Common music upload issues and how to resolve them.
Here are solutions to common music upload issues.
Upload Fails or Gets Stuck
| Symptom | Cause | Solution |
|---|
| Upload never completes | Slow or dropped internet connection | Check your connection and try again. Uploads resume automatically on page reload |
| "File too large" error | File exceeds the 50 MB limit | Compress your audio or convert to MP3 at 192 kbps |
| "Invalid file type" error | File is not MP3 or WAV | Convert your file to MP3 or WAV format before uploading |
| Upload succeeds but file is removed shortly after | File failed server-side validation (not a genuine audio file) | Re-export the track from your audio software and upload again |
Quality or Duration Issues
| Symptom | Cause | Solution |
|---|
| "Low quality" warning | Bitrate is below the organiser's minimum | Re-export at a higher bitrate (192 kbps or above recommended) |
| Duration not detected | Browser could not read the audio metadata | Try a different browser, or convert the file to standard MP3 |
| Duration mismatch warning | Manually entered duration differs from actual track length | Click Use music duration to sync, or correct the manual entry |
| "Exceeds time limit" warning | Music is longer than the performance type allows | Trim your track or confirm with the organiser |
Cannot Upload or Edit
| Symptom | Cause | Solution |
|---|
| No Upload or Replace button on the Music page | The event has started, so music has closed (the deadline is the end of the day before the event); or the entry was withdrawn | Contact the organiser to update music |
| Upload area is not visible | Music upload is not enabled for this competition | Ask the organiser to enable music upload in the event settings |
| "Rate limit" error | Too many uploads in a short period (20 per hour per competition) | Wait a few minutes and try again |
Playback Issues (Tech Team)
| Symptom | Cause | Solution |
|---|
| Audio will not play | File was not uploaded or was removed after validation failure | Check the entry and re-upload the music file |
| Playback stutters | Playing from network on a slow connection | Use the Pre-cache All Music button to download all tracks locally |
| Pre-cache fails for some tracks | Network interruption during download | Try pre-caching again. Already cached tracks are skipped |
| Page shows "Music upload not enabled" | Feature is turned off for this competition | Enable music upload in the event settings |
| Music stopped mid-song | The laptop went to sleep or the lid was closed | Keep the laptop plugged in with the lid open. The page keeps the screen awake, but cannot override a hardware sleep. |
| Section I expanded early collapsed on its own | (Legacy behaviour, no longer happens.) | You are on an older build. Hard-refresh the browser tab to load the current version. |
Still Need Help?
If your issue is not listed above, contact the event organiser. They can check the status of your music file and re-enable upload if needed.
