Metadata is the text that travels with your music: artist names, titles, credits, language, genre and more. Stores use it to file your song, display it, match it to your profile and pay royalties. Small mistakes can delay a release for days or, worse, put your song on a stranger's artist page. These are the ten errors we see most often.
1. Adding extra words to the song title
Titles like "Dil Ki Baat (Official Audio) New Punjabi Song 2026" are rejected by most stores. The title should be only the song's name. Version information is allowed when it describes a real version of the recording, for example "Dil Ki Baat (Acoustic)" or "Dil Ki Baat (Remix)".
2. Putting featured artists in the title
Do not write "Dil Ki Baat ft. Riya" in the title field. Add Riya as a featured artist in the artist fields. Stores then format the credit correctly and link the song to both artists' profiles.
3. Listing every collaborator as a primary artist
Primary artists are the main performers credited on the release. Producers, mixing engineers and lyricists belong in their own credit fields, not as primary artists. Overloading the artist field creates confusing profiles and can trigger review.
4. Spelling your name differently each time
"Aarav", "AARAV", "Aarav Music" and "Aarav Official" may be four different artist profiles to a store. Pick one exact artist name and use it on every release, including capital letters and spaces.
5. Using a name that already belongs to a famous artist
If you choose a name identical to an established artist, your music may land on their profile, or theirs on yours. Search the name on Spotify, Apple Music, JioSaavn and YouTube Music first. If someone else uses it, add something distinctive.
6. Wrong language field
The language field should describe the language of the lyrics, not your nationality. A Haryanvi song should not be marked English. For instrumental music, choose "instrumental" or the equivalent option. Correct language data helps stores recommend your music to the right listeners.
7. Missing or nicknamed songwriter credits
Composer and lyricist fields should contain real full names. "DJ Rocky" as composer may be fine as a performer name, but publishing societies need legal names to match royalties. Missing credits can also cause problems on stores that display songwriting information.
8. Marking an explicit song as clean
If the lyrics contain strong language or adult content, mark the track explicit. Stores and parents rely on this label, and misuse can lead to removals. If you have both versions, release a separate clean version with its own ISRC.
9. Wrong ISRC for a re-released song
If the exact same audio was released before, reuse its ISRC. If it is a new mix or version, it needs a new code. Mixing these up splits your stream history or causes conflicts. Read our guide to ISRC and UPC codes for details.
10. Claiming rights you do not have
Covers, remixes of other people's songs, mashups and tracks built on unlicensed samples are among the most common reasons for removals. Stores and distributors increasingly use audio fingerprinting to detect them. If you did not write it or license it, do not distribute it as your own.
Bonus: capitalisation and style
Use normal title capitalisation. ALL CAPS titles and random emoji in names are rejected by many stores unless the capitalisation is a genuine, consistent part of the artist's name. Avoid abbreviations such as "Pt." or "Vol" if your store guidelines prefer "Part" and "Volume" - when unsure, write it out in full.
A quick metadata template
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Primary artist | Aarav Sharma |
| Featured artist | Riya Verma |
| Title | Dil Ki Baat |
| Version | (leave blank for the original) / Acoustic / Remix |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Pop |
| Composer | Aarav Sharma |
| Lyricist | Neha Gupta |
| Producer | Kabir Mehta |
| Explicit | No |
Take five extra minutes on metadata before you submit. It is the cheapest way to avoid delays and to make sure every stream is credited to you.