps You Break Through:

🎵Spotify Playlist Pitching – We connect your tracks with real, engaged curators, ensuring guaranteed placements so your music reaches the right ears.

📢 Spotify Algo Campaigns – Grow your playlist’s audience with targeted promotions, driving 1000s daily streams from genuine listeners.

📲 Instagram & TikTok Growth – Boost your social presence with real followers and engagement, helping you grow an audience that sticks with you for future releases.

Don’t let your music go unheard. Get started with Pitch-Us today and take your career to the next level!

Why Do Songs Get Taken Down?

Before we fix the problem, let’s understand why it happens. Here are the most common reasons distributors remove music:

Your Distributor Stopped Paying You – Some distributors have been caught holding back artist royalties or engaging in questionable payment practices. If they get flagged, they might remove songs to avoid paying out.
You Couldn’t Pay the Distribution Fee – Some distributors (like TuneCore) require yearly payments. If you miss a payment, they pull your music.
A Copyright or Licensing Issue – If there’s a sample issue, copyright claim, or dispute over rights, your distributor may take the song down.
Spotify’s Anti-Fraud System Flagged Your Track – While rare, sometimes Spotify detects unusual activity and forces a takedown. However, this is usually done through the distributor, not Spotify itself.

How to Get Your Song Back Up (With the Same Streams!)

Here’s the key: when you re-upload your song, you need to make sure Spotify recognizes it as the same track. This is how you keep all your streams, saves, and playlist spots intact.

Follow these steps:

✅ Use the same ISRC code – The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is like a fingerprint for your song. It tells Spotify, “This is the same track, just re-uploaded.” You can find your old ISRC in your previous distributor’s dashboard. If you don’t have access, search your song and artist name on an ISRC database.

✅ Keep the same metadata – The song title, artist name, and track length must match exactly with the original release. Even a small change (like adding “Remastered” to the title) could cause Spotify to see it as a new song.

✅ Re-upload through a new distributor (if needed) – If your previous distributor took your song down unfairly, switch to a more reliable one. Services like DistroKid, UnitedMasters, or Amuse offer fast distribution and don’t charge yearly fees.

✅ Set the original release date – When you upload your song, set the release date to match your first upload. This tells Spotify that it’s a re-upload, not a brand-new release.

Avoiding Future Takedowns - The Multi-Distro Strategy

Here’s a pro tip most major labels use: upload your music through multiple distributors.

Why? Because if one distro removes your song, you’ve got a backup.

Some distributors allow this, while others don’t, so check their policies. But having your music available through more than one service ensures that even if one distro has issues, your song stays online and keeps making money.

Pro Tip - Use the Waterfall Release Strategy

While we’re on the topic of smart release tactics, here’s one that can boost your streams and keep fans engaged for months: the Waterfall Release Strategy.

Instead of dropping a full album all at once, you release singles one by one, slowly building up to the full project. Each time you release a new song, you include the previous ones in the same release.

Example:

Week 1: Release Song 1
Week 3: Release Song 2 (but also include Song 1)
Week 5: Release Song 3 (now it has Song 1 + Song 2 attached)

By the time your album is fully released, each song has already been gaining streams without starting from zero. This method helps keep your songs fresh on playlists and tricks the algorithm into pushing your music longer.

Take Control of Your Music

Losing a song to a distributor takedown can feel like getting robbed in broad daylight. But now you know the industry secrets to get your music back without losing your streams.

✅ Keep track of your ISRC codes
✅ Upload through multiple distributors for security
✅ Use the Waterfall Strategy to boost streams

Your music deserves to stay up. Now you have the tools to make sure it does.

Songs Taken Down? Here’s How to Reupload Them With All Your Streams