Unlocking the World of Music Metadata: Organising Harmony in the Digital Age
Unlocking the World of Music Metadata:
Organising Harmony in the Digital Age
In the intricate world of the contemporary music industry, the storing and securing of music data, or metadata, has unlocked a whole new world of possibility for musicians and labels alike. However, the many critical elements that make up a music release or live show, such as press-packets or venue-specific information, can quickly overwhelm any small-scale operation, whether they be an artist, booking label or management company. Often various individual data points can become lost along the way, or simply the time investment required to get all of this metadata to the right places will be too much for those (already very busy) individuals involved. Below we will break down how to avoid this problem, beginning right at the start and eventually revealing exciting new platforms that help streamline the entire process!
What is Metadata?
Put plainly, Metadata, in the context of music, is the descriptive information associated with a piece of music or music show. It encompasses vital details such as the title, artist, album, genre, release date, and often, even more specific data like performers' names or the colour codes for album artwork printing. This information plays a pivotal role in organising and managing music in various settings, from personal digital music libraries to expansive streaming platforms and comprehensive music databases. For live shows, a whole new dimension is added, wherein promotional artwork, set-times and advertisements need to be transferred to the multiple venues accommodating the show.
Examples of Music Metadata
Artwork: The album artwork, when labelled correctly within the subject field, adds visual appeal and context to the music.
Album Information: This includes the album title, artist, and frequently, a release date, enabling users to understand the context of a song within the broader body of work.
ISRC's (International Standard Recording Codes): These unique codes help track and manage recordings, simplifying royalty tracking and ensuring proper attribution.
Performers Names: Acknowledging the musicians and vocalists involved in a track or album.
Colour Codes for Album Artwork: A unique but essential touch, used in the physical production of albums and adding an aesthetic dimension to the music.
Why is Music Metadata Important?
Organisation and Discovery: Metadata serves as the backbone for effective music organisation and easy discovery, helping users find and explore new music.
Identification and Differentiation: It aids in distinguishing between different versions, covers, and remixes of the same song, preventing confusion.
Copyright and Licensing: Metadata plays a crucial role in copyright enforcement and licensing agreements, ensuring that artists are fairly compensated for their work.
Music Industry Operations: It (in theory) streamlines industry processes such as royalty distribution, sales tracking, and catalogue management.
Personalisation and Recommendation: Metadata is the fuel that powers personalised playlists and music recommendations on streaming platforms, something that becomes more relevant in the music industry every single day!
User/audience Experience: Well-curated metadata enhances the overall user experience of music platforms. Users can easily navigate, create playlists, and explore music libraries when metadata is accurate, consistent, and comprehensive.
Frankly, music metadata is the unsung hero of the digital music era. It not only keeps the musical universe organised but also plays a pivotal role in ensuring that artists receive the recognition and compensation they deserve. However, for many, the story doesn’t necessarily end on this positive note...
Problems that can occur with Music Metadata
As discussed, Music Metadata contains so many complex elements that it can quickly become incredibly overwhelming to individual artists, managers or booking agents. Keeping track of all of this data, when it often becomes spread across Google Drive Spaces, Dropbox Folders or buried in old email threads, can be very confusing. Further, there is the added burden of having to collect this data and sending it to so many individual platforms; individual music distributors, Spotify for Artists, Apple Music, Amazon Music, targeted playlists for all of those platforms, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, show venues...this list could go on for at least another two pages! For artists or managers, who have likely already exhausted all their available time just creating the music or scheduling the show itself, this is often a huge yet unavoidable obligation. However, this is quickly changing...
So what’s the solution?
Luckily, this is not a problem that has been ignored by those looking to innovate in the music industry. As new technology companies such as RELEASR. and Jaxsta continue to advance, they explicitly seek to solve the issues involved in juggling so much music metadata.
RELEASR. specifically helps to “alleviate the administrative burdens associated with releasing music.” This is done through simplifying and automating the entire process of releasing music and planning live shows, collecting ALL METADATA and sending it where it needs to go. Further, it has the added bonus of providing users with analytics that demonstrate how everything, from social media numbers to live-show engagement, is travelling. Imagine simply uploading your song and metadata and knowing that someone will pitch it directly to Spotify, iTunes and Amazon playlists based on a careful assessment of music industry trends!
With all this exciting development, and the increasing importance (and administrative burden) of music metadata, the question remains: Where will you store your music metadata in the future?