Professional release metadata: ISRC and UPC.

A release reaches digital stores through how well it is described rather than how good it sounds. Before a DSP accepts delivery, an automated system checks dozens of fields: the primary artist, each track’s title, its identifying code, who gets paid and in which territories. If a field fails, the release is not published: it remains queued, is rejected or appears incomplete.

Metadata is precisely that set of data. It is infrastructure rather than bureaucracy, connecting your music to searches, playlists, royalty reports and identification systems out in the world. A one-letter error in a composer’s name can divert money for years; a repeated ISRC can mix two songs in a report. This guide covers the fields individually and the errors that delay the most releases.

What release metadata determines

Metadata determines three things at once: how a listener finds you, who gets paid, and how your catalogue is grouped. A misspelled field is not cosmetic; it means lost visibility and sometimes revenue.

Distinguish two levels. Release metadata describes the whole product: correct release title, artwork, original date, UPC/EAN and rights owner. Track metadata describes each recording: version title, ISRC, credits, genre and subgenre. One release can have ten flawless tracks and a single incorrect product field that blocks the entire delivery.

Always work from a master record: one document in which the label approves every field before uploading it to the distributor. If each person manually enters data into their own platform, inconsistency is guaranteed.

Release metadata fields

Review this list before every delivery. Each item is a field the distributor and DSP will validate separately.

• Correct title: the exact work title, without promotional suffixes or filenames.
• version title: the label distinguishing Original Mix, Extended Mix, Radio Edit or Remix, entered in the version field rather than inside the title.
• primary artist: the name you want to appear under, identical across every track in the release.
• featuring: guest artists, using one writing convention.
• remixers: the person responsible for the remix, credited as an artist of that version.
• composers: authors of the musical and literary work, under real names or declared pseudonyms.
• producers: whoever produced the recording, even if absent from the artist name.
• publishers: the companies or publishers administering each share of the work.
• copyright line: the notice of rights in the work, with year and owner.
• phonographic copyright line: the notice concerning the recording, which does not always have the same owner.
• ISRC: each recording’s unique code.
• UPC/EAN: the release’s unique product code.
• genre: the primary category, chosen from those offered by the system.
• subgenre: the detail preventing your house from sounding like techno in recommendations.
• language: the performance’s language rather than your country’s language.
• explicit: the adult-content flag.
• original date: the first publication date, which is not today’s date for a rerelease.
• territory: countries or regions where you authorise sale.
• rights owner: whoever controls the recording rights in that specific delivery.
• consistent metadata across all platforms: the same data, written identically, in every channel.
• errors that can block or delay a release: faults to audit before sending.

Identifiers: ISRC and UPC/EAN

ISRC identifies a particular recording. It has twelve characters: country code, registrant code, two year digits and a designation number. Assign it once and never reuse it. Publishing a new version with a different mix or duration requires a new ISRC; changing only artwork does not.

UPC/EAN identifies the whole release. A single, EP and album each have their own code, shared by all tracks inside. Many distributors generate it if you do not supply one, but when moving from another aggregator, retain the same code to avoid splitting your sales history.

Document both codes in the master record alongside the label catalogue. When migrating distributors, transfer existing ISRCs rather than letting them be regenerated.

Credits and owners: artists, composers, producers and publishers

Credits cause the most rejections, because no two platforms request them identically. Define and follow a convention: always write “feat.” consistently, without random capitals, double commas or a remixer name hidden in the title.

The primary artist represents the performance to the public; featuring is declared in its own field and does not replace the primary artist. Remixers appear as artists of the remixed version, but their work also generates copyright if they contribute new material.

Composers and producers are different layers: the former author the work, the latter the recording. Publishers administer each composer’s share of the work and must match what is registered with your collecting society. When a label publishes without declaring publishers, the work becomes orphaned in royalty-distribution systems. Also retain authors’ identification numbers to prevent confusion between people sharing a name.

Reflect the same library information in tags: normalise ID3 fields using your digital-delivery convention.

Copyright line, phonographic copyright line and rights owner

Do not confuse the two copyright lines. The copyright line, marked ©, refers to the work: lyrics and music. The phonographic copyright line, marked ℗, refers to the recording: the specific mix being published. They may have different years and owners, and often do.

The rights owner controls the right you are delivering. It may be the label, artist or publisher, depending on the contract. Write the exact legal name: an abbreviation or alias generates claims and complicates revenue management.

If you signed a temporary licence, ownership may belong elsewhere while your label acts only as licensee. That difference must appear in the fields rather than only in the contract.

Genre, subgenre, language, explicit, territory and original date

Genre and subgenre are not whims: they organise visibility in stores and recommendations. Choose the broad genre that best places you and a consistent subgenre; inventing an exotic label usually leaves you outside the lists where people look for your style.

Language refers to the performance rather than your location, and affects indexing in particular markets. The explicit field must reflect the actual content: an incorrect flag can limit recommendations or remove a track from certain spaces.

The original date identifies the recording’s first publication. For a rerelease, remaster or reissue, that date is not today: keeping the original helps platforms group its history.

Territory defines where you authorise sale. Restricting it incorrectly can exclude your release from the country where your audience lives; opening it too broadly can breach third-party agreements.

Versions and consistent metadata across all platforms

Each version must be distinguishable by its version title and ISRC rather than artwork colour. Remix, instrumental, acapella and extended mix are declared as separate versions with their own remixer credit.

The ultimate aim is consistent metadata across every platform: the same correct title, composers, publisher and rights owner at the distributor, DSP, your website and internal database. Differing fields produce duplicates, claims and releases that do not group together.

Audit delivery against a closed checklist before sending it. If you maintain your own library records, organise tags under one consistent scheme so the data you send and archive match.

Errors that can block or delay a release

These errors most commonly block or delay a release:

• Duplicate or empty ISRC, disrupting royalty distribution.
• UPC reused from another release, causing DSP rejection or a duplicate product.
• Correct-title field filled with the filename, an appended version or “final final”.
• Incomplete credits: composers without publishers or omitted producers.
• Artwork text that does not match the delivered title.
• Incorrect explicit flag, limiting distribution without your knowledge.
• Incorrect territory for an international release.
• Language declared out of habit, harming indexing.
• Wrong original date on a rerelease.

Most are detected in a twenty-minute review. Correcting them after publication costs more: redelivery, waiting for every store to update, and, in the worst case, a temporary takedown.

Next step

With the master record finished, proceed to technical delivery. Continue in Digital distribution: aggregators and delivery to DSPs, covering how to send the master and artwork, how quality control works, and what to do when something already published needs correction.