What is Music Metadata?

Most artists think distribution is the moment their music “goes live”.

In reality, distribution is the moment your music enters a complex system of databases. Those databases decide how your track is identified, credited, discovered, licensed, and paid. The glue that holds all of it together is music metadata.

If your metadata is incomplete or inconsistent, your money can be delayed, misdirected, or left unmatched.

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What is music metadata?

Music metadata is the structured information that identifies your recordings and musical works, and links them to the right artists, songwriters, rightsholders, and royalty systems.

It typically includes:

• Titles (track, release, versions)

• Main and featured artists

• Contributors and roles (writers, producers, performers)

• Rights and ownership info

• Industry identifiers like ISRC, ISWC, and IPI

• Technical and reference fields that “bind” an identifier to a specific recording

  
  

The ISRC standard, administered internationally through IFPI as the Registration Authority, is explicitly designed so recordings can be identified uniquely and unambiguously across services, borders, and licensing contexts.

Why metadata matters for artists

1) Metadata determines whether you get paid correctly

Royalty systems need identifiers to match usage reports to the right recordings and works. The IFPI ISRC Handbook explains that ISRC supports interoperability across disparate usage reports and is often required by collective management organizations to manage repertoire and allocate revenues.

2) Metadata determines whether you get credited correctly

If your name, contributor roles, or identifiers are inconsistent across systems, your recording can be misattributed or split across artist pages. Fixing that later is possible, but it costs time and momentum.

3) Metadata determines whether royalties end up “unmatched”

Unmatched royalties are not theoretical. In the US, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) exists in part to address unmatched streaming mechanical royalties and provides tools and data around unmatched uses. Reputable reporting has also highlighted large historical sums tied to unmatched royalties.

In the UK, missing setlist and reporting data has been reported as a reason songwriters miss allocations from live performances, pushing money into “black box” pools.

The identifiers you must understand

ISRC: identifies a specific recording

ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) uniquely identifies a specific sound recording (or music video recording). Different versions (clean edit, live version, new recording, etc.) should get different ISRCs under the ISRC rules.

IFPI describes ISRC as a fixed point of reference when a recording is used across services, across borders, or under different licensing deals. RIAA likewise summarizes ISRC as a unique, permanent identifier used by DSPs and CMOs to manage repertoire and track commerce.

Important: ISRC country of issue does not create DSP bias

Many artists worry the “country letters” in an ISRC affect reach or playlisting. They don’t.

The IFPI ISRC Handbook states two key things:

1. No significance should be accorded to any one element of the ISRC when the code is being used.

2. The first part of the code (Prefix Code) exists for compatibility with older versions where the two letters represented the country of assignment, and newer allocations remove that distinction.

   
   

So an ISRC issued in any territory still functions the same for identification and reporting. DSP systems care about correct, consistent identification and matching, not the origin letters.

ISWC: identifies the underlying musical work (composition)

ISWC (International Standard Musical Work Code) identifies the musical work itself (the composition), not a specific recording.

CISAC explains ISWC identifies musical works and distinguishes it from ISRC, which identifies sound recordings. The MLC also reinforces that ISWC identifies works and helps track/manage activity related to works for royalty processing.

Practical implication:

• One composition (ISWC) can have many recordings (many ISRCs): original, live version, covers, remixes.

IPI: identifies rightsholders (songwriters/publishers) in society systems

IPI (Interested Party Information) identifies the people and entities who own or control rights (such as songwriters and publishers) within society and rights databases.

CISAC describes the IPI Base Number as a unique identifier allocated to each interested party and used to support documentation, distribution, and accounting processes across member societies. ASCAP also explains IPI numbers as unique identification numbers assigned to songwriters and publishers.

Practical implication:

• If you want writer-side money to flow properly, you need your writer identity and registrations in good shape, not just your distributor upload.

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India: Organizations You Should Know for Royalties, Rights, and Licensing

If you’re an Indian artist, metadata is only half the game. The other half is making sure your rights and registrations are set up so royalties can be collected and distributed properly in India (and recognized cleanly in international systems where relevant).

Below are the key orgs most Indian creators should understand.

1) IPRS (The Indian Performing Right Society)

Who it’s for: songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers.

What it does: IPRS is a government-authorized copyright society that issues licenses to music users and collects/distributes royalties for authors, composers, and publishers.

When it matters most:

• If you write/composed the song (even if you’re also the artist)

• If your music is played/used publicly, broadcast, performed, or otherwise exploited where performing/mechanical rights apply

IPRS also publishes its distribution rules/methods (useful to understand how payouts work and what data they rely on).

