Album submissions

On this page you will find the way to submit your album to the Transglobal World Music Chart (TWMC) and to reach all the panelists. 

1 – Please read carefully these instructions first
2 – Then go to the bottom of this page and complete the form 

 

 Step 1: Check if your album meets the following criteria to be eligible 

  • Album length recordings. We understand this to mean a duration of 25 minutes at least, regardless of the number of tracks. Recordings that reach this length by adding edits, versions or remixes of the same song will not be considered. (This rule has been modified on April, 2024) 
  • Musical genres related with some type of traditional roots music from any culture of the world. Rock, pop, jazz, or hip-hop albums are excluded unless they include a significant content of traditional or roots music. 
  • Recently or imminently released (or re-released). An album can be included in the list again if it is released internationally, even if it had appeared earlier on the list as a local / regional edition. 
  • Compilations, re-issues of historic recordings, multiple albums, CD-books, digital releases… are eligible. Audiovisual works will not be considered unless accompanied by an audio-only music album that meets the above criteria (e.g., a DVD+CD). 
  • Downloads submitted to the Transglobal World Music Chart must be free, promotional recordings for radio and editorial use by our members. 

 

Step 2: Prepare your submission 

  • Gather your materials 
    • Mandatory items 
      • The audio files of the complete album, providing song titles and track numbers. You can use:  
        • Uncompressed audio files (WAV, AIFF…), 
        • Lossless compressed files (FLAC, ALAC…) or 
        • Good quality compressed audio files (320 Kbps MP3, OGG…) 
      • Complete booklet or liner notes and album credits (PDF files or similar) 
    • Optional items 
      • Link to stream the album 
      • Press release, photos, bio… 
      • We strongly recommend to include large size album cover 
  • Prepare a link to download 
    • Put all your items into a single folder (or in a single webpage with links to download all of them). 
    • Name the folder with artist and album title, like this: Artist – Album (e.g.: The Beatles – Greatest Hits). Avoid generic names that hinder identification such as MP3s, Wavs, TWMC, Master, Promo, Audios, Album Submission or similar. 
    • We recommend that the digital audio files should be tagged to include metadata. Check our tutorial to know why and how. 
    • Select a link to share 
      • We recommend Dropbox, Drive, OneDrive, Box… Avoid services with invasive ads and pop-ups. We won’t forward links to those services. You can also use WeTransfer, but we recommend to use links that don’t expire: some of the panelists may miss your submissions. Check our tutorials for Dropbox and Drive. 
      • The link provided must be for free and without registration. It will be distributed exclusively to TWMC panelists, who have the obligation not to disseminate it. 
      • If you prepare a press kit using other formats or services, that’s fine, as long as all the required items are included.

Step 3: Submit your album 

  • Fill the form below. Please note that there are some mandatory fields. Without filling them you won’t be able to complete the submission. 

 

Other considerations 

  • Alphabet. Please use the Latin alphabet. If the original name is in another alphabet, please transliterate it to Latin alphabet whenever possible. Avoid using all capital letters. 
  • Spelling: Write the name of the band / artist and the title of the album exactly as it is, including all the special characters, accents, diacritic marks… Do not translate them to English. We want to show the utmost respect to the different languages and cultures. 
  • Language: The working language of TWMC is English but we don’t want this to be an obstacle for non-English speakers. The form can be filled out and the materials can be provided in languages other than English, although its translation is recommended using tools such as Deepl, Reverso, Google Translate…  
  • If it is not possible to send the translated texts, it is better to send them in the original language than not to send them. 
  • If you send translated (automatically or not) materials in English, it is recommended to also send them in the original language, so that panelists who understand that language will have access to the original version. 
  • Embargo: Any material submitted to panelists is considered to be immediately usable by our panelists in their respective media platforms, unless otherwise stated by the sender. Please indicate on the form the date of embargo for broadcasting, if any. 
  • LIMúR (Iberian Roots Music Chart): Any material submitted to the TWMC panelists related to Iberian music could be forwarded to the LIMúR panelists for their consideration as well in that sister project. If you don’t agree with this, please let us know in the comments and it won’t be forwarded. Please visit limur.eu for more information.

 

How does this work? 

When you submit an album to the TWMC using the form on this page, the admins will receive an email. After reviewing that the required items are included and the album seems to meet the criteria, it is forwarded to all the panelists for their consideration. 

You’ll get a confirmation email that your submission has arrived and been forwarded exclusively to the members. If you don’t receive it in around one week, contact us again, but please be patient: it’s not an automatic reply. Please note that submissions received during the voting period (usually from 9th to 15th every month) won’t be forwarded until the end of that period. 

The members of the panel vote freely for their favorite albums. They can vote for any eligible album received through the TWMC or by their own means and through their own contacts. 

Please note that the TWMC administrators cannot guarantee that all the submissions distributed by email will be considered by all the panelists. To make sure that the emails have been received correctly by the panelists or to ask for their feedback, you can contact the members individually by clicking the contact links on the Members page. Note that we won’t provide their email addresses. 

Remember that you can only submit each album once, so make sure that all the materials you want to provide are included. 

 

Submission form: 

Your name (required)

Your email (required)

Please, repeat your email (required)

Artist / band name, exactly as it is in the original language (for compilations of different artists, type V.A.) (required)

Album name, complete name, exactly as it is in the original language (required)

Label, complete name, exactly as it is in the original language (if self-production, type again the name of the artist / band) (required)

Release date (required) in YEAR/MONTH/DAY.

Download URL (complete album audio files and booklet / liner notes / album credits + additional info and files + if possible, files indexed with metadata) (required)

Streaming URL that does not require registration (optional but highly recommended)

Short description / comment (optional) (max. 1500 characters)

If there is an embargo for broadcast, indicate here up to which date it is (optional) (NOTE: For optimal coordination with radio broadcasting schedules, we suggest setting the embargo date no later than the 1st of the month corresponding to the disc release. This ensures timely inclusion in special programs that review the chart.)

Email contact for requests, if different than yours (optional)

Telephone (optional)

Please confirm:

I’m sending audio files of the complete album (required)

I’m sending booklet or liner notes or album credits (required)

I accept to receive email communications from TWMC (required)

 

Tutorial for Dropbox

Tutorial for Drive

Basics about how to edit the metadata in your mp3 files