Unlike other content related issues, what Apple Music calls “Editorial hides”, cannot be fixed by a redelivery or update. "Editorial Hides" is the most serious type of content rejection from the channel, which is related to potential fraud and copyright issues. It can severely penalize your content distribution to this channel. Here are the types of Editorial Hides:
- Curated Artist. Content will be hidden using the reason Curated Artist when:
- Apple Music has curated an artist’s page and decided there are sufficient instances of a song or catalog available.
- Public domain content: the channel accepts only one version created from the best available source.
- Repeated Submissions. Content will be hidden using the reason Repeated Submissions if multiple copies of the same content and/or audio files are submitted with a slightly different title and/or artist. Do not send duplicate versions of the same content (such as the same album with a rearranged track list, or near-identical greatest hits albums).
- Misleading. Content will be hidden using the reason Misleading if designed to mislead customers by mimicking popular content or search terms.
- This includes but is not limited to artist names, album or song titles that are similar or identical to movie, musical theater, book, podcast, social media, studio, and TV show titles or characters. This also applies to the imagery, logos, and fonts associated with those pop culture franchises.
- Sound-alikes, cover versions, or tribute songs that sound very similar to the original, aren't accepted. Recordings that include a similar name, title, or image of a popular artist in the content title or cover art may be hidden for editorial reasons. This content may not violate copyright law, but it can cause customer confusion.
- Refusal
- Cultural Sensitivities. Content sold must be legal and appropriate for the country or region where the content is cleared.
- Nazi Propaganda. Content must not depict Nazi symbolism as restricted by the Strafgesetzbuch section 86a if the content is cleared for sale in Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), or any other country or region that restricts Nazi propaganda.
If content violating this rule is submitted, your entire catalog may be subject to suspension in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and any other applicable country or region.
- Other Content Not Permitted.
- Subliminal content
- Karaoke music videos and ringtones
- Karaoke tracks with lead vocals or vocal versions
- Ringtones delivered as tracks on music albums
- DJ Mix albums delivered as a single audio file
- Snippets and advertisement tracks
As you can see, there can be some types of content that does not violate copyright law, but it can cause customer confusion and still be restricted by Apple Music and iTunes.
Apple reviews all the content delivered to their services, and carefully considers its catalogue quality and variety, playlists included. Because of this, if iTunes or Apple Music decides to hide a release, this is a final decision. Redelivering this content again will only cause future issues with the channel. Depending on the volume of hides applied to your content, it can lead to blockages of future releases.