2) PPL India (Phonographic Performance Limited)

Who it’s for: owners/controllers of sound recordings (often labels; sometimes artists who own masters).

What it does: PPL India describes itself as licensing members’ sound recordings for communication to the public in areas like public performance and broadcast, and states it controls public performance rights for hundreds of labels and a large catalog.

When it matters most:

• If you own your masters (or operate as a label) and you want to understand licensing of sound recordings for public performance/broadcast contexts in India

  
  

3) Novex

Who it’s for: primarily relevant as a market participant for public performance licensing (especially for venues/events/music users), and useful for rightsholders to understand the licensing landscape.

What it does: Novex describes itself as administering public performance rights/ground performance rights as a licensing agency.

Why an artist should care:Even if you’re not directly interacting with Novex, it helps to understand how public performance licensing is handled in India, especially if you’re building a business around catalog exploitation or brand/venue usage.

Practical note for Indian artists: who should register where?

A simple mental model:

• If you wrote/composed the song → start with IPRS (writer/composer/publisher side).

• If you are the performing singer → look at ISRA (performer side).

• If you own the master recording (you’re your own label) → understand sound recording licensing ecosystems such as PPL India.

  
  

This does not replace legal advice, and your contracts (with labels, publishers, collaborators) matter. But it’s the right map for most serious independent artists in India.

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How metadata errors actually cost artists money

Here are the most common ways money gets lost or delayed:

1) Missing or inconsistent identifiers

If the same recording appears with different metadata across contexts, matching becomes harder. IFPI notes ISRC helps identify the same recording even when metadata variations exist (spelling, language, character set).

2) Wrong “versioning”

Radio edit vs explicit, live vs studio, remaster vs original: these distinctions matter. The ISRC Handbook outlines when a new ISRC is required and when the registrant must determine it, reinforcing that version control is not cosmetic.

3) Poor “reference metadata” storage

The ISRC Handbook specifies a set of “reference metadata” (minimum metadata) that should be stored alongside each ISRC so the identifier remains properly bound to the correct recording.

This is one reason “upload fast” cultures can be risky. When people rush, they skip verification steps and record-keeping.

4) Unmatched reporting becomes a structural problem

Industry leaders have publicly called out unmatched data and “black box” outcomes as a persistent issue. Music Business Worldwide has covered this problem in the context of metadata matching and royalty outcomes. The MLC also directly addresses the concept of “black box” unmatched uses and provides member search tools to improve matching.

How music metadata moves through the industry

Metadata is exchanged between labels, distributors, DSPs, publishers, and societies using formal standards.

DDEX is the global standards body focused on creating digital value chain standards so the music industry can exchange data efficiently. DDEX states its standards are implemented across the globe and are the de facto standard for formatting and delivering metadata in the digital music value chain.

This matters because your metadata does not live in one place. It travels across many systems. Standards reduce the chance your data breaks when it moves.

A practical metadata checklist before you release

Recording level

• Track title (final spelling, casing)

• Version title (clean, radio edit, instrumental, live)

• Main artist and featured artists (consistent formatting)

• Duration (final master)

• ISRC assigned and stored with reference metadata

  
  

Work (composition) level

• Songwriters with correct legal names

• Publisher info (if applicable)

• PRO / society affiliations (where relevant)

• ISWC (if available) and registrations aligned

  
  

Rightsholder identity

• Writer/publisher identifiers like IPI (where applicable)

  
  

Release level

• Release title

• Release date (and time-zone logic if relevant)

• UPC/EAN (for the release package, if needed by your workflow)

• Territory restrictions only if intentional

The simple rule: treat metadata like infrastructure

Artists don’t lose money only because they have fewer streams. They lose money because their rights and recordings are harder to match, credit, and account for.

The organizations closest to the money flows (IFPI/ISRC system, RIAA, CISAC, MLC, DDEX) all point to the same reality: identifiers and clean data are how the modern music economy runs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does the country code in an ISRC affect Spotify/Apple Music reach?

No. The ISRC standard explicitly says no significance should be placed on individual elements, and newer allocations remove the old country/registrant distinction.

What’s the difference between ISRC and ISWC?

ISRC identifies a recording; ISWC identifies the underlying musical work (composition).

What is an IPI number and why does it matter?

IPI identifies rightsholders in society databases and supports documentation, distribution, and accounting processes.

Can bad metadata cause unmatched royalties?

Yes. Industry systems and credible reporting discuss unmatched uses and “black box” outcomes that arise when matching data is missing or inconsistent.

Does the country code in an ISRC affect Spotify or Apple Music?

No. DSPs do not use the ISRC country prefix to rank, recommend, or prioritize music. The code only identifies a recording for tracking and royalty purposes.