Can I Use Special Capitalization On My Releases?

Track Titles and Release Titles:

One common question arises when submitting music to online platforms: Why isn't my creative capitalization accepted? Music platforms automatically adjust album and track titles to adhere to standard formatting. Stores commonly reject ALL CAPS, all lowercase, or unconventional capitalization in track/release titles, such as ""SpAcE AdVeNtUrE"" or "DREAMS UnLiMiTeD." It's crucial to ensure that your track titles and release names follow the standard title casing guidelines to avoid rejection and ensure a seamless experience for listeners.

1.1 How do I format my track titles correctly?

For English titles, use Standard Title Casing: capitalize the first letter of each word except for small words (for example: "Man, I Feel Like a Woman").

However, various languages adopt distinct capitalization conventions. For example French and Italian song titles use sentence casing. This entails capitalizing only the initial letter of the title, with the subsequent letters in lowercase, similar to regular sentence structure (for example: "Pour que tu m’aimes encore", "Impressioni di settembre").

In any case, make sure to avoid all uppercase or lowercase titles, as most platforms prefer standard casing. You can find an overview of capitalization rules for titles for each language here:

http://wiki.christophchamp.com/index.php?title=Capitalization_Rules_for_Song_Titles.

2. Artist Name Rules:

Now, let's shift our focus to artist names. While creative casing in artist names can be enjoyable for branding, platforms like Apple Music and Spotify prefer standard title casing. If you desire to use creatively-cased names, it's recommended to establish a web presence first. This ensures intentional branding and makes it easier for platforms to respect your casing. Building a social presence on Instagram and Facebook or maintaining a website where your artist name is consistently presented with the desired casing can contribute to a positive and compliant experience. Please note that having an active presence on social media or owning your website does not guarantee 100% acceptance of the artist name you have chosen by music stores.

2.1 I've seen other artists using creative casing for their artist name, release name, or tracks. Why can't I do that?

We adhere to guidelines set by major platforms such as iTunes/Apple Music and Spotify. If a release doesn't align with these guidelines and is detected, it can negatively impact our distribution. At the same time, it is often the stores themselves that modify the formatting during their checks, and there is nothing we can do to request a change. While some platforms may make exceptions for artists signed to major labels with special contracts, this exception doesn't apply to independent artists.

3. Can I use non-standard characters?

No, avoid non-standard keyboard characters like emojis or specialized fonts in your artist name, album title, or track titles. These characters may not be delivered to distribution partners.