Every release follows the same path. You can watch it move through each stage on the release page.

## The stages

1. **Draft** - you are still building it. Nothing is sent yet.
2. **In review** - you sent it to the label. We listen and check it.
3. **Agreement** - we accepted it. Your contract is being prepared, then sent for you to sign.
4. **Registration** - for publishing, the works are registered with a collecting society, then we wait for validation. Your pipeline shows this step as "SACEM registration" (our society is [SACEM](https://www.sacem.fr)).
5. **Distribution** - your release is being delivered to stores and streaming platforms.
6. **Live** - it is out in the world.

At each step a short banner tells you where things stand and whether anything is waiting on you (for example, "Your contract has been sent - please sign it to continue").

## If we ask for changes

Sometimes we send a release back with a reason ("Changes requested"). Fix the points listed and resend. It goes back into review.

## After it is live

You can still request an edit to a live release. See [Editing a release that is already live](https://artists-docs.fatstep.com/hc/fatstep-for-artists/articles/edit-live-release).

## Related

- [Creating and sending a release](https://artists-docs.fatstep.com/hc/fatstep-for-artists/articles/create-and-send-release)
- [What publishing covers](https://artists-docs.fatstep.com/hc/fatstep-for-artists/articles/what-publishing-covers)