What Happens to Your Songs on TikTok and Instagram When You Change Distributor

Why Does This Question Matter?

Many artists decide to switch distributors in search of better terms or more professional service, but few think ahead about what will happen to their songs on video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. The issue is more complex than it looks, and overlooking it could cost you the views and engagement you've spent months building.

How Does Your Music Reach TikTok and Instagram in the First Place?

When you distribute a song through a digital distributor, they send the audio file along with its metadata — your name, the song title, and its ISRC number — to the music libraries used by TikTok and Meta (Instagram and Facebook). The ISRC number, in particular, acts as the song's unique identifier within these libraries.

Users then select your song from the library to add it to their videos, and from that point on, content linked to your music starts to accumulate.

What Actually Happens When You Switch Distributors?

Changing distributors involves a critical phase known as "distribution takedown" followed by "re-distribution." Here's what happens step by step:

• Song removal: Once your old distributor pulls the song from platforms, it gets deleted from TikTok's and Instagram's music libraries. No user will be able to select it for a new video.
• The fate of existing videos: Videos that other users have already posted using your song may go silent or have their audio automatically replaced — meaning all that user-generated content tied to your music could disappear.
• The distribution gap: Between the moment your old distributor removes the song and the moment your new distributor gets it live, your song is completely absent from the libraries. This gap can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks.
• Returning with a different ISRC: If your new distributor uploads the song with a new ISRC number, the platforms technically treat it as a different track entirely — and it starts from zero.

Is There a Way to Preserve Your Content?

Yes, and the key is your ISRC number. If you carry the same ISRC over to your new distributor, the song will be linked to the same record in the platforms' databases, significantly reducing the risk of losing associated videos. Always make sure to save the ISRC for every song from your current distributor before making any move.

Practical Steps Before Switching Distributors

• Save the ISRC numbers for all your songs from your current distributor's dashboard before doing anything else.
• Confirm that your new distributor accepts custom ISRCs so you can submit the existing number instead of generating a new one.
• Minimize the distribution gap as much as possible by coordinating the timing between both distributors, or by choosing a distributor that manages the transition smoothly.
• Don't remove your song from your old distributor until you've confirmed it's fully live through the new one across all platforms.
• Monitor your TikTok and Instagram presence immediately after switching to make sure the sound library is still functioning properly.

What If You've Already Lost Your Videos?

There is no officially documented process for recovering videos that lost their audio after a song was taken down. You can reach out to TikTok or Meta support and explain the situation, but there's no guarantee of any outcome. That's exactly why prevention is far more valuable than trying to fix things after the fact.

Mazufa and the Transition Process

At Mazufa, we work to make switching from another distributor as smooth as possible, including supporting the retention of your original ISRC numbers. If you're considering changing your distributor, speak with our team first so we can put together a transition plan that protects everything you've already built on video platforms.