Prepare your metadata

What is a metadata file?

A metadata file is a text file containing your catalog’s metadata.

Typically this will contain:

• All tracks on one release
• A collection of releases
• Every release on one label
• Your entire library spanning multiple labels

Metadata files are required to run our batch ingestion process.

CSV files

We support “comma separated values” files called CSVs.

These text files can be viewed and edited in:

• Easy CSV Editor …can open the very largest CSVs, our 💛 on macOS
• Google Sheets …free and cross platform
• Apple Numbers
• Microsoft Excel 🦕

Our metadata template

You can download the Cadenzabox CSV template from the admin ingestion page.

Metadata columns

The first row of the metadata file must contain column headers. Each track (or track version) will then be represented by a subsequent row. Any completely blank rows are ignored.

Below are all of our supported column headers in order. For translatable column headers please see underneath this table.

Requirement: M mandatory, A advisable, O optional.

Column	Example	Description	Required
LIBRARY: Groups	Europe, Premium	Groups set here are inherited: label→release→track. Sometimes used for specifying label access per territory	O
LIBRARY: Code	CBL	The catalogue code prefix	A
LIBRARY: Name	Cadenzabox Library	Library name for the track. A tag is also added to the automatically created Library Name tag category	M
ALBUM: Groups	Main Catalogue, Pre-release	A group you would like to add to a release and all its tracks If the column is not present or blank, we apply the Main Catalogue group, allowing it to be viewed by unauthenticated users If you require the release to be published for some users, but hidden for unauthenticated users, please apply a custom group (e.g. Pre-release) and apply this to the users who should have access	O
ALBUM: Code	CBL001	The release catalogue code. Must be the same for all tracks across a single album	M
ALBUM: Title	Pop Electro Dance		M
ALBUM: Description	Upbeat Dance, Pop & Electro cues with attitude. Funky, edgy and upbeat, perfect for entertainment and reality TV, sports and positive news.		A
ALBUM: Release Date	2014-06-28	Date in ISO format: YYYY-MM-DD n.b. ingestion will fail if the date is not in this format	M
ALBUM: Artwork Filename	CBL001.jpg	Album packshot	A
ALBUM: Artist	Radiohead	An optional text representation of the recording artist	O
ALBUM:CATEGORY: Keywords	Sports; Daytime TV; Entertainment TV; Promos; Advertising; Fashion; News	Example custom album tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention ALBUM:CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
ALBUM:CATEGORY: Tags	Edgy; Energetic; Funky; Quirky; Upbeat; Uplifting; Warm; Swagger; Fun; Fashion; Retro; Attitude; Pop; Dance; Contemporary	Example custom album tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention ALBUM:CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
ALBUM:CATEGORY: Styles	Pop; Electro; Dance	Example custom album tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention ALBUM:CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
TRACK: Album Chapter	Energetic and playful	Album chapter heading. This must appear next to the single track that you want this chapter title to appear above. Please do not add this to every track in that chapter	O
TRACK: Is Published	Y	Whether the track is visible to anyone: Y or N. Defaults to Y if not set	O
TRACK: Code	CBL001_01_01	An internal catalogue code in your own format for the specific track. Any format is accepted, but this format is commonly used. Should be unique per track version, but we don’t enforce this	A
TRACK: Title	Dancing Machine		M
TRACK: Description	Upbeat, energetic, playful. Bouncy beats, syncopated synths, handclaps and a funky guitar line make for a fun electro pop track with plenty of edit points.		M
TRACK: Teaser	Upbeat, energetic, playful.	A short description	O
TRACK: Type	Stem	This column is required if you wish to denote stems Main, Alt or Stem	O
TRACK: Number	1.03	Order of the track within the release. Must be unique and for mains must be a whole number. Track versions support either whole numbers or can have a decimal point (1.01, 1.02 … 1.15, 1.16, etc.)	M
TRACK: Is Main	N	Whether this row is a main track (Y) or a version of another track (N)	M
TRACK: Main Track Number	1	Track number of this version’s parent. Must be blank when the track is a main but MANDATORY when… TRACK: Is Main is N	M
TRACK: Version	Main	Name of the particular version of track, e.g. Underscore, No Choir, 30 Seconds	M
TRACK: Duration	147	Length of the audio in seconds. This field is ignored and measured directly from the audio file	O
TRACK: BPM	120	Beats per minute	A
TRACK: Key	F♯ minor	Musical key, e.g. B♭ major, F♯ minor	O
TRACK: Lyrics	Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do I’m half crazy all for the love of you	Lyrics sheet of track where available. Useful when “search by lyric” is selected	O
TRACK: Search Metadata	Hans Zimmer, The Prodigy	Additional invisible text search terms	O
TRACK: Audio Filename	CBL001_01.wav	Reference to track audio filename, if this is incorrect or blank, no audio will be added for this track. File extensions are required (e.g. .wav .aif)	M
CATEGORY: Genre	Pop; Electro; Dance	Example custom tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
CATEGORY: Instrumentation	Beats; Synths	Example custom tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
CATEGORY: Keywords	80s; Beats; Dance; Pop; Driving; Energetic; Fun; Funky; Positive; Quirky; Playful; Attitude; Contemporary; Fashion; Instrumental; Midtempo; Uptempo	Example custom tag category. Add as many as you wish. Each category must be in its own column following the naming convention CATEGORY: {{category_name}}	O
ARTIST:1: First Name		Artists are interested parties of the sound recording, also called the master, or phonogram copyright ℗ Please use WRITER columns for composers of the musical work ©	O
ARTIST:1: Middle Name			O
ARTIST:1: Last Name			O
