ORPL Kids · For parents
A child on the music platforms
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and a child's rights to their song.
StartWhat is inside
- Can a child's song be released on streaming platforms? Yes — platforms set no minimum age for an artist; an adult holds the account and signs the agreement. But publish only under three conditions: the child wants it, the song is actually finished, and you are ready for strangers to hear it. If any one is missing, wait — you can take a song down, but traces remain.
- Who owns the rights to a song written by a child? The child is the author — copyright arises at the moment of creation and does not depend on age. An adult does not become a co-author; they represent the child, signing the distribution agreement, holding the account and managing payouts in the child's interest. If anyone else contributed — a teacher, an arranger, a friend — write the splits down before the release, not after.
- How do you create a Spotify artist page for a child? A Spotify artist page is not created by hand — it appears automatically once a distributor delivers the first release, usually within a few days. An adult then requests access through artists.spotify.com and verifies the rights; after verification you can set the photo, biography and playlists. The Spotify for Artists account belongs to the adult representing the child.
- How does a child get a profile on Apple Music and YouTube? On Apple Music an artist profile is created automatically with the first release, and access to Apple Music for Artists comes from a request at artists.apple.com. On YouTube the song appears as an Art Track — a video with the cover art that the platform generates itself; no channel is required for it. Start a channel only when you genuinely intend to film videos.
- How do you release a child's song on Spotify and Apple Music? Seven steps: finish the song, mix and normalise the recording, make a square 3000×3000 cover, write down titles and authors, pick a date at least two weeks out, hand it all to a distributor and wait for delivery. The distributor issues the ISRC and creates the platform pages — you do not obtain those separately. An adult signs and holds the account; the child stays the author in the metadata.
- How do you keep a young musician safe online? Four settings, made before the first post: a stage name instead of a full real one; no school uniform, signage or windows in shot; location off on every post; comments off or filtered. An adult holds the email and the account, and every message from a stranger arrives to the adult. The child does not read comments about themselves — that is a rule, not a preference.