Metadata is the information attached to your recording — the data that tells streaming
platforms, royalty systems, and listeners what your music is, who made it, and who
owns it. It's invisible to most listeners and absolutely critical to everything else.
Get it right and your music is discoverable, correctly credited, and generating royalties
from the moment it goes live. Get it wrong and you're looking at delayed releases,
duplicate artist profiles, missing royalties, and corrections that can take weeks
to propagate across platforms.
Most distribution problems are metadata problems. This guide covers everything
you need to know before you submit a release.
What metadata actually is
Every release you submit to a distributor travels with a set of structured data fields
that describe the recording and the release. Platforms use this data to:
- Display your artist name, track title, and credits correctly
- Index your music in search results
- Route royalty payments to the right rights holders
- Connect your recording to your registered artist profile
- Track your music across platforms through unique identifiers
None of this happens automatically based on what the audio file contains. It happens
based on what you fill in when you submit. If you leave a field blank or fill it in
incorrectly, the platform works with what it has — which means wrong credits,
missing royalties, and profiles that don't match.
The core metadata fields
Track title
Exactly as it should appear on every platform. Capitalization matters. Punctuation
matters. A track titled Falling Apart and one titled falling apart are indexed
differently. Decide on the exact form before you submit and don't change it.
Common mistakes:
- Adding "Official Audio" or "Official Video" to a track title — this belongs on
YouTube, not in distribution metadata - Including the featured artist in the track title instead of the featured artist field
- Inconsistent capitalization across releases
Primary artist
The name under which the release appears on streaming platforms. This must match
your registered artist profile on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms exactly.
One extra space, one different capitalization, and you risk creating a duplicate profile
that splits your streaming history across two separate artist pages.
If you haven't claimed your Spotify for Artists profile yet, do it before you submit
your first release. Your artist name in metadata should match the name on the profile.
Featured artists
Artists who appear on the recording but are not the primary release artist. These
go in the featured artist field — not in the track title. The format platforms use
is: Primary Artist feat. Featured Artist, generated automatically from the
separate fields.
Featured artist names should match those artists' registered profiles on platforms,
for the same reason as primary artist names.
Songwriter credits
The full legal names of everyone who wrote the lyrics or composed the music.
Not stage names — legal names. This is the information that connects your release
to publishing royalty systems.
Missing songwriter credits are one of the most common causes of uncollected
publishing royalties. If you wrote the track, your legal name needs to be in this field.
If you co-wrote it, every co-writer's legal name needs to be here.
Producer credits
The producer of the recording. Some distributors make this field optional.
Fill it in anyway — it's part of the permanent record of the release and matters
for credit and, in some territories, neighboring rights.
ISRC code
A unique identifier for the specific sound recording. One per track, per version.
Your distributor assigns these if you don't have them. More on this in the
ISRC guide.
UPC/EAN
A unique identifier for the release as a whole — the album or single. One per release.
Your distributor assigns this. More on this in the UPC guide.
Genre and subgenre
Used by platforms to categorize your music and route it to genre-specific editorial
and algorithmic playlists. Choose the most accurate genre — not the most aspirational
one. A hip-hop track submitted as pop because pop feels more commercial doesn't
perform better in pop algorithms; it just performs worse in both.
Release date
The date the release goes live on all platforms. Should be consistent across every
store. Don't stagger release dates by platform — it creates confusion for listeners
and complicates your promotion.
Label name
The name of the label releasing the music. If you're self-releasing, this is typically
your own name, a self-created label name, or whatever your distributor uses as a
default. Some artists create a simple label name for their self-releases — it looks
more professional and gives you a consistent entity name for rights purposes.
Copyright and publishing information
The year and rights holder for the sound recording (℗) and the composition (©).
For most independent artists releasing their own music, these are the same person
and the same year. Fill them in correctly — they appear on streaming platform pages
and in royalty documentation.
