What Happens After You Submit a Cover Song: A Walkthrough of the Review Process

You’ve picked the song, recorded your version, written the metadata, and hit submit. Now what? For a lot of independent artists, the review process between upload and go-live feels like a black box. This walkthrough breaks down exactly what happens behind the scenes when you release a cover song through Globex Music in 2026, step by step, so you know what to expect and when.

Step 1: Your Upload Enters the Queue

The moment you finish submitting your cover song — audio file, artwork, metadata, and original song details — it lands in the moderation queue. This is the same queue every release goes through, whether it’s an original track or a cover. At this stage, the system checks that your files meet technical requirements: correct audio format, artwork resolution, and complete metadata fields including the original songwriter and publisher information for your cover.

This is also where the low price per release comes into play. At $1 per single, there’s no reason to bundle covers together or hold off on releasing one to save money — you can submit as many as you want, whenever they’re ready.

Step 2: Automatic Mechanical Licensing Kicks In

Because cover songs require mechanical licensing before they can be distributed legally, this is the step that trips up a lot of artists who try to handle things manually. With Globex Music, mechanical licensing for cover songs is built directly into the submission flow — you don’t need to track down a separate licensing service or file paperwork on your own. The system handles the licensing process for you as part of your release, so there’s no extra stop-and-wait step outside the normal moderation timeline.

Step 3: Human and Automated Moderation Review

Your release then goes through moderation review, combining automated checks with human review for accuracy. Moderators are confirming a few key things:

The audio quality meets platform standards
Metadata matches the original song correctly (title, songwriter credit, etc.)
Artwork follows platform guidelines (no unauthorized logos, no misleading text)
The release doesn’t infringe on trademarks or contain restricted content

This is one of the biggest advantages of choosing a distributor built around fast turnaround. Instead of waiting a week or more, most cover releases clear moderation quickly, which matters a lot if you’re trying to time a release around a trend, an anniversary, or a viral moment tied to the original song.

Step 4: Delivery to 150+ Platforms

Once your cover clears review, it’s queued for delivery across 150+ streaming and download platforms. Delivery times vary slightly by platform, but this stage is automated and typically fast. You’ll be able to see the status of each platform from your dashboard, so you’re never left guessing whether your release actually went out.

Step 5: Your Release Goes Live

When your cover song goes live, it’s fully licensed, properly credited, and streaming-ready across every platform you selected. From here, streams start generating royalties, which you can withdraw once your balance reaches the $10 payout threshold — a much lower bar than many artists expect from a distribution service.

What Happens If Something Needs Fixing

Occasionally, a release gets flagged during moderation — usually for a metadata mismatch or an artwork issue. If that happens, you’ll get a clear explanation of what needs to change, and you can resubmit without starting over from scratch or paying an additional fee. The goal of moderation isn’t to slow you down; it’s to make sure your release doesn’t get pulled later for a licensing or compliance issue that could’ve been caught early.

Why the Process Matters More for Covers Than Originals

Original songs only need to clear basic content moderation. Covers have an extra layer — proving that the underlying composition is properly licensed. That’s precisely why automatic mechanical licensing matters so much for cover artists specifically. Without it, you’d be stuck manually filing licenses through a separate service for every single cover, adding time, cost, and complexity to a process that should be simple.

How This Compares to Other Distributors

Price and process both matter when you’re releasing covers regularly. A quick look at how the numbers stack up:

DistroKid charges $44.99/year for unlimited releases, with licensing typically handled as a separate add-on
TuneCore charges $24.99/year as a base fee, plus per-cover licensing fees, plus a 20% commission on social platform earnings
CD Baby charges $9.95 per single and takes a 9% royalty commission forever, on top of licensing costs
Globex Music charges $1 per release with automatic cover licensing included, no annual fee, and payouts starting from $10

Keeping Your Catalog Stable Long-Term

One more thing worth knowing about the post-submission process: once your cover song is live, it stays live. There’s no annual renewal fee that could cause your catalog to disappear if you miss a payment, and no recurring cost tied to keeping older covers in circulation. That kind of permanent catalog stability matters for artists who release covers regularly and want their whole back catalog to keep earning without ongoing maintenance.

Final Thoughts

The path from submission to a live cover song involves more steps than most artists realize — technical checks, licensing, moderation, and delivery — but none of it needs to be slow or expensive. With mechanical licensing built in, fast moderation turnaround, and a $1 per release price point, the process is designed so you can focus on choosing and recording your next cover instead of managing paperwork.