PO D.
Everything Takes Forever — Releases, Issues & Support
I’m writing this review because I don’t want other independent artists or labels to go through the same experience I’m currently having with LabelGrid. My first release stayed “In Review” for more than 10 days", and eventually some tracks were flagged for allegedly containing audio from other artists. I asked LabelGrid to provide details about exactly what was detected or matched so I could understand and resolve the issue. "I still have not received a reply." This is where the biggest problem starts. A release already takes days to review, but if ANY issue comes up, waiting for support and trying to resolve it can easily add "another 10 days or more" to the process. For a label working with scheduled releases, this makes the service extremely difficult to rely on. I removed the affected tracks and submitted them through another distributor using the "same ISRC codes", and they were processed much faster. That made the difference in workflow very clear to me. I paid for an annual LabelGrid plan because I was looking for a serious long-term distribution solution for my catalog. Instead, I’m spending my time waiting for reviews, waiting for answers, and trying to figure out what is happening with my releases. I completely understand that music distributors need quality control, copyright checks, and compliance reviews. "My issue is not that they review releases. My issue is the extremely slow process, lack of communication, and how much additional time gets added whenever there is a problem." Before paying for LabelGrid, especially if you operate a label or have frequent releases, I strongly recommend considering these turnaround times. A release schedule cannot operate efficiently when a simple issue can potentially turn into weeks of waiting. I’m sharing my experience because . I wish someone had explained this before I paid for the service. If LabelGrid responds and genuinely resolves these problems, I will update my review accordingly. But based on my experience so far, I cannot recommend LabelGrid for labels or artists who need reliable and timely distribution. -------------------------- UPDATE — Response to LabelGrid: First, I am a genuine paying LabelGrid customer, and I am happy to verify my account and payment with Trustpilot. I want to be very clear: copyright protection and acoustic fingerprinting were never my complaint. I understand that a distributor needs to check releases and protect copyright holders. My complaint is about how incredibly long the entire process takes and the lack of a predictable resolution timeline. It has now been 20+ days, and my releases are still sitting under review/draft without a proper resolution. I requested clarification about the tracks that were flagged and what exactly was detected, and I am still waiting. This has honestly been the worst distribution experience I have had so far. Think about this from a label's perspective: what happens when you have an important release that needs to go live on an exact date? If a release gets flagged for any reason and it can remain unresolved for 20+ days, how can a label confidently schedule and promote a release date? I understand that no distributor can guarantee that every release will be approved. But there needs to be a reasonable and predictable turnaround time for reviewing an issue and communicating with the customer. Regarding LabelGrid's statement that another distributor processing my tracks faster means that the conflict “was not checked,” I don't believe processing speed alone proves that. My point was simply that the same material, using the same ISRCs, was processed elsewhere while I was still waiting here for clarification. At this point, after paying for the service and spending 20+ days waiting while my releases are still not resolved, the service is simply not worth it for me. I am extremely frustrated and disappointed. I chose LabelGrid because I wanted a professional distribution solution for my label, but based on my experience, I cannot rely on this workflow for time-sensitive releases. If LabelGrid eventually resolves the situation and the service improves, I will update this review. But as of today, my releases are still sitting there and I am still waiting.
Response from LabelGridAug 17, 2026
The process this review describes, tracks flagged for containing audio matching other artists' recordings, is LabelGrid's copyright protection working as designed. When acoustic fingerprinting finds that submitted audio matches recordings credited to other artists, or carries an existing rights claim, the affected tracks are held until rights are documented. Releases without rights conflicts aren't affected by these holds. On the update: please do verify your account with Trustpilot. We asked for those details through Trustpilot's information request and received no response, so we still cannot identify the account behind this review. On turnaround: Custom and API plans carry a defined review SLA as part of the agreement. Standard plans don't, we aim for 10 days and usually come in well under it, but it isn't a contractual commitment, and we'd rather say that plainly than promise a date we haven't sold. Some distributors charge extra for guaranteed turnaround; on our side it's part of the Custom tier, and any label running date-critical releases should be on it. What we can tell you is that 20+ days doesn't match a release waiting in our review queue. It does match a release that has been sent back: when checks flag something, the release returns to draft or "changes requested" and waits there for the label to act. That's not review time, and a release sitting in draft hasn't been submitted to us at all. If you replied on the release itself rather than opening a support ticket, your question may have been sitting somewhere our support team didn't monitor because you haven't sent the review back to us. Still, we can't verify it because we don't have any information about who you are. You don't need Trustpilot to resolve this. Open a support ticket from your dashboard and we'll go through every open release on your account with you, that channel reaches our support team directly, and it's the fastest way to get you a decision.