Music Metadata Explained: The Information Every Release Needs

Music metadata is the information a platform uses to understand, index, and pay for a release. It includes the title, the artist, the featured artists, the genre, the track numbers, the rights, and the identifiers.

Metadata is more important than the upload. A platform cannot attribute a stream, correct a release, or feature a release without the right metadata. Wrong metadata means the release will be wrong on every platform.

The metadata checklist includes the exact title, the exact artist name, the featured artists in the correct order, the genre, the track number, the disc number, the length, the copyright year, and the identifiers such as ISRC and UPC.

Every value should be consistent across every platform. A track called 'Lil Indian' should appear the same way in every service. A featured artist should always be in the same position.

The most common metadata errors are wrong spelling, missing featured artists, inconsistent genre, and missing ISRC codes. Each of these errors can be fixed before release with a short pre-ship check.