Metadata doesn't have to be boring.
It just has to be right.
MetaAid reads the ID3, MP4, FLAC and WAV tags inside your audio file — directly in your browser — then grades them against the rules used by Spotify, Apple Music, DistroKid, TuneCore, RouteNote, Amuse, Ditto, TikTok and YouTube Content ID. You get a 0–100 score, a fix-this checklist, and a clean metadata sheet you can paste straight into your distributor. No uploads. No tracking. No account.
24+
Fields Checked
9
DSPs & Distros
3000²
Min Artwork px
100%
Browser-Side
Drop your mastered audio file
Supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A and AAC. Your file never leaves your browser — every tag is parsed locally and discarded as soon as you close the tab. Drop your final master, the file you'd send to your distributor.
Drop your track or click to browse
MP3 · WAV · FLAC · M4A · AAC • up to 100 MB • 100% private
Reading tags…
Drop artwork or click — JPG / PNG, 3000×3000 sRGB
Your metadata report
A 0–100 grade across 24 fields. Higher = closer to label-grade delivery. Anything below 70 will get rejected, throttled or mis-categorised by at least one DSP.
The ring on the left is your overall score. The card on the right is what a distributor or DSP currently sees inside your file — title, artist, artwork, format, bitrate. Underneath, the Fix this checklist lists every missing or weak field, worst first. Tap any item to jump straight to it in Step 3.
0Metadata Score
★★★★★
Analysing…
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No art
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From file tagsFix this checklist — 0 issues found
Fix & complete your metadata
Every field below maps to a real distributor / DSP requirement. Yellow borders = MetaAid flagged this for you. Fill them in once — we'll bake the lot into a clean export at the end.
Not sure what something means? Read the small grey hint under each box — we explain what the field is, who it should name, and what a "good" example looks like (so you're not guessing whether to put your label, your producer, or your nan in there 😅).
Reuse a previous session
Upload a MetaAid JSON or CSV export to auto-fill every field below.
Core
Track essentials
Title case. No "(feat. …)" — featured artists go in their own field.
DSPs surface "Sped Up", "Acoustic" etc. as separate playlist categories.
Spotify treats features as full artist credits — they get the play counted on their profile too.
Who owns the recording? If you're signed, it's your label's name. If you're independent and self-released, it's you — your artist name or your own imprint (e.g. "Houndtrack Music"). Not your producer, not your distributor, not your mum. Whoever paid for / owns the master.
Codes
ISRC & rights
12 chars — Country-Registrant-Year-Designation. Distributor will auto-fill if blank.
© = the song (the composition). Whoever wrote the song owns this. Format:
© [year] [owner]. If you wrote it yourself, it's © 2026 Your Legal/Artist Name. If a publisher controls it, use the publisher. Co-writes? Use the publisher of record or "© 2026 Writer A / Writer B". ℗ = the recording (the master). Whoever owns the actual audio file owns this — usually the same as the Label / P-line owner above. Format:
℗ [year first released] [owner]. Self-released artists: put your artist name or imprint. Not the producer, not the mix engineer, not the studio — unless they signed the master over to you in writing.Credits
Songwriters & producers
PRS / ASCAP / BMI registration name. Royalties depend on this.
Sonics
Genre, mood, key & BPM
Optional
Optional extras
These are useful, but not required for distribution, and do not affect the score. They're not mandatory, but they help with editorial routing, playlist matching, royalty accuracy and searchability once your track is live.
The label's internal release reference (e.g.
HARM001). Useful for catalogue accounting, vinyl/CD pressings and label admin — DSPs don't require it. The music publisher administering the composition (the song, not the recording). If you're unsigned, put "Self-published" or your own publishing entity. Helps PRS / ASCAP / BMI route mechanical royalties correctly.
International Standard Musical Work Code — a per-composition ID (format
T-XXXXXXXXX-X). Issued by your collection society. Different from ISRC (which is per-recording). The DAW or encoder used to produce / master the file. Helpful for engineers, archivists and forensic checks. Written into the
TSSE / TENC tags. Free-text note written to the ID3
COMM frame. Useful for internal notes that travel with the file — engineers, A&R, sync agents will see this in iTunes / Serato / Rekordbox. Advanced — user-defined ID3v2
TXXX frames. One per line as KEY = value. Used by labels and rights admins to attach custom metadata (e.g. mix engineer, master engineer, splits reference, sync clearance ID) that doesn't fit a standard field.Export your metadata
Your final, label-grade metadata sheet — ready to paste into DistroKid, TuneCore, RouteNote, Amuse, Ditto, AWAL, CD Baby or hand off to your label.
Final score: — — Pair with Pitch500 to send a 480–500 char editorial pitch.
Copy to clipboard
One-click copy of your full metadata sheet — clean, distributor-ready, no junk.
Download files
Save as JSON for programmatic delivery, or CSV to drop into a label spreadsheet / DDEX prep.
Download your MP3 with metadata baked in
Writes every field above directly into your audio file as ID3v2 tags — title, artist, album, ISRC, BPM, key, composer, lyricist, producer, label, ©/℗ lines, release year, language, genre, mood, comments, embedded cover artwork and full lyrics (USLT). Drop the result straight into iTunes, Serato, Rekordbox or your distributor. MP3 only.
{}Verify your tagged file
Web browsers can't read most modern ID3v2 tags (ISRC, Composer, Producer, P-line, C-line, Mood, Sub-genre, BPM, Key, Lyrics, custom TXXX). These fields are saved correctly — your browser just can't display them. After downloading your tagged MP3 above, upload it back here to verify the real metadata inside the file using our full ID3 parser. No uploads leave your browser.
Drop your tagged MP3 here or click to browse
Why music metadata is the most important thing you'll do this week
Metadata is the structured information attached to your audio file — title, artist, ISRC, composer, BPM, key, language, explicit flag, release date, genre, sub-genre, mood, embedded artwork. It's what Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music, TikTok and every other DSP read first, long before they listen to a single bar of audio.
Bad metadata is the #1 reason DistroKid, TuneCore, RouteNote, Amuse and Ditto reject independent releases. It's the #1 reason a track gets mis-categorised, mis-credited, mis-paid or quietly buried by the algorithm. And it's the #1 silent killer of editorial pitches — a Spotify editor can't pitch a track that has no language, no mood, no version, no proper genre or no clean title.
- Distributors require it. Every field MetaAid checks maps to a real upload form on DistroKid, TuneCore, RouteNote, Amuse or Ditto.
- Labels obsess over it. A label running its own catalogue can't account for a track without ISRC, UPC, composer splits and P-line.
- DSPs reject for it. Spotify rejects artwork below 3000×3000, with logos, with URLs, or with social handles. Apple rejects ALL CAPS titles and "(feat.)" stuffed into the title field.
- Royalties depend on it. No composer = no PRS / ASCAP / BMI payout. No ISRC = no neighbouring rights through PPL.
The 24 metadata fields a label-grade release needs
MetaAid grades you across these. Each one is worth points; missing or invalid fields drag your score down with a tooltip explaining exactly what to fix.
Title, version, artist, features, album, label
The "what is this" block. Title in title case, no "(feat. …)" stuffing, primary artist exactly as it appears on your Spotify for Artists profile, features in their own field, label as you'd want the P-line to read.
ISRC, UPC, C-line, P-line, release date, recording year
ISRC is a 12-char per-recording fingerprint (every remix, every version, gets its own). UPC is a per-release barcode. C-line is composition copyright, P-line is the master recording.
Composer, lyricist, producer
This is where your publishing royalties live. PRS, ASCAP, BMI and SOCAN all pay against composer/lyricist credits. Missing this is leaving real money on the table forever.
Genre, sub-genre, mood, language, BPM, key, explicit
This is the algorithmic fuel. Spotify's editorial filters, Apple's Mood & Activity playlists, TikTok's Sound recommender and YouTube's Music Topic clustering all run on these tags.
Dimensions, file size, colour space, content rules
3000×3000 px minimum, perfect square, sRGB, JPG or PNG, under 10 MB. No logos, no URLs, no social handles, no release dates, no third-party trademarks. MetaAid measures and flags all of this.
Duration, sample rate, bit depth, channels, codec
Pulled directly from your file. WAV at 44.1 kHz / 16-bit is the safe baseline; 24-bit / 48 kHz is fine. Spotify HiFi and Apple Lossless reward higher fidelity here.
Distributor & DSP rules MetaAid checks against
The same field can be required, forbidden or "auto-generated if blank" depending on the distributor. MetaAid uses the strictest rule, so your metadata passes everywhere.
| Field | Spotify | Apple Music | DistroKid | TuneCore | RouteNote / Amuse / Ditto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISRC | Required | Required | Auto-gen | Required | Auto-gen |
| UPC / EAN | Required | Required | Auto-gen | Auto-gen | Auto-gen |
| Composer | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Featured artist (separate field) | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Language | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Explicit flag | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Artwork ≥ 3000×3000 | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| Artwork sRGB colour space | Required | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| No logos / URLs / handles in art | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden |
| "(feat. …)" in title | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden |
| ALL CAPS title | Forbidden | Forbidden | Discouraged | Discouraged | Discouraged |
Frequently asked questions about music metadata
What is music metadata, in plain English?
Why is metadata so important for independent artists?
What is an ISRC and where do I get one?
What artwork specs do Spotify and Apple Music require?
Why does Spotify hate "(feat. …)" in track titles?
Do I need to set BPM and key, or is that just for DJs?
Is MetaAid actually free? What's the catch?
Does MetaAid edit my file's tags directly?
Keep going — more free artist tools & guides on HarmENT
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