This article explains the requirements and best practices for migrating music assets to the FUGA Interface on YouTube. You will learn about Art Track behavior during transfers, the necessary redelivery process, and how to maintain historical performance data on YouTube Music.
YouTube Art Track Behavior
Unlike Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Spotify that can often preserve play counts through Track linking, YouTube treats migrated Art Tracks as entirely new assets. This means that a migration will create new Art Track videos with unique video IDs.
Note: This will create new Art Track videos with new video IDs and new view counts starting from 0. Views from the old Art Track asset are lost and cannot be transferred to the new Art Track video. However, YouTube Music is generally able to retain a release's historical performance—such as its presence in user libraries and playlists—provided that the metadata remains identical across deliveries.
Art Track Redelivery Process
Art Track assets cannot be transferred directly between Content Managers. To ensure catalog availability and minimize data loss, all Art Tracks must be redelivered. The following steps must be completed in the correct order:
Redeliver Assets: Deliver all content via the standard distribution workflow in the FUGA Interface.
Allow for Lead Time: It is recommended to provide a significant lead time (at least two weeks) before the intended publication date. This ensures the content is processed and allows for the possibility of products needing to go through FUGA Quality Control (QC).
Maintain Metadata Consistency: Use the exact same International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and Universal Product Code (UPC) used in the original delivery to ensure the content remains in algorithmic and user-created playlists.
Transferring Partner Takedown: Once the new versions are successfully delivered, the transferring partner should issue takedown requests for the old assets. To account for global time zone differences, the end date for these assets should be set at least two days in the past.
Migration Best Practices
For large catalog migrations, it is recommended to batch redeliveries over several days to ensure a smooth ingestion process.
If you encounter issues with Art Track surfacing or require assistance with high-volume transfers, contact your FUGA representative or reach out via our support channel at support@fuga.com.