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Formatting Standards

Metadata
Best Practices

Industry-standard formatting guidelines for artist names, track titles, and contributor credits. Following these rules ensures 100% first-pass compliance across every major streaming service.

Artist Names

Do
  • Use the artist's official performing name exactly as registered with their label or PRO
  • Capitalize names following standard title case (e.g., 'The Midnight')
  • Include accent marks and special characters as they appear officially (e.g., 'Björk', 'Mötley Crüe')
  • List featured artists in the contributor field with a 'Featured Artist' role
  • Use a single consistent artist name across the entire catalog
  • Register an ISNI for each artist to disambiguate identical names
Don't
  • Use abbreviations, nicknames, or fan-created variants unless officially adopted
  • Use ALL CAPS or all lowercase unless the artist's brand requires it (e.g., 'KÖLSCH')
  • Strip diacritics or replace them with ASCII equivalents
  • Append '(feat. Artist)' to the primary artist name field
  • Vary spelling between releases — this fragments the artist page on streaming platforms
  • Rely on name matching alone — multiple artists share the same name

Track Titles

Do
  • Use the official release title exactly as approved by the rights holder
  • Capitalize titles using standard title case for the release's language
  • Use parenthetical descriptors for legitimate version info (e.g., 'Song (Remix)', 'Song (Acoustic)')
  • Keep titles free of URLs, social handles, and promotional text
  • Use the original-language title as the primary title
  • Ensure the title matches exactly across audio file, artwork, and metadata
Don't
  • Add SEO descriptors like 'Sleep Music', 'Relaxing', or 'Official Audio'
  • Use ALL CAPS for emphasis or all lowercase as a stylistic choice
  • Use parentheticals for marketing copy or mood descriptors
  • Include '@artist', 'spotify.com', or 'download now' in the title field
  • Provide translated titles unless the store explicitly requests a localized title field
  • Allow discrepancies between the filename, cover art text, and metadata title

Contributor Credits

Do
  • Assign at minimum a Performer and Songwriter role for every track
  • Use standard DDEX role codes (Performer, Songwriter, Composer, Producer, Mixer)
  • Include full legal names for songwriter and composer credits for royalty collection
  • Assign ISNI identifiers to all contributors to prevent disambiguation errors
  • Credit featured artists with a 'Featured Artist' role in the contributor field
  • Include producer and mixer credits where applicable for complete attribution
Don't
  • Leave the contributor field with only the primary artist name
  • Invent custom role names like 'Vibe Curator' or 'Sound Architect'
  • Use only stage names for songwriter splits — PROs require legal names
  • Omit identifiers — common names cause royalty misallocation
  • Merge featured artist names into the primary artist field
  • Omit production credits — they are required by Apple Music and Tidal

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