ARTIST:1: Society		The artist’s collection society. Use NS if no society, PD if public domain	O
ARTIST:1: IPI		The IPI/CAE code for the artist	O
ARTIST:{{n}}: {{type}}		Add as many artists as you need: the block repeats with {{n}} counting up from 1, and every column in the block is included each time. {{type}} is one of First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Society, IPI. Assemble a header as the block name, a colon, the number, a colon, a single space, then the type: ARTIST:1: First Name, ARTIST:2: First Name, ARTIST:3: IPI and so on.	O add as required
WRITER:1: First Name	Sam		M
WRITER:1: Middle Name	John		M
WRITER:1: Last Name	Slatter		M
WRITER:1: Capacity	Composer	The capacity of the interested party, one of the writer capacities below Author creator of original lyrics Composer creator of the music Composer/Author creator of music & lyrics Sub Author creator of substitute/modified lyrics Adaptor modifier of lyrics Arranger modifier of the music Sub Arranger modifier of music, authorised by the subpublisher Translator modifier of lyrics’ language Income Participant receives royalties but not a copyright owner	M
WRITER:1: Society	PRS	The writer’s collection society. Use NS if no society, PD if public domain	M
WRITER:1: IPI	942678636	The IPI/CAE code for the writer	M
WRITER:1: Territory	WORLD	The territory which the writer belongs to. Default is WORLD	M
WRITER:1: Owner Performance Share %	100.00	The percentage share of recognition for the writer in comparison to any other writers or publishers registered on the track. The value must not include the % symbol	M
WRITER:1: Owner Mechanical Share %	100.00	The percentage share of recognition for the writer in comparison to any other writers or publishers registered on the track. The value must not include the % symbol	M
WRITER:1: Collection Performance Share %	100.00	The collection percentage share of recognition for the writer in comparison to any other writers or publishers registered on the track. The value must not include the % symbol	A
WRITER:1: Collection Mechanical Share %	100.00	The collection percentage share of recognition for the writer in comparison to any other writers or publishers registered on the track. The value must not include the % symbol	A
WRITER:1: Original Publisher	Cadenzabox Library	The name of the Original Publisher that is registered on the track. Must match TRACK: Publisher(s)	M
WRITER:{{n}}: {{type}}		Add as many writers as you need: the block repeats with {{n}} counting up from 1, and every column in the block is included each time. {{type}} is one of First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Capacity, Society, IPI, Territory, Owner Performance Share %, Owner Mechanical Share %, Collection Performance Share %, Collection Mechanical Share %, Original Publisher. Assemble a header as the block name, a colon, the number, a colon, a single space, then the type: WRITER:1: First Name, WRITER:2: First Name, WRITER:3: Original Publisher and so on.	O add as required
PUBLISHER:1: Name	Cadenzabox Library		M
PUBLISHER:1: Capacity	Original Publisher	The capacity of the publisher, one of the publisher capacities below	M
PUBLISHER:1: Society	PRS	The collecting society that the publisher is registered with	M
PUBLISHER:1: IPI	911685448	The IPI/CAE code for the publisher. A placeholder of 0 is to be used if the number is not known	M
PUBLISHER:1: Territory	WORLD	The territory which the publisher belongs to	M
PUBLISHER:1: Owner Performance Share %	100.00	The publisher percentage share in this territory. The value must not include the % symbol	M
PUBLISHER:1: Owner Mechanical Share %	100.00	The publisher percentage share in this territory. The value must not include the % symbol	M
PUBLISHER:1: Collection Performance Share %	100.00	The publisher percentage share in this territory. The value must not include the % symbol	A
PUBLISHER:1: Collection Mechanical Share %	100.00	The publisher percentage share in this territory. The value must not include the % symbol	A
PUBLISHER:{{n}}: {{type}}		Add as many publishers as you need: the block repeats with {{n}} counting up from 1, and every column in the block is included each time. {{type}} is one of Name, Capacity, Society, IPI, Territory, Owner Performance Share %, Owner Mechanical Share %, Collection Performance Share %, Collection Mechanical Share %. Assemble a header as the block name, a colon, the number, a colon, a single space, then the type: PUBLISHER:1: Name, PUBLISHER:2: Name, PUBLISHER:3: Collection Mechanical Share % and so on.	O add as required
LABEL:1: Name	Cadenzabox Records		O
LABEL:1: Owner Master Share %	100.00	The master share. The value must not include the % symbol	O
LABEL:{{n}}: {{type}}		Add as many labels as you need: the block repeats with {{n}} counting up from 1, and every column in the block is included each time. {{type}} is one of Name, Owner Master Share %. Assemble a header as the block name, a colon, the number, a colon, a single space, then the type: LABEL:1: Name, LABEL:2: Name, LABEL:3: Owner Master Share % and so on.	O add as required
CODE: ISWC	T-907.354.706-1	International Standard Musical Work Code	A
CODE: ISRC	UK-A12-16-00001	International Standard Recording Code	A
CODE: EAN	5012345678901	International Article Number (originally European Article Number)	O
CODE: UPC	825646123456	Universal Product Code	O
CODE: ASCAP WORK ID	917032958	ASCAP Work ID — United States 🇺🇸 (n.b. header uses ID not NUMBER)	O
CODE: BMI WORK NUMBER	24248560	BMI Work ID — United States 🇺🇸 (n.b. header uses NUMBER not ID 👀)	O
CODE: PRS TUNECODE	982663BT	PRS Tunecode — United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (n.b. the column header is in capitals and includes the PRS prefix)	O
CODE: GEMA WORK NUMBER	1234567-001	GEMA work number — Germany 🇩🇪 (the part after the hyphen is the version; the original is -001)	O
CODE: SACEM WORK NUMBER	7300202211	SACEM Work Number — France 🇫🇷	O
CODE: SESAC WORK NUMBER	10293847	SESAC Work Number — United States 🇺🇸	O
CODE: SOCAN WORK NUMBER	193762845	SOCAN Work Number — Canada 🇨🇦	O

Translatable columns

Here are all the column headers that support translation.

These take the format: {{column_name}}: {{language_suffix}}

For example:

• TRACK: Description …equivalent to TRACK: Description: EN
• TRACK: Description: DE
• TRACK: Description: FR
• TRACK: Description: ES

All translations are optional and will fallback to the primary column if not provided. If the column is present but blank we will also fallback to the primary column.

Column	Example	Description
ALBUM: Description: FR	Musiques de danse, pop et électro optimistes avec du caractère. Funky, avant-gardiste et dynamique, parfait pour le divertissement et la télé-réalité, le sport et les actualités positives.	Album description
TRACK: Album Chapter: FR	Énergique et ludique.	Album chapter heading. This must appear next to the single track that you want this chapter title to appear above. Please do not add this to every track in that chapter
TRACK: Description: FR	Dynamique, énergique, ludique. Des beats rebondissants, des synthés syncopés, des claquements de mains et une ligne de guitare funky font une piste pop électro amusante avec de nombreux points d’édition.	Track description
TRACK: Teaser: FR	Dynamique, énergique, ludique.	A short description
TRACK: Version: FR	Principal	Name of the particular version
TRACK: Search Metadata: FR	Hans Zimmer, The Prodigy	Additional invisible text search terms

Capacities

Capacity says what part a rights holder played. Write the value exactly as shown; the admin stores it as text and the export formats pass it on to partners, some of which only recognise the first four writer capacities (Harvest Media, for example, maps Composer/Author, Composer, Author and Arranger to its own codes and treats anything else by whether the track has lyrics).

Writer capacities

Value	Meaning
Composer	The creator, or one of the creators, of the musical elements of a work.
Author	The creator, or one of the creators, of the text of a work.
Composer/Author	The creator, or one of the creators, of both the text and the music.
Arranger	A modifier of the musical elements of an existing work.
Adaptor	The author, or one of the authors, of an adapted text of a work.
Sub Arranger	A creator of arrangements authorised by the subpublisher.
Sub Author	The author of text that substitutes or modifies the existing text of a work.
Translator	A modifier of the text into a different language.
Income Participant	A person who receives royalty payments for a work but is not a copyright owner.

Publisher capacities

Value	Meaning
Original Publisher	The publisher that holds the original rights in the work.
Sub Publisher	A publisher that represents the work in a territory on the original publisher’s behalf.