Protect Profit Propagate Promote
A few suggestions to protect intellectual content, make credits available and help direct profits. Ideally in place before you release your project, no less important after.
Before uploading your project to a distribution service create a text document with publishing information, list of credits for performers, writers, producers, engineers, studios, a URL-link to your site and even lyrics if you want. Have jpg/png's of album art ready. This info. is good to include with your backups/copies of master files, too. During the submission process with the distributor do as much copy/paste from this doc as possible to prevent typos. It's largely an exercise in data entry and a hassle to change later. Not impossible but not pleasant.
He can, however, create mp3's for your personal use with their own metadata embedded.ovide ISRC and UPC codes for online content and embed/upload metadata used by streamer/download sites, you still need to register your recordings for copyright (Sound Recording for SR) to Library of Congress and register your compositions with a Performing rights organization like BMI or ASCAP . Unless you're sure do not assume your distributor is taking care of these important steps.H
Learn here about ISRC Codes
Becoming a member of Sound Exchange can help direct royalties.
Metadata info:
There are 3 metadata types of primary concern.
1) CD-text:
CD text exists separate from the disc's audio files. It's entered in a CD's subchannel when making a DDP fileset and shows up in some CD-players.
Though containing much of the same information as online metadata it is NOT the source for, nor shared with, streaming/download providers. CD-text is it's own thing specific only to physical CD's.
2) Audio File metadata:
Information embedded in wav or aif files is NOT INGESTED by internet distribution services.
We can embed some metadata but, unfortunately, music distribution services do not utilize it.
Still, some clients like to embed - totally doable - but you still have to manually enter info. when submitting files to your distributor.
MP3's can contain metadata of the ID3 variety.
To the extent lossy files are used by streaming sites it's still sourced from what's provided to your distributor. However, we can create mp3's for personal use with their own metadata and pictures embedded.
3) Streaming/Download/Web:
Submitted to your digital distribution service (Tunecore, Distrokid, etc) it subsequently embeds in web-based files and uploads to cloud services for use with streaming app's of all sorts - Apple, Amazon, Spotify, Roon, JRiver, etc.
These services can allow uploading yet more information:
Lyricfind can make your lyrics easily searchable (paid service)
discogs is a repository for credits
It's a constantly evolving ecosystem with digitally distributed files.
If you're aware of new information you feel should be added to this missive, or spot an error, please let me know.
