A cover can look finished on the designer's monitor and still arrive as the wrong crop, an unapproved draft, or a file nobody can trace back to the source. A useful handoff preserves the visual decision and makes the distributor's final checks easy to perform.
Every distributor and store can maintain its own current specifications and content rules. Treat the numerical requirements below as an example from the cited provider, not a universal standard. Verify the destination you are actually using on the day of delivery.
Confirm the release identity first
Write the exact artist name, release title, version label, and planned release type beside the artwork approval. Compare them with the approved metadata instead of relying on the text visible inside the design.
If the artwork contains a title or artist name, check spelling character by character. If it contains no text, the filename and approval note still need to identify the release. Do not add a collaborator, label, award, or platform mark that has not been authorized.
Keep one clean square master
Preserve an editable source with linked or embedded assets managed correctly, then export a flattened delivery file separately. Do not overwrite the source with the smaller promotional copy. Keep color and crop decisions stable between the approved proof and the final export.
DistroKid's current help page says its album art should be a square JPG, at least 1000 by 1000 pixels, with 3000 by 3000 preferred. That is a useful concrete example, but another distributor may specify a different format, color mode, or restriction. Follow the live instructions for the selected provider.
Review permission, not just resolution
List the photographer, illustrator, designer, licensed typeface or stock source, and the person who supplied any logo or visual mark. Store the relevant approval or license with the project. A high-resolution image is not automatically cleared for commercial cover use.
Do not lift a social-media image, search result, celebrity photo, fan artwork, or generated output into a release cover because it fits the mood. Confirm that the project may use every material in the intended way. If the answer is uncertain, replace it or obtain appropriate advice before delivery.
Test the cover small and cropped
View the square at phone-thumbnail size. Check whether the central subject, contrast, and essential words remain understandable without zooming. Then place it inside a few temporary circles, rectangles, and edge crops to reveal what might be lost in promotional layouts.
These previews are tests, not replacement masters. Export social and press versions from the approved source with clear suffixes. The press-photo caption and credit guide explains how to keep visual credits attached when separate publicity images travel beyond the release page.
Use filenames that survive the handoff
Name the file with the artist, release, purpose, and version date or approval number. Avoid “final,” “final2,” and “use-this-one” as the only distinctions. Keep an approval note that names the exact delivered filename and its dimensions.
Open the exported file after copying it to the delivery folder. Confirm that it displays completely, has the expected square dimensions, and is not an empty or partially written image. A screenshot of the design application is not the same as a validated export.
Prepare the words that travel with the image
Write one plain description of the cover's useful visual content for places that support alternative text. Keep the release announcement's essential date and listening instruction in regular text rather than hiding them only inside artwork. The release-announcement guide provides a compact factual structure.
If the artist needs a longer sponsored story and approved visual presentation, IHHR's paid Artist Spotlight is a separate commercial service—not independent editorial endorsement and not a promise of audience growth.
Send a five-item delivery note
- Approved filename and square dimensions.
- Artist, title, and release version.
- Designer or image credit and approval status.
- Provider specification checked, with the check date.
- Location of the editable source and who controls changes.
Continue with practical release guidance in The Signal, ask general process questions in the reviewed artist forum, or return to IHHR's live player.
Reference: DistroKid Help Center, What Are the Requirements for Album Artwork?, checked October 22, 2026.
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