Explicit content flag
If your track contains explicit language or content, mark it as explicit. Platforms
use this flag to apply age restrictions and filter settings. An unmarked explicit
track can be flagged and taken down after release. An incorrectly marked clean
track can generate listener complaints.
Language
The primary language of the lyrics. Used for localization and regional editorial
consideration.
Metadata consistency across releases
Every release you put out should use your artist name in exactly the same form.
If your first release is credited to James Wright and your second to James wright,
you now have two artist entities on Spotify. This fragments your follower count,
your monthly listener numbers, and your streaming history.
Before you submit any new release, check how your previous releases appear on
Spotify and Apple Music. Match that exact form.
What happens when metadata is wrong
Wrong artist name
Creates a duplicate artist profile. Historical streams are split across two entities.
Followers of the original profile don't see the new release. Correction requires
contacting your distributor and potentially the platform directly — and can take
weeks to resolve.
Wrong featured artist name
The featured artist doesn't get credited on the platform. Their listeners don't
discover the track through their profile. Their royalty share may be delayed or
lost depending on the publishing setup.
Missing songwriter credits
Publishing royalties for that recording go uncollected. Depending on the collecting
society and territory, this money may be held, distributed to other rights holders,
or simply not collected. It is very difficult to reclaim after the fact.
Wrong ISRC
The recording can't be tracked correctly across platforms and royalty systems.
Streams may not be attributed correctly. Rights claims become complicated.
Incorrect explicit flag
The track may be removed from certain playlists, blocked in family accounts,
or taken down entirely pending correction.
Common mistakes
- Using a stage name instead of a legal name in songwriter credits
- Not matching the artist name exactly to the registered platform profile
- Including the featured artist in the track title instead of the correct field
- Leaving songwriter or producer credits blank on collaborative tracks
- Submitting with placeholder metadata intending to correct it later —
corrections after submission are slow and sometimes incomplete
CrewPort workflow tip
Before you submit, read every metadata field out loud and check it against your
registered Spotify profile. It sounds tedious. It takes four minutes. It is the
single most effective way to catch the errors that cause the most damage — a
wrong capitalization, a space that shouldn't be there, a legal name that was
autocorrected to something else. CrewPort flags inconsistencies automatically,
but the metadata only you know — legal names, correct credits, rights information
— still requires your attention.
FAQ
Can I update metadata after a release is live?
Yes, but it's slow. Most metadata corrections take 1–3 weeks to propagate across
all platforms after your distributor submits the change. Some fields — like artist
name — are harder to correct than others because they affect how the platform
indexes the release. Fix metadata before submission.
Do I need to register my songs with a PRO before distributing?
You don't need PRO registration to distribute. But you should register your songs
with a Performing Rights Organization in your territory — ASCAP, BMI, SOCAN,
PRS, and so on — to collect performance royalties. Distribution handles your master
recording royalties. PRO registration handles your composition royalties.
They are separate systems.
What's the difference between ℗ and ©?
℗ (the P in a circle) is the sound recording copyright — it covers the specific
recorded performance of the song. © (the C in a circle) covers the underlying
composition — the melody and lyrics. For most independent artists, both are owned
by the same person, but they represent different rights and are tracked separately
in royalty systems.
Can I use a different artist name for different genres?
Yes — many artists release under different names for different projects. Each name
functions as a separate artist entity on platforms with its own profile, follower count,
and streaming history. Make sure metadata for each project consistently uses
the correct name for that project.
What is a "release version" and when do I need one?
A release version specifies if the release is a particular edition of the recording —
for example, a Deluxe Edition, an Acoustic Version, a Live Version, or a Remaster.
If your release is a standard version, leave this field blank. Adding a version label
unnecessarily creates confusion and can affect how the release is categorized.
How do I credit a producer who also co-wrote the track?
A producer who contributed to the songwriting gets credited in both the producer
field and the songwriter field — with their legal name in both. These are separate
credits that feed separate royalty systems.
Last updated: May 2026
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