Release your Music with your Collaborators

Making sure that your collaborators are correctly credited is an essential step before you start monetizing your tracks on Winamp for Creators.

There are four levels at which you must add metadata about your collaborators: 

1. The "Artists" level
2. The "Writers & Collaborators" level
3. The "Producers and Engineers" level
4. The "Musicians" level

The Artist Level: Adding "Artists" to your release

If you've made a song with another artist and want the release to appear on two or more artists' profiles in DSPs, the metadata needs to follow the below rules:

Artist Type	Name
Primary Artist	This refers to Primary Artists who are the principal artist(s) or band(s) who participate in the release. If you choose your collaborator as a primary artist, you will both appear at the same level. This means the release appears on both artists' DSP profiles as a release in their discographies.  A maximum of four primary artists can be chosen per release. For example: In OASIS, the 2019 album by Bad Bunny and J Balvin, they both appear as primary artists.
With	This applies to the artists who accompany the primary artist in the release.  If you choose this option for your collaborator, they will appear as a featured artist and their name will appear on DSPs. However, without the word "feat." By choosing this option, the release will appear on their "Appears On" section. For example: Day One by Bon Iver with Dijon and Flock of Dimes
Featuring	This applies to artists who accompany the primary artist in the release, but: If you choose this option, the artist will appear as a featured artist and the phrase "featuring" will appear on the track title on DSPs.  By choosing this option, the release will appear on their "Appears On" section.  For example: Crazy in Love by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z

In brief, Primary, With, and Featuring Artists serve as the main “Display Artists” on DSPs, this means the artists to which the release will be linked. 

This information needs to be provided correctly from the Artist Credits section in each track's metadata. You can choose the option that best suits your track. However, don't forget to provide us with the profile links of the collaborating artists before sending your release. 

You can do this when you push your track for distribution, under Distribution tab, under the links option. 

Other things to keep in mind include the following: 

• If a featured artist is shown on the cover art, they must also be listed at the album level (or both levels for a single) and must always accompany the primary artist either as primary, with, or featured artist.
  
  
• Additionally, a featured artist listed at the album level must be reflected on their specific tracks; if there are multiple featured artists, they should be assigned to their respective tracks rather than listed collectively at the album level.
  
  
• Unique Artist Names: Ensure your name is unique to avoid your music being merged with another artist's catalog.
• Formatting: Avoid all caps, all lowercase, mixed alphabets, or special characters, as these may require social media verification.
• Various Artists: Never manually type "Various Artists." List all primary artists individually; the system will automatically apply the "Various Artists" tag if there are more than four.

The "Writers and Collaborators" Level: The people behind the track

After adding the artists performing a track, the next step is to include the roles for the collaborators who are directly linked to the creation of the song you are submitting. This includes the songwriter, producer, composer, lyricist, and arranger. 

Adding these roles is mandatory, and making sure that the full name of the collaborators is added is mandatory as well.

Here's a breakdown of each role: 

Role	Key Responsibility	Mandatory Usage	Special Notes
Producer	Manages sound recording and production concept.	Mandatory for all releases.	Artistic producer names can be used, but full name is preferred by DSPs.
Composer	Composes the music for the track or album.	Mandatory for all releases. Full legal name needs to be provided (NAME + LAST NAME)	Classical: Use "Various Composers" if >4.  If Unknown: Use "Popular" or "Unknown".
Lyricist	Writes the lyrics for the track.	Mandatory for songs based on literary texts; highly recommended for others. Full name needs to be provided in format (NAME + LAST NAME)	Do Not Use for instrumentals or tracks without spoken words.
Arranger	Adapts/redesigns an existing work.	Optional depending on musical work. Full legal name required.	Mandatory for Classical Music

