Suno to DistroKid: The Pre-Upload Audio Checklist
Published · by Loopin
Run these eight checks in order before you upload a Suno song to DistroKid. Most rejections and takedowns come from steps one and eight, not from the sound.
1. Confirm you have the right to release it
At the time of writing (October 2026), Suno’s help centre says songs made or downloaded on the free plan are for personal, non-commercial use, while songs downloaded on a paid subscription come with commercial use rights. Guides that track Suno’s terms say upgrading later doesn’t convert old free-plan songs; check Suno’s Rights & Ownership help pages for your case. If the song was made on the free plan, regenerate it on a paid plan or don’t distribute it.
DistroKid’s own AI policy says you must own 100% of the rights, including to anything made with AI tools, and that music mimicking someone else’s voice or identity without permission isn’t allowed. A prompt that names a real artist’s voice is a problem here.
2–3. Download the WAV and trim the ends
Suno’s help centre says WAV downloads are for Pro and Premier subscribers and come from suno.com; the mobile app defaults to MP3. Get the WAV from the website. DistroKid accepts MP3, but mastering from a lossless file avoids stacking one more round of encoding before the stores encode it again.
Open it in any editor. Trim silence at the start to under half a second, and check the ending: AI songs often end on a hard cut or a trailing artefact. Add a 1–3 second fade if the ending is abrupt. Listen to the last ten seconds on headphones; that’s where glitches hide.
4–6. Master it, then check loudness and peaks
Master the Suno song free online before you upload. The default feel exports a 16-bit WAV at about −14 LUFS with a −1 dBTP ceiling: loud enough that Spotify won’t leave it sounding small, and with enough peak room that the stores’ lossy encoding won’t clip it.
Then check: step 4, integrated loudness between about −14 and −9 LUFS for streaming; step 5, true peak at or below −1 dBTP; step 6, no audible clipping on the loudest chorus. If the song is harsh or muddy after mastering, fix the EQ and run it through the free masterer again — there’s no limit on re-masters.
7. Export the file DistroKid expects
DistroKid’s help centre lists WAV, MP3, M4A, FLAC, AIFF and WMA as accepted, and calls 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV typical. The master you download is already a 16-bit WAV, so upload it as it is. Don’t convert it to MP3 “to save space”.
Name the file with the artist and title so you can’t upload the wrong version, and keep the unmastered WAV in the same folder. If a store flags the audio later, you’ll want both.
8. Fill in the AI credits honestly
DistroKid now asks whether any part of the track was generated by AI and lets you say which: the lyrics, the music, all of the audio, or part of it. Its help centre says Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube currently show this to listeners. If Suno made the whole track, say all of the audio; if you wrote the lyrics and Suno made the music, say so.
Answering honestly costs you nothing and misreporting is exactly the kind of thing that gets releases pulled later. Also avoid uploading dozens of near-identical songs at once: DistroKid’s policy calls out mass-generated content. For the mastering side in more depth, see mastering for DistroKid.
Frequently asked questions
Can I upload a Suno song to DistroKid?
Yes, if you own the rights. At the time of writing (October 2026), that means the song was made on a paid Suno plan, doesn't imitate a real artist's voice, and you disclose AI use in DistroKid's AI credits.
Can I distribute songs made on Suno's free plan?
Not at the time of writing. Suno's help centre says free-plan songs are for personal, non-commercial use. Check Suno's Rights & Ownership pages before assuming an upgrade covers old songs; the safe route is to regenerate on a paid plan.
Should I upload WAV or MP3 to DistroKid?
WAV. DistroKid accepts MP3, but a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz WAV avoids an extra round of lossy encoding before the stores encode the track again.
Do I need to master a Suno song before DistroKid?
It's strongly recommended. A master at about -14 LUFS with a -1 dBTP ceiling holds up after Spotify's normalisation and won't clip when the stores encode it.
What are DistroKid AI credits?
A disclosure step at upload where you say whether AI generated the lyrics, the music, all of the audio or part of it. DistroKid says Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube show this to listeners.
Why is my Suno WAV download not available?
Suno's help centre says WAV downloads are for Pro and Premier subscribers on suno.com; the mobile app defaults to MP3.