Metadata

In-Depth Explanation

Metadata in music is the descriptive and identifying information attached to an audio file, including track title, artist name, ISRC, ISWC, UPC, songwriter legal names, publisher information, and royalty split percentages. It tells streaming platforms, PROs, and distributors who to pay when a song is played.

How Music Metadata Works

When you stream a song on Spotify, everything you see on screen (album artwork, track title, artist name, release year, genre) is metadata. Behind the scenes, there is more metadata you do not see: the ISRC identifying the recording, the ISWC identifying the composition, publisher names, and the exact percentage splits of each songwriter.

Music metadata falls into two categories:

1. Descriptive Metadata

Public-facing information that helps listeners find and organize music:

• Track Title (e.g., "Blinding Lights")
• Primary Artist (e.g., The Weeknd)
• Featured Artists
• Album or EP Name
• Track Number
• Genre
• Release Date
• Cover Art

2. Ownership and Technical Metadata

Behind-the-scenes information used by streaming platforms, PROs, and distributors to track usage and pay the correct people. This data is communicated between industry systems using DDEX XML files, which follow standardized formats maintained by the Digital Data Exchange consortium.

• ISRC (unique ID for the sound recording)
• ISWC (unique ID for the musical composition)
• UPC/EAN (barcode for the product)
• Songwriter Legal Names (first and last)
• Publisher Names
• PRO Affiliations (ASCAP, BMI, PRS)
• Record Label or Copyright Owner (P-line and C-line)
• Audio Specs (sample rate, bit depth)

Real-World Example

An independent artist releases a single through DistroKid. They fill in the metadata form with their stage name "Lil Mix" as the songwriter instead of their legal name "Michael Smith." The song gets 50,000 streams on Spotify.

Spotify's automated system looks for an ISRC match in The MLC database to pay mechanical royalties. The MLC has no songwriter registered under "Lil Mix" because Michael Smith registered his songs with The MLC using his legal name. The system finds no match.

The royalties from those 50,000 streams go into the "black box" of unmatched funds. After a holding period, those funds are distributed proportionally to the major labels based on market share. Michael Smith loses the money because he used the wrong name in his metadata.

If he had used his legal name consistently across his distributor, PRO, and The MLC, the system would have matched the ISRC to the ISWC automatically and paid him.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

Poor metadata (called "dirty data") is the number one reason independent artists lose money. The music industry processes trillions of streams per year through automated computer systems. No humans manually verify who to pay. The system relies entirely on matching ISRC and ISWC codes.

If metadata is missing, incomplete, or misspelled, the system fails to find a match. Royalties go into the black box. Eventually, unclaimed funds are distributed to the major labels by market share.

Follow these rules when submitting metadata to your digital distributor:

1. Use legal names for songwriters. Do not use stage names in the songwriter or composer fields. Use the exact legal name that appears on PRO registration and tax documents.
2. Be consistent. If your artist name is "John Smith," do not release your next album as "J. Smith" or "John Smith Band." Inconsistent naming creates separate artist profiles on Spotify and Apple Music, splitting your discography and confusing the algorithm.
3. Use the Featured Artist field. Do not write "Track Title (feat. Artist B)" in the title field. Use the dedicated Featured Artist field so the song appears on both artists' profiles, maximizing playlist reach.
4. Register early. Before uploading to your distributor, register the composition with your PRO and The MLC (or your publishing administrator) so the ISWC exists and is ready to match with the ISRC.

Read our guide on How to Release Music Independently for a full metadata walkthrough.

Related Terms

• ISRC
• ISWC
• UPC/EAN
• DDEX
• Digital Distributor