Which Credits Are Essential for a Release?

Here’s an overview of the different credits you must add when creating a new release: 

℗ Recording Copyright Owner 

The recording copyright owner refers to the entity or person who holds the rights to the sound recording. This is often:

• You, the artist, if you’re self-releasing your music.
• Your record label, if you're a signed artist.

© Artwork Copyright Owner 

The artwork copyright owner refers to the person or entity who owns the rights to the cover art or any visual material associated with your release. This might be:

• The photographer/designer,  if the artwork was commissioned.
• The artist or the label, if the artwork was created independently.

Artist Details

Artist credits are crucial to identify who is behind the music you're releasing.

Primary Artist Roles

• Main: This refers to the primary performer of the track or release. 
• Meets: Used for collaborations where artists come together to create music.
• VS: Suggests a musical duel or competition between artists or groups.

Secondary Artist Roles

• With: Used when another artist collaborates but is not as a primary artist.
• Featuring: Commonly used to highlight guest appearances by another artist.

If an artist is assigned a secondary role in the metadata, most stores will not display the corresponding release on the artist's main discography. For example, on Spotify, the releases are shown under Appears On. 

"Presented By"

This is often used when a producer is driving or presenting a project. An artist cannot be credited as presenter and main artist at the same time. 

"Remixed By"

This applies to remixed tracks only. In such cases, it is mandatory to credit the artist who made the remix. You also need to label the track accordingly in the track title's Version field. For example: 

• Track title: EARFQUAKE
• Version: Channel Tres Remix
  
• Artists: Tyler, The Creator (Main), Channel Tres (Remixed by)
  

Label Details

The label represents a brand (or individual, if you’re independent) which the release is affiliated to. If you're an independent artist, you can list your name or any name you want as the label. If you're a signed artist, you will most likely have to enter your label's name.

Contributor Details

Contributors are the people who participated in the creative or technical production of the tracks. This includes:

• Composers
• Lyricists
• Arrangers (for classical music)
• Producers

Most stores now require transparency and ask for full legal names. Artist aliases and pseudonyms will not be accepted. If the song's composer and/or lyricist is unknown, you can write Traditional as first and last name. Please note that this is only possible for songs in the folk repertoire!

Performer Details

Performers are the musicians and vocalists who played instruments or sang on the recording. Most stores now require transparency and ask for full legal names. Artist aliases and pseudonyms will not be accepted. 

If a specific instrument is not available on the list, don't worry! You can just select Other Instrument, most shops don't display this in detail anyways.  

Publisher Details (for Cover Versions)

If you’re releasing a cover song, you must credit the publishers of the original song. The publisher usually holds rights to the composition and lyrics, so it’s mandatory to credit them correctly. Make sure to do the necessary research ahead of submission (we recommend checking out the different PRO databases) as we may not be able to accept your release if the credits are incorrect.

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