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YouTube Music Promotion

YouTube Official Artist Channel: How to Claim Yours [2026]

9 min read

Key takeaway

You claim a YouTube Official Artist Channel (OAC) through whoever delivers your music to YouTube, not through YouTube itself. YouTube's own instruction is to contact your label or distributor. If you have neither, a Music Service Partner from the YouTube Services Directory can request it for you (YouTube Help).

In practice: get one release live on YouTube, prepare a single-artist channel with at least one public video, then submit the request from your distributor's dashboard. The sections below give the exact steps for each distributor.

OAC request rules by distributor

Distributor Where to request Plan needed Release minimum Other rules Stated timing
DistroKid Features menu → Special Access → YouTube Official Artist Channel Any plan (Musician, Musician Plus, Ultimate) 1 release live on YouTube At least one uploaded video; Shorts don't count Up to 6 weeks
TuneCore Your Artist Accounts → YouTube Official Artist Channel Unlimited Plan 1 Art Track live on YouTube via TuneCore Main/Primary Artist credit; 15 subscribers (50 on tunecore.in) Within 6 weeks, sometimes longer
UnitedMasters Contact UnitedMasters support Active, paid membership 3 releases distributed from your account One full-length release uploaded to your channel; no non-music content Up to 1 week at UnitedMasters, then 1 week to a few months at YouTube
Ditto Music Artist tab → your artist → YouTube Official Artist Channel Pro or Label 3 releases active on your Topic channel At least 3 published videos on your channel Not stated

Each distributor sets its own minimums on top of YouTube's. YouTube itself asks for one official release, and the stricter numbers above come from the distributors. Requirements were checked on 2026-10-16 and change without notice, so confirm against the linked help article before you submit.

Before you request: the 4 checks

YouTube's criteria are short (YouTube Help):

  1. A channel you own that represents one artist or band and focuses on that artist's music. Label, genre and compilation channels are refused.
  2. At least one official music release on YouTube delivered by a distributor or label. It shows up as Art Tracks on an auto-generated "Artist Name - Topic" channel.
  3. No policy problems. The channel must comply with the Community Guidelines, Terms of Service and copyright policies.
  4. A route in: you work with a YouTube Partner Manager, are in the YouTube Partner Program, are in a label network that works with a Partner Manager, or your distributor is listed in the YouTube Services Directory for Music Partners.

YouTube also recommends at least one public video on the channel in addition to the release. Requests from channels with no public videos "may be rejected or require additional verification."

Two practical checks are worth making first:

  • Your channel name matches your artist name. DistroKid requires this outright.
  • Your music sits on your own Topic channel. New releases can land on a "Various Artists - Topic" channel first. UnitedMasters says a new Topic channel can take up to 30 days to appear (UnitedMasters).

For the edge cases (featured credits, label channels, release types), see the full OAC eligibility requirements.

Warning Choose the channel carefully. DistroKid states that OAC claims cannot be undone, disconnected or transferred to a new channel, and that deleting an OAC does not free you to claim a different one (DistroKid).

How to claim through DistroKid

Every DistroKid plan includes OAC claims (DistroKid).

  1. Prepare the channel Use a dedicated YouTube channel named after your artist with at least one uploaded video. Shorts don't count, and a blank new channel is refused.

  2. Confirm a release is live At least one DistroKid release must be delivered to YouTube Music and live on YouTube.

  3. Open the OAC page In DistroKid, open the Features menu (top right), choose Special Access, then YouTube Official Artist Channel. The direct address is distrokid.com/YouTubeOfficialArtistChannels.

  4. Select your artist and authenticate Pick the artist from the dropdown and sign in to the Google account that owns the channel. If a new artist is missing from the dropdown, wait a few days after the first release goes live, then contact DistroKid support if it still doesn't appear.

  5. Claim and wait Submit the claim. DistroKid says to allow up to 6 weeks.

How to claim through TuneCore

TuneCore requires an Unlimited Plan and credits as Main/Primary Artist at the release level. An artist credited as main on only one track of an album does not qualify. Your channel needs at least 15 subscribers (50 on tunecore.in), existing public uploads (a music video is preferred), and at least one Art Track delivered by TuneCore (TuneCore).

  1. Open the OAC box Log in, scroll to Your Artist Accounts and click YouTube Official Artist Channel.

  2. Select your artist Choose your artist name from the dropdown and click Claim Your YouTube OAC. If TuneCore reports that no artist is eligible, either your OACs are already claimed or an eligibility rule above isn't met yet.

  3. Authenticate the right Google account Sign in to the Google account that owns your preferred channel and select that channel.

  4. Review and confirm TuneCore returns you to its site to confirm. It says requests should be processed within 6 weeks but may take longer.

How to claim through UnitedMasters

UnitedMasters has no self-serve button. Once you meet its checklist, you contact its support team (UnitedMasters):

  • An active, paid UnitedMasters membership
  • At least 3 releases distributed from your UnitedMasters artist account
  • A channel for one artist or band, with no non-music content and zero policy violations
  • At least one full-length release uploaded to your channel that also appears on your Topic channel (Shorts and compilations don't count)

UnitedMasters reviews the request in up to a week. YouTube then takes anywhere from a week to a few months (UnitedMasters timing).

How to claim through Ditto Music

Ditto offers OAC only to Pro and Label artists whose music went to YouTube Music or YouTube Content ID through Ditto. Your channel needs at least 3 published videos, mainly featuring one artist's music, and at least three releases must be active on your Topic channel (Ditto Music).

  1. Open the artist dashboard Go to the Artist tab, select the artist and click YouTube Official Artist Channel.

  2. Fill in the form Enter your YouTube Channel ID and your Topic Channel ID (see below for where to find them).

  3. Submit Submit the application. If you already have an OAC and want another channel linked to it, Ditto handles that through support rather than the form.

Finding your channel and Topic channel IDs

  • Your channel ID: on YouTube, select your profile picture, then Settings, then Advanced settings. You must be signed in as the channel's primary owner (YouTube Help).
  • Your Topic channel ID: open your Topic channel. The ID is the string of letters and numbers after /channel/ at the end of its URL. Copy only that string, not the full address. If the ID looks blank or invalid, check that your releases are mapped to a dedicated Topic channel (Ditto Music).

No distributor in this list?

Other distributors handle OAC requests too, but their routes differ. Look for an OAC option in your dashboard or ask support. If you have no distributor or label at all, YouTube says a Music Service Partner from the Services Directory can request the OAC on your behalf.

What changes when the OAC is approved

According to YouTube Help:

  • Subscribers from your Topic channel, your Vevo channel (if you have one) and your existing channel merge into the OAC.
  • The subscribe button and subscriber count disappear from the old Topic and existing channels.
  • Subscribers to any of those channels see your new music videos.
  • You gain Ticketing, Merch and Analytics for Artists, but may lose features reserved for non-OAC channels, such as Ask Studio.

Your Topic channel still exists as a separate channel (DistroKid). Your Art Tracks also appear on the OAC, which gets a discography section and an Official Music Videos section (TuneCore). DistroKid notes that the OAC shows on YouTube itself, not in the YouTube Music app, where your music still reaches listeners through the Topic channel. For Vevo links and what happens to each channel's videos, see how to merge YouTube channels into your OAC.

A Community Guidelines strike or content with limited features suspends the OAC back to a standard channel. It is restored automatically once those are cleared and you still meet the criteria.

If the request stalls or is rejected

Check these against YouTube's and your distributor's criteria before you ask again:

  • The channel name matches the artist name.
  • The channel has at least one public video.
  • You are credited as main artist, not only as featured.
  • The channel represents one artist, not a label.

Fix what's missing, then resubmit through the same distributor. The OAC rejection reasons and fixes guide covers each one, and how long OAC approval takes explains when to follow up.

Once the OAC is live, it is the channel to grow. Dynamoi (our service) runs real YouTube ads through Google Ads video campaigns, shown to people who choose to watch. No bots, no view farms, no pay-for-play playlists.

Sources and method

Last checked: 2026-10-16. Scope: YouTube's Official Artist Channel eligibility criteria, request route, merge behaviour and suspension rules, plus the OAC request steps, plan limits, release and subscriber minimums, and stated processing times for DistroKid, TuneCore, UnitedMasters and Ditto Music. Method: Each fact was checked against YouTube Help or the distributor's own help-centre article, linked beside it. Third-party summaries were not used. AWAL's help article requires a login, so AWAL is not covered.

Distributor requirements change often. Neither YouTube nor any distributor guarantees approval.