Every track uploaded to EVEN runs through an automatic copyright check. If that check finds a match against material another rightsholder has registered, your release is flagged and moves to Disputed status.
A flag is not an accusation. False matches are common, particularly with short vocal phrases, widely used loops, and tracks you already have out through a distributor, where the match is often against your own music. Sales do stop while it is open, though, so it is worth writing in quickly.
What happens to your release
If the release is not live yet, you cannot publish it. Publishing stays blocked while the flag is open.
If the release is already live, it is pulled from sale automatically and moves to Disputed. This can happen mid-campaign, including on a track you add to an existing release.
An alert appears on that release's Release page and on your Payments page.
This applies to releases published on or after 7 August 2026, and to any track added to an existing release after that date. Anything published before then is not affected.
What to do
Open the flag in Backstage to see what the track matched against.
Email [email protected] with your artist name, the release name, the flagged track, and your documentation.
Send whatever you have for the audio. A sample clearance, a licence, a split agreement, a distribution statement, or proof you control the recording all work. If you wrote and recorded it yourself, say so and include anything that shows the release under your name elsewhere.
If your release date is close, say so in the subject line. We will look at it first.
You cannot lift a Disputed status yourself.
What not to do
Do not re-upload the track. The scan runs again on anything you upload, so a re-upload lands in exactly the same place.
Do not delete the release. Deleting makes the case harder to resolve rather than easier.
Do not create a second release to work around it. This splits your sales and your chart reporting.
If the sample is not cleared yet
If the flag is correct and you have not cleared a sample or a feature, clear it first. Flagged releases cannot go live, and we cannot clear a flag on material you do not yet have the rights to.
This is different from the AI tag
If your release is showing an AI-detected label rather than a Disputed status, that is a separate check with a completely different outcome. The AI tag does not block your release or pull it from sale.