Apple Music and Spotify have different technical requirements for accepted audio. Submitting to the stricter common standard ensures compatibility across every platform Madverse delivers to.
2.1.1 Accepted formats by platform
Madverse track upload accepts WAV and FLAC only. That satisfies both Apple Music and Spotify. MP3, AIFF, DSF, DFF, and other formats are rejected — export to WAV or FLAC PCM first.
2.1.2 Madverse's recommended submission standard
Submit **WAV or FLAC** for every release. This satisfies both platforms' preferences and avoids the lossy-compression quality loss that MP3 delivery introduces — Spotify re-encodes WAV to FLAC losslessly before playback, but cannot do the same for an already-compressed MP3 source.
2.1.3 Sample rate and bit depth
- Sample rate: 44.1 kHz (CD standard) or 48 kHz
- Bit depth: 16-bit minimum; 24-bit preferred
- Channels: Stereo
- True peak: below −1.0 dBTP (−0.5 dBTP recommended). Clipping above 0 dBFS fails QC.
- If the track was mastered in 24-bit, deliver 24-bit. Do not downsample a 24-bit master to 16-bit for delivery.
2.1.4 Spotify's WAV-specific technical requirements
If delivering WAV to Spotify, the file must use format code 0x0001 (WAVE_FORMAT_PCM) and must NOT use 0xFFFE (WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE). It must contain valid fmt and data subchunks, with audio data only after the start of the data subchunk. Full tracks only — sample clips are not accepted.
2.1.5 Deliver your native master — don't process before delivery
Spotify's documentation is explicit: deliver your highest-quality native stereo master exactly as mastered. Do not downsample, reduce bit depth, or apply any processing that changes quality before delivery — Spotify (and Apple) handle all format conversion and optimization internally. Tracks delivered above 24-bit to Spotify are reduced internally to a maximum of 44.1kHz/24-bit FLAC; tracks delivered below 16-bit or below 44.1kHz are upconverted to 44.1kHz/16-bit but become ineligible for lossless playback as a result.
2.1.6 Bit-depth delivery rules
- If a track was mastered in 24-bit, deliver 24-bit
- If a track was mastered only in 16-bit, deliver 16-bit
- Never create a 16-bit version from a 24-bit master for delivery
- Never deliver both a 16-bit and 24-bit version of the same track
- If mastered above 44.1kHz, do not apply downsampling before delivery
2.1.7 Common QC rejection causes
- Clipping or distortion (true peak above 0 dBFS)
- Excessive silence at start or end of a track
- Track duration under 30 seconds
- Incorrect WAV format code or extensible header when delivering to Spotify
Source: MadDesk article 2.1 (2-1)