Metadata

In-Depth Explanation

What is Metadata in Music?

In the simplest terms, metadata is data about data. In the music industry, it refers to all the descriptive and identifying information attached to an audio file. If the MP3 or WAV file is the actual music you hear, the metadata is the digital label on the package telling the world exactly what is inside.

When you stream a song on Spotify, everything you see on the screen—the album artwork, the track title, the primary artist, the featured artists, the release year, and the genre—is metadata. Behind the scenes, there is even more metadata that you don't see, such as the ISRC, the UPC, the publisher names, and the exact percentage splits of the songwriters.

The Two Types of Metadata

Music metadata is generally divided into two categories:

1. Descriptive Metadata

The public-facing information that helps listeners find, organize, and understand the music.

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

2. Ownership & Technical Metadata

The behind-the-scenes information used by streaming platforms, PROs, and distributors to track usage and pay the correct people. This is communicated using standard DDEX XML files.

• ISRC (The unique ID for the sound recording)
• ISWC (The unique ID for the musical composition)
• UPC/EAN (The barcode for the product)
• Songwriter Legal Names (First and Last)
• Publisher Names
• PRO Affiliations (e.g., ASCAP, BMI)
• Record Label / Copyright Owner (The P-line and C-line)
• Audio Specs (Sample Rate, Bit Depth)

Why Metadata is the Most Important Part of Releasing Music

Poor metadata (often called "dirty data") is the number one reason independent artists lose money.

The modern music industry processes trillions of streams globally every year. This massive volume is handled entirely by automated computer systems. There are no humans manually writing checks to songwriters. If a streaming service plays a song, its computer system looks at the metadata (specifically the ISRC and ISWC) to figure out who to pay.

If the metadata is missing, incomplete, or misspelled, the computer system fails to find a match. The royalties generated by that stream are placed into a "black box" of unmatched funds. After a certain number of years, if the rightful owner hasn't claimed the money by fixing their metadata, those funds are liquidated and distributed proportionally to the biggest major labels based on market share.

Millions of dollars are lost every year simply because independent artists misspell their own names or fail to list their PRO affiliation in the metadata.

Best Practices for Submitting Metadata

When you upload a new release to your Digital Distributor (like DistroKid or TuneCore), you are essentially filling out a giant metadata form. To ensure you get paid correctly:

1. Use Legal Names for Songwriters: Do not use artist monikers (like "Lil' Mix") in the songwriter or composer fields. You must use the person's exact, legal government name as it appears on their tax documents and PRO registration.
2. Be Consistent: If your artist name is "John Smith," do not upload your next album as "J. Smith" or "John Smith Band." Inconsistent naming creates entirely separate artist profiles on Spotify and Apple Music, splitting your discography and confusing the algorithm.
3. Include Featured Artists Properly: Do not write "Track Title (feat. Artist B)." Use the dedicated "Featured Artist" field provided by your distributor. This ensures the song appears on both artists' profiles, maximizing your Playlist Reach.
4. Register Early: Before uploading the master to your distributor, register the composition with your PRO and The MLC (or your publishing administrator) to ensure the ISWC is generated and waiting to be matched with the ISRC.