Apple Music Specs
Apple Music has the strictest artwork and metadata rules of the major stores. Delivery goes through a distributor, but rejections almost always trace back to these specs.
Artwork
| Cover art size | 3000×3000 px minimum, up to 4000×4000 |
| Aspect ratio | Square (1:1), exact |
| Format | JPEG or PNG, RGB, highest quality |
| Text rules | No URLs, email addresses, social handles, pricing, or references to physical formats |
Audio
| Delivery format | WAV 24-bit, 44.1 kHz minimum (96 kHz accepted for Apple Digital Masters) |
| Consumer codec | AAC 256 kbps; Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless (ALAC) where delivered |
| Spatial audio | Dolby Atmos mixes optional, delivered separately |
Loudness
| Normalisation target | -16 LUFS (Sound Check) |
| Behaviour | Sound Check is on by default on iOS; louder masters are turned down |
| True peak guidance | Keep below -1 dBTP |
Worth knowing
- Apple reviews artwork manually; blurry, upscaled or misaligned covers are rejected.
- Artist name spelling must match your Apple Music artist page exactly, or the release can land on a duplicate page.
Source: Apple Music Style Guide · Last verified 2026-09-27