Your quality score
What your HILLS Music quality score measures, how releases sent back, store refusals and rights takedowns affect it, and how to raise it.
Updated
Your quality score shows how reliably your releases pass review first time and stay on the stores, from 0 to 100%. You find it on your Dashboard, as Your quality score, with a short breakdown and tips for the issues that keep coming back.
Partners see a score for their whole catalog and one for each label and artist under them. A label, an artist or a direct account sees its own.
What it measures
The score looks at the last 12 months, and recent releases weigh more than older ones: a release decided six months ago counts half as much as one decided today.
It starts from your approval rate: the share of your releases that were approved the first time they were reviewed. Then points come off for:
| In the breakdown | What it is |
|---|---|
| Sent back | A release sent back again after a first send-back |
| File checks that blocked | A serious problem found in a submitted release’s files |
| Refused by a store | A store refused the release after delivery (unless the store or HILLS must fix it) |
| Taken down for rights | A takedown for a rights or copyright problem, or a lost ownership dispute |
Each kind can only take off so much, so one bad month doesn’t sink a good record. A small performance bonus is added for releases that stream well.
You need at least five releases with a review decision in the window for a score. Until then it shows New.
What it doesn’t do
The score never approves a release, never fast-tracks one past review, and never stops you submitting. It’s there to show you where releases go wrong, so you can fix the cause.
Most common issues
The card lists your most common issues with a tip for each. The ones we see most:
| Issue | Tip |
|---|---|
| Artwork had text, a web address or a logo on it | Keep only the title and artist name on the cover. |
| Artwork wasn’t sharp or the right size | Send the original: square, 3000 × 3000 px, RGB, never upscaled. |
| Audio had a problem (clipping, silence, format) | Send the original WAV or FLAC master, 44.1 kHz and 16-bit or better. |
| The explicit flag was missing | Mark every track with explicit lyrics as explicit. |
| Artist or songwriter credits were missing or wrong | Credit every featured artist and use songwriters’ legal names. |
| The release date was too close | Submit at least two weeks before release day, so the stores and pitching have time. |
| Titles or release details weren’t in store style | Use title case and put versions such as Remix or Live in the version field. |
| A release already in the catalog was sent again | Edit the existing release instead of sending it again. |
| Rights or copyright problems | Only submit recordings and samples you own or have licensed. |
How to raise it
- Read the reason on every release that comes back with Changes requested, and fix everything it lists before you resubmit.
- Check the Metadata style guide, Artwork requirements and Audio requirements before you submit.
- Use the Review tab’s checklist, including its warnings.
- Only release music you have the rights to.
Because recent releases weigh most, a few clean releases in a row lift the score quickly.
Common questions
- Why does my score say New?
- A score appears once at least five of your releases have had a review decision in the last 12 months. Until then it shows New.
- Does a high score mean my releases are approved automatically?
- No. The score never approves a release or lets one skip review. Every release is checked.
- Does a takedown always lower my score?
- Only a takedown for a rights or copyright problem counts. A takedown because a licence ended or the artist asked doesn't.