Metadata is the information attached to your release — song title, artist name, featured artists, songwriters, producers, genre, and language — and getting it right is what makes your music discoverable and your royalties trackable. Sloppy metadata is one of the most common, and most avoidable, mistakes independent artists make, because it's painful (sometimes impossible) to fix after release. Here's how to do it right the first time.
The core fields and how to fill them
- Song title: exactly as it should appear — correct spelling and capitalisation, no extra tags like "(Official)" unless intended.
- Primary artist: your stage name, spelled identically across every release so plays consolidate on one profile.
- Featured artists: credited in the right field, not stuffed into the title.
- Songwriters and producers: credited accurately — this matters for publishing royalties.
- Genre and language: accurate, not aspirational — they drive how you're surfaced (especially language on JioSaavn).
Why consistency matters most
Spell your artist name the same way every single time. If one release says "DJ Arjun" and another "Arjun Official," the platforms may treat them as two different artists and split your streams across two profiles — which weakens both. Pick one exact name and reuse it forever.
Common metadata mistakes
- Putting featured artists or "(feat. X)" inconsistently in the title.
- Misspelled or inconsistent artist names across releases.
- Wrong language tag, hurting regional discovery.
- Missing songwriter/producer credits, risking uncollected royalties.
Get it right before you upload
Prepare your metadata alongside your audio file and cover art so the release goes smoothly. Clean metadata is invisible when it's right and a nightmare when it's wrong — double-check every field before you hit submit.