Ensuring Data Integrity and Global Discoverability
This serves as a comprehensive guide for artists, producers, managers, and labels. Its primary objective is to standardize metadata practices in emerging genres, ensuring that releases are accurately represented across digital platforms.
Streaming services rely on metadata to function. Your song’s digital identity begins with the metadata you provide when uploading to platforms like TuneCore or DistroKid.
In major genres, metadata practices are well established. But for emerging or underrepresented genres, metadata is often improvised. Labels guess. Artists choose whatever tag feels closest. Leading to data that is often fragmented, mislabeled, or overlooked.
These inconsistencies create digital dead ends. Even when a song catches fire in a TikTok post, audiences can’t always find the official track, the right artist, or even the right title. That’s lost opportunity.
Official Soca Source Music Metadata Style Guide
This guide is designed to help you release professionally, every time and build a foundation for long-term discovery and monetization.
- Artist Name (Primary & Featured)
- Consistency is Key. Use the exact same spelling, accents, and spacing across all platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, PROs).
- Avoid Duplicates. Do not add variations like “X the Band” vs “X”. Use a single canonical name.
- Example (Incorrect): Coutain feat. GBMNutron
- Example (Correct): Coutain feat. GBM Nutron (use artist’s standardized DSP name)
- Track Title Formatting
- No ALL CAPS. Use standard title case (Capitalize Each Major Word).
- No emojis, hashtags, or branding in title.
- Song title matches exactly across DSPs, YouTube, and TikTok
- Remix/Version Clarity: Use parentheses for versions.
- Correct: Soca Anthem (Road Mix)
- Incorrect: Soca Anthem – ROADMIX #2025
- Featuring Credits
- List all songwriters, producers, and featured artists to ensure proper credit and royalty distribution.
- Differentiating composers vs performers
- Format: Artist A feat. Artist B — use “feat.” not “ft.” or “featuring”
- Only include in track title if required by distributor.
- Spotify automatically displays featured artists from metadata, so duplication in title can look unprofessional.
- Genre Tagging
- Strategically aligned genre tag. Tag all tracks accurately and consistently.
- Never leave blank. Avoid generic tags like “Other” or “World” as defaults.
- Album & EP Naming
- Keep album/EP titles short and consistent with cover art.
- Avoid repeating the artist name in the album title (unless it’s part of a series or branding strategy).
- Label Name
- Always use the same registered label name across all DSPs and metadata submission tools.
- Self-releasing artists should register a consistent label alias (e.g., “Teja Music”) rather than leaving blank or using their legal name inconsistently.
- ISRC Codes
- An ISRC is a unique 12-character code that identifies a specific sound recording or music video. Every version, remix, or edit of a song should have a separate unique ISRC.
- A Radio Edit, Road Mix, and Remix of the same song all need different ISRCs.
- Never reuse an ISRC from a previous version or remix.
- Ensure ISRCs match those registered with PROs, YouTube, and TikTok delivery systems.
➡️ Pro Tip: Always keep a master log of your ISRCs assigned per track/version.
- UPC Codes
- A Universal Product Code (UPC) is a unique 12-digit numerical code that identifies a specific music album or product release. It serves as a barcode-like identifier, distinct from the ISRC code which is used for individual tracks. The UPC is crucial for tracking sales, managing inventory, and distributing music online.
- One unique UPC per album/EP/single.
- Do not reassign codes to different releases or reissues.
- Audio File Naming & Delivery
- Format: Artist Name – Track Title (Version).wav
- Example: Voice – Cheers to Life (Road Mix).wav
- Use high-quality WAV (44.1 kHz / 16-bit) files.
- YouTube & Visual Metadata Alignment
- Ensure consistency: Title, artist name, and featured artist must match DSP entries.
- Use the same artwork and spelling.
- Don’t upload songs only to YouTube if seeking monetization and discoverability — must be available on DSPs for full rights and visibility.
- Lyrics Metadata
- Provide full, time-synced lyrics, when possible, to Soca Source to enhance user engagement and support platforms that display them.
- Especially critical for:
- Instagram Stories
- TikTok auto captions
- Shazam
- Cover Art Specs
- No text that conflicts with metadata (e.g., wrong song title or spelling).
- No social handles or URLs.
- Recommended format: 3000×3000 px, JPG or PNG, RGB color space.
- Language Tagging
- Use proper language tags if lyrics are in English, French Creole, Spanish, etc.
- Helps platforms identify audience targets for lyrics display and discovery.
Metadata needs to be aligned across the digital music ecosystem. Major labels verify their metadata before every release. You should too.
If you’re using services like TuneCore, DistroKid, or FUGA, your job is to fill every metadata field carefully (not just the required ones)
Lead time: 3 weeks before release date absolute minimum for metadata to be processed across all DSPs and platforms without delays.
| Platform | Metadata Priority | Why It Matters |
| YouTube | Official video title, ISRC, artist name, description with links | Most watched platform in the Caribbean; inaccurate info breaks discoverability and SEO |
| TikTok / Instagram Reels | Sound title, official artist name, ISRC | Often default to track 01 or placeholder names unless manually corrected by distributor |
| Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon | Correct title casing, featured artists, remixer info, genre tags | Feeds algorithmic playlists and helps songs show up in “related artists” and “radio” suggestions |
| SoundCloud / Audiomack | Accurate title + same artwork and naming conventions | These are major platforms for diaspora and emerging artists — often where tracks are first uploaded |
| DJ Pools / Serato | Correct title, tempo, genre, and artist | DJs are gatekeepers for discovery; if they can’t organize or identify the track, it gets left behind |