2. Metadata and cover art
The data that goes with your song: name, credits, ISRC and UPC, the mistakes that stall a release, and cover art requirements.
Metadata is the data that travels with the song: who made it, what it’s called and which code identifies it. If it’s wrong, the song can end up on another artist’s profile, or your royalties may not arrive.
The essential data
Capitals, accents and symbols have to match on every release. If your name is common, check on each platform that the song goes to your profile and not to another artist with the same name.
No artist names or words added to show up in searches. Versions go separately: 'Live', 'Remix' or 'Acoustic', in the format your distributor asks for.
Spotify asks you to enter roles per song and per release. Use the legal names of those who composed: they're used to identify the work and to get paid.
Don't add 'Explicit' or an E to the title: the platform shows the notice on its own.
You can see the rules in Spotify’s metadata guidelines.
ISRC and UPC
Two different codes
- ISRC: identifies a recording. Each song has its own, and a different version, like a remix, gets another.
- UPC: identifies a release: the single, EP or album.
The distributor normally assigns them. Keep them, because you’ll need them when registering the phonogram. If you publish the same song again, use the same ISRC so you don’t lose streams.
The cover art
- Size: 3000 × 3000 pixels, square, is what’s usually asked for.
- Format: JPG or PNG, in RGB.
- Text: if you include the title or name, they have to match the metadata.
- Don’t include: URLs, social handles, prices, platform logos or promotional text.
- Rights: the image has to be yours or licensed for commercial use.
Test it small. People will see it as a small square on a phone. If it can’t be understood at 200 pixels, simplify it.
After publishing, corrections go through the distributor and take time. A misspelled name can send the song to the wrong profile, and fixing it can take weeks.
Lyrics
Adding them is optional and isn’t usually done in the regular distributor, but in services like Musixmatch, depending on the platform. It’s worthwhile because it helps listeners, but it doesn’t hold up the release.
Common mistakes
What NOT to chase yet
Quick path: metadata and cover art
Quick path
- Artist name the same on all releases.
- Title with no additions.
- Composers and producers under their legal names.
- Mark explicit content with the option, not in the title.
- 3000 × 3000 cover art in RGB.
- No URLs, social handles or other people's images.
- Keep the ISRC and UPC.
Expected result
Expected result
A release with correct, consistent data, which appears on the right profile and credits who it should, with cover art that reads at small size. Now you can pick a date and prepare the release.