Recording Version Metadata
Track recording-specific details such as artists, performers, credits, master ownership, BPM, key, label, studio, dates, countries, and explicit lyric flags.
Recording metadata lives on the recording version, not the song. This is because the same can have multiple recordings with different artists, performers, production credits, files, ownership, and release details.
Use Recording Info for metadata that changes with the recording: artists, non-featured performers, credits, master owners, BPM, key, time signature, label, genre, language, explicit lyric status, studio, recording date, first release date, and recording or mastering countries.
Recording Metadata Groups
| Group | Fields |
|---|---|
| Performers | Primary artist, featured artists, artist royalty percentages, and non-featured performers. |
| Master ownership | Owner name, entity type, royalty percentage, nationality, ISNI, email, and phone. |
| Recording details | Version title, primary-version flag, BPM, key, time signature, language, explicit lyric flag, genre, label, studio, dates, and countries. |
| Credits | Role and person name for production, engineering, songwriting, arrangement, vocal, instrument, programming, and other credits. |
Performers
Performers are split into artists and non-featured performers. Songkeeper treats those as separate lists because they answer different metadata questions.
Artists
- Each recording version can have a primary artist and featured artists.
- If artist royalty percentages are entered, the artist percentages must total 100%.
- You can search for existing artists or create an artist while editing the performer list.
Non-Featured Performers
Non-featured performers are session musicians and other performers who performed on the recording but are not listed as primary or featured artists.
- First name and last name
- Instrument
- Whether the performer is a member of the band
- An optional Also add as credit choice when an instrument is selected
A session guitarist can be both a non-featured performer and a credit. A mix engineer is usually a credit only, because they did not perform on the recording.
Credits
Credits record who did what on this specific recording. Each credit has a role and a person name.
Common credit roles include:
- Producer, co-producer, executive producer, vocal producer
- Recording engineer, mix engineer, mastering engineer, assistant engineer
- Songwriter, composer, lyricist, topliner, arranger
- Lead vocals, background vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass, strings, brass, woodwinds, programming, sound design, and other roles
Master Ownership
Master ownership defines who owns the to this specific recording. It is separate from the writer and publishing splits that live on the song.
- Name - The owner or rights-holder name
- Entity type - Individual, company, or label
- Royalty percentage - Must total 100% when master owners are present
- Nationality - Optional country value for the owner
- ISNI - Optional International Standard Name Identifier
- Contact info - Optional email and phone
Technical and Session Details
Recording details capture the fields that describe this version of the recording rather than the underlying song.
| Field | Use |
|---|---|
| BPM, key, time signature | Musical details for this recording. |
| Primary and secondary genre | Recording-level genre context. |
| Language and explicit lyrics | Vocal-language and explicit-content metadata for this recording. |
| Label and studio | Releasing label and where the recording was made. |
| Recording date and first release date | Session timing and public release timing. |
| Country of recording and mastering | Countries connected to the recording session and master. |
In Songkeeper, ISRCs are stored on recording files, especially master files, rather than directly on the recording-version metadata record. See files and audio for file organization.
Related Docs
- Song metadata - writers, publishing, lyrics, ISWC, and composition fields.
- Managing recording versions - creating, editing, marking primary, and deleting versions.
- Song vs recording versions - deciding whether information belongs on the song, recording version, or file.