Music Distribution Metadata Guide: Every Field Explained (2026)
Metadata is the information that tells streaming platforms who made your music, what it contains, and where the money goes. Get it right and your releases are discoverable, your royalties route correctly, and your artist profile builds consistently over time. Get it wrong and you’re dealing with split artist profiles, misrouted publishing royalties, rejected submissions, and streaming history lost to an ISRC mismatch. This guide covers every metadata field you’ll encounter in a music distribution upload — what it is, why it matters, what to enter, and the most common mistakes that cost artists streams, royalties, and streaming history.Why Metadata Matters More Than Most Artists Think
Metadata performs three functions that directly affect your income and career growth as an independent artist:- Discoverability. Genre tags, mood tags, and accurate song type classification determine which algorithmic playlists your track is eligible for. Spotify’s editorial team and algorithm both use metadata to decide who hears your music. Wrong metadata puts your track in the wrong algorithmic bucket — reducing your chances of reaching listeners who would genuinely connect with your sound.
- Royalty routing. Songwriter and publisher credits determine where mechanical and publishing royalties flow. Missing or incorrect songwriter credits mean royalties sit unclaimed or route to the wrong place — sometimes permanently.
- Artist profile integrity. Your artist name in metadata must match identically across every release. Even minor variations create separate artist profiles on streaming platforms, fragmenting your follower count, streaming history, and algorithmic momentum across multiple identities that are very difficult to merge after the fact.
Release-Level Metadata
These fields apply to the release as a whole — the single, EP, or album.Release title
The title of your single, EP, or album as it will appear on every streaming platform. For singles, this is typically the same as the track title. For EPs and albums, this is the project name. Best practice: Confirm the final title before uploading — it cannot be changed after release without taking the release down and re-uploading, which resets streaming history. Common mistake: Adding «(Single)» or «(EP)» to the release title. Platforms categorize release type separately — adding it to the title makes the title look odd in search results and doesn’t affect how platforms categorize it.Primary artist name
Your artist name as it appears on every streaming platform and in every search result. This is the most critical metadata field in the entire upload process. Best practice: Use the exact same spelling, capitalisation, spacing, and punctuation on every release, everywhere, forever. «The Artist,» «the artist,» and «TheArtist» are three separate identities on streaming platforms. Decide once and never deviate. Common mistake: Using a slightly different version of your name on a new release — «feat.» spellings added, capitalisation changed, or a «The» added or removed. Each variation creates a new artist profile that doesn’t inherit your existing followers, streaming history, or algorithmic associations.Featured artist
Artists who appear on the release but are not the primary artist. Featured artist credits appear in track listings as «Artist Name feat. Featured Artist Name.» Best practice: Enter featured artists in the dedicated «Featured Artist» field — not by adding «feat. [Name]» to your primary artist name field. Adding featured artists to the primary artist field creates a new combined artist entity that doesn’t link to either artist’s existing profile. Common mistake: «Artist Name feat. Guest» in the Primary Artist field. This creates a new artist profile for the combined name rather than linking to either artist’s existing page.Label name
The name that appears as the «label» on streaming platforms and in iTunes/Amazon store listings. This can be your own name, a custom label name you’ve created, or left blank (some distributors use their own name when left blank). Best practice: Use a consistent label name across all releases — either your artist name, a custom imprint name, or a registered business name. Listeners and industry contacts can see your label name in streaming metadata.UPC / EAN code
The Universal Product Code that identifies your release as a unique product. Assigned automatically by your distributor — you don’t need to provide one unless you’re re-releasing music that already has a UPC from a previous distribution. Best practice: If re-releasing music through a new distributor, provide the existing UPC to maintain release continuity, chart eligibility, and sales history. If releasing new music, let your distributor assign one automatically.Release date
The date your release goes live on all streaming platforms simultaneously. Set at least 3–4 weeks from your upload date to allow for distributor moderation, platform delivery, and Spotify editorial pitch submission. Best practice: Always release on Friday — Spotify’s Release Radar updates every Friday, meaning a Friday release reaches follower playlists the same day it goes live. Set your release time to midnight in your primary market’s time zone (midnight EST for North American artists).Original release date
For previously released music being re-distributed, this is the date of the original commercial release — not the current re-distribution date. Used by platforms to accurately date catalog releases in artist discographies. Best practice: Always provide the accurate original release date for re-releases. Platforms use this to correctly position the release in your artist discography chronologically.Track-Level Metadata
These fields apply to each individual track within a release.Track title
The name of the individual recording as it appears on streaming platforms. For a single, this matches the release title. For albums and EPs, each track has its own title. Best practice: Use sentence case or title case consistently across your catalog. Confirm the final spelling before uploading — cannot be changed post-release without re-uploading. Common mistake: Adding version descriptors to the track title on the original release — «(Original Mix),» «(Studio Version),» or «(2026).» These make your track title look cluttered in playlists. Version information belongs in a separate «version» field if one exists, not in the title itself.Track version
A separate field for version information — «(Acoustic Version),» «(Radio Edit),» «(Remix),» «(feat. Artist Name)» when the original doesn’t have the feature. This appears in parentheses after the track title on streaming platforms. Best practice: Leave blank for original studio versions — «clean» or «original» version descriptors in parentheses are unnecessary and clutter the title. Use this field only when the version genuinely differs from the original release.ISRC code
The International Standard Recording Code that uniquely identifies your specific recording. Assigned automatically by your distributor — one per track. Best practice: Keep the same ISRC whenever you re-release the same recording — through a new distributor, on a compilation, or in new territories. The ISRC is what Spotify uses to link stream counts to your recording. A new ISRC means a new identity with zero streams, regardless of how many times the original was played. Common mistake: Letting a new distributor auto-generate an ISRC for a track that already has one. Always note your existing ISRCs before switching distributors and provide them explicitly during re-upload.Songwriter / composer credits
The names of everyone who wrote the song — the melody, lyrics, and musical composition. These are the people who own the publishing rights and collect mechanical and performance royalties. Best practice: List all composers accurately. For original music: your name. For co-written originals: everyone who contributed to the composition, with ownership percentages confirmed in a signed split sheet before distribution. For cover songs: the original songwriter’s name — not the original performing artist if they’re different (e.g., for a Beatles song, the songwriter is Lennon/McCartney, not The Beatles as a band). Common mistake: Omitting co-writers or listing the original performer instead of the composer for cover songs. Both errors cause publishing royalties to misroute or remain unclaimed.Producer credits
The person(s) who produced the recording — distinct from the songwriter. Many platforms display producer credits in track details. Best practice: Include accurate producer credits — they’re increasingly important as platforms surface this information to listeners and as producers build their own industry profiles. If you produced the track yourself, list yourself as producer.Genre and subgenre
The primary genre and subgenre classification for your track. This is one of the most consequential metadata decisions for algorithmic performance. Best practice: Be specific and honest. «Indie Folk» is more useful than «Folk» which is more useful than «Alternative.» The genre tag places your track in specific algorithmic pools for playlist consideration — accurate tagging gets your music in front of listeners who actually like your genre. Inaccurate tagging optimized for broader reach (tagging folk music as «Pop» hoping for larger pools) backfires when listeners who find your track in Pop playlists don’t connect with it, generating low save rates that signal the algorithm to stop recommending it. Common mistake: Choosing a broader genre hoping for more algorithmic exposure. «Pop» has more listeners, but your track in a Pop playlist reaching Pop listeners who don’t like folk music generates worse algorithmic signals than your track in a Folk playlist reaching listeners who love folk.Explicit content flag
Indicates whether the track contains explicit language, themes, or content. Binary — either flagged or clean. Best practice: When in doubt, flag it explicit. Platforms remove releases where explicit content wasn’t declared — this is non-negotiable. You can always release both an explicit and a clean version as separate releases with separate ISRCs. Common mistake: Not flagging explicit content to avoid being filtered out of some playlists. The short-term playlist consideration isn’t worth the risk of removal and the resulting loss of streaming history.Language
The primary language of the lyrics. Used by platforms for localization, regional playlist placement, and search indexing. Best practice: Set accurately — English, Spanish, French, Korean, etc. For instrumental tracks with no lyrics, select «No Linguistic Content» or «Instrumental» depending on your distributor’s options.Song type / release type
Some distributors and platforms include a field indicating whether the track is an original, a cover, a remix, a live recording, or another type. For Spotify editorial pitching, there is a specific «Cover» song type designation in the pitch form. Best practice: Flag cover songs accurately in every field that allows it. This triggers correct mechanical licensing processing (with distributors like Globex Music that handle it automatically) and ensures the track links correctly to the original composition in Spotify’s database — which is what causes your cover to appear alongside the original in search results.| Metadata field | Can be changed after release? | What happens if wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Track title | No — requires re-upload | Wrong title permanent in catalog |
| Artist name | No — requires re-upload | Split artist profile |
| ISRC code | No — permanent identifier | Streaming history lost on re-release |
| Songwriter credits | Sometimes — via distributor support | Royalties misrouted or unclaimed |
| Genre | Sometimes — via distributor support | Wrong algorithmic bucket, reduced discovery |
| Explicit flag | Sometimes — via distributor support | Release removed by platform |
| Artwork | Yes — most distributors allow updates | Visual impact only |
| Release date | Yes — before release only | Premature or delayed release |
Cover Song Metadata: Additional Fields Required
Cover songs require two additional pieces of metadata that original releases don’t:- Cover song flag: Checked in your distributor’s upload form — triggers mechanical licensing processing and correct royalty routing for the composition
- Original songwriter name: The composer(s) of the original song — not the performing artist. For a cover of a Led Zeppelin song, the songwriter is Jimmy Page / Robert Plant / John Paul Jones / John Bonham — not «Led Zeppelin.» For a song written by a solo artist who also performed it, the songwriter and artist name are the same.
The Metadata Consistency Rule
The single most important metadata principle is consistency. Every piece of metadata that identifies you or your music needs to be identical across every release, every platform, and every artist profile — forever. Before submitting any release, check these against your existing releases:- Artist name — exact spelling, capitalisation, spacing, punctuation
- ISRC codes — same for re-releases of existing recordings
- UPC — same for re-releases of existing albums
- Songwriter credits — consistent with how you’ve registered with your PRO
- Label name — consistent across releases
Frequently Asked Questions
What metadata do I need to distribute music?
At minimum: track title, artist name, songwriter credits, genre, explicit flag, language, release date, ISRC code (assigned by your distributor), and UPC (assigned by your distributor). For cover songs, also need the cover flag checked and the original songwriter’s name. Complete and accurate metadata is as important as your audio file quality — errors cause rejected submissions, misrouted royalties, and split artist profiles.Can I change metadata after my music is released?
Some fields can be updated through your distributor’s support team — genre, explicit flag, and sometimes songwriter credits. Track title, artist name, and ISRC codes generally cannot be changed without taking the release down and re-uploading, which resets streaming history. Artwork can typically be updated without taking down the release. The safest approach: get all metadata correct before uploading.What happens if my artist name is spelled differently across releases?
Streaming platforms create separate artist profiles for each variation. «The Artist» and «the artist» are treated as two different artists — each with its own follower count, streaming history, and algorithmic momentum. These profiles are very difficult to merge after the fact. Check your exact artist name against every previous release before uploading anything new.Who is the songwriter on a cover song?
The songwriter is the person who wrote the composition — the melody and lyrics — not necessarily the original performing artist. For example: covering a Beyoncé song where the song was co-written by Beyoncé, Diane Warren, and others means all of those writers go in the songwriter field. For songs where the performer and writer are the same person (e.g., Taylor Swift writing and performing her own songs), use the same name in both fields.Does genre metadata affect which playlists I appear in?
Yes, directly. Spotify’s algorithm and editorial team both use genre metadata to determine playlist eligibility. Accurate genre tags place your track in pools where interested listeners are more likely to save it — generating the engagement signals that drive further algorithmic recommendation. Inaccurate genre tags optimized for broader reach typically backfire: low save rates from uninterested listeners signal the algorithm to stop recommending the track.What is the difference between songwriter and producer in music metadata?
The songwriter wrote the composition — the melody, lyrics, and musical arrangement that constitute the intellectual property of the song. The producer oversaw or created the specific recording — the sonic direction, arrangement, sound design, and technical execution of that particular version. Both can be the same person (a singer-songwriter who produces their own music), but the royalty systems treat them separately: songwriters collect publishing royalties through PROs and the MLC; producers collect master recording royalties through the distributor alongside the performing artist.Getting metadata right is the foundation of every successful release. Once your metadata is complete and accurate, Globex Music handles the rest — delivering to 150+ platforms from $1 per single, with automatic cover song licensing, ISRC and UPC assignment, and no annual fee.
