Why Metadata Matters: It Can Make or Break a Music Career
Metadata might seem small, but it’s a game-changer for your music’s success. From better discoverability to getting paid on time, here’s why metadata matters…
Why Metadata Matters: How it Can Make or Break a Career in Music
by Randi Zimmerman from Symphonic
At this point, you should be well aware of the importance of metadata in the music industry. Not only does it help classify and identify your music among a sea of millions of others, but improper metadata could be the reason your music isn’t reaching as many fans as possible. How? Let’s break it down…
How Proper Metadata Improves Your Music’s Chance Of Success
Discoverability
Think of metadata as a kind of SEO (search engine optimization) for your music. The information you provide helps DSPs like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. better understand your music on a deeper, more specific level, which in turn helps them better recommend your music to fans who enjoy similar genres. Not only that, but imagine if someone is trying to remember the name of your song, but all they can recall are a couple lyrics and maybeyour artist name… if you’ve provided in-depth metadata to describe your track, their search will be easy.
If not, they may never find your song… or use that momentum to stream the rest of your music either. All because they couldn’t find that one song. That’s why accurately providing things like the genre, lyrics, mood/theme tags and more all play a huge part in how easy or hard it is for anyone, not just existing fans, to find you online. These details, among many others, ensure your music is as discoverable as possible to both the independent masses and the big league DSPs.
✨ PRO TIP: When providing titles, lyrics, etc. avoid any unnecessary spellings or embellishments unless absolutely necessary (for example, spelling “Cash” as “C4$h”).
Better Recommendations
Speaking of big league DSPs, have you ever wondered how platforms like Spotify recommend similar music to its listeners? It all comes down to metadata. If someone is listening to chill, progressive house music with a groovy jazz flair, they may start a song radio off that track with the hopes of finding a similar vibe. If the metadata for your song describes your music with similar keywords, Spotify is more likely to recommend it to that listener.
That said, if your music falls under more than one genre, list multiple! The more detailed information you can provide, the better. (As long as it’s accurate, that is.)
More Opportunities
When it comes to sync opportunities, music supervisors who select tracks for movies, TV shows, commercials, and video games rely on metadata to find suitable songs with ease. Detailed metadata makes it easier for them to match your music to specific projects, increasing your chances of landing lucrative sync deals. And these aren’t the only people who rely on metadata to find music. Radio stations, online and satellite alike, use metadata to select the right tracks for airplay. Spotify and Apple Music rely heavily on metadata to properly recommend songs in their playlists and song radios, which can get your music in front of the people who will resonate the most with your specific track.
Aside from these, managers, agents, producers, and other industry professionals also use metadata to find artists to connect with for future opportunities. Not providing enough metadata limits the ability for all these people to find you and your music, which is the last thing you want to do. You want to make it easier to be found, not borderline impossible. The power to do so is in your hands with adequate metadata.
Getting Paid
Every small error, whether it be a capitalized letter or a misplaced parenthesis, will travel throughout the industry. For example, if something as simple as your artist name is misspelled, you won’t get your royalties in the mail. Ever see a misspelled song name or mixed-up release date on Spotify? That’s due to improper descriptive metadata. These mistakes cause a lot of confusion for not only the artist, but consumers as well. Even worse, it can be the difference between an artist being able to pay rent that month or not.
Think about it… when things don’t match up, algorithms aren’t able to match genres and provide meaningful recommendations. That hard working artist doing the subtle vocals in the back of your track may not be recognized and lose credit. If artist names are misspelled in various databases, it makes it almost impossible for fans to find them across platforms and for them to get paid for their hard work. And those are just a few examples. All of which you can avoid by making sure your metadata is in order.
Extending Your Reach
Providing details such as lyrics, song credits and background information, enhances fan engagement by offering listeners more context and a deeper understanding of your music. The more about you and your music you can give potential fans, the more likely they are to connect with and share your music with others. This extends globally, too. Including the right language tags and translations makes your music accessible to a worldwide audience, increasing the chances of reaching fans in different regions and cultures.
So, what now?
The benefits of amazing metadata are great for many reasons, but how can you be sure the information you’re providing is as good as it can be? I mean, nobody makes mistakes on purpose… However, we do have some tips to help you do the best you can.
- Prepare all the information you need beforehand
- Keep track of co-writing shares, songwriting splits, etc. consistently
- Review split sheets/ formal agreements before you start
- Double/triple check your work before you hit submit
✨ PRO TIP: The best thing you can do is create a master spreadsheet that you can add to throughout the year with all the information you may need when it’s time to finally submit your metadata. That way when the time comes, everything is already in order.
In addition, we’ve created a full upload guide that takes you through the process of submitting metadata. It takes you though the process step-by-step, so you don’t miss a beat.
To wrap things up…
Everybody has been personally victimized by their computer or phone’s autocorrect at least once, but don’t let autocorrect ruin your chances of being properly paid or recognized for your work. Even the smallest typo can have a huge impact. Once the song is already out in the world, making changes will be very difficult. Before you submit anything, get a second or even third set of eyes on it. Whether that be your publisher, entertainment attorney, or annoyingly smart bandmate, just make sure everything is accurate and ready to go when the time comes.
As a distributor, we take care of the submission process for you. However, YOU have to give it to us correctly. Although we have processes in place to limit common inaccuracies as much as possible, help us help you by being as prepared as possible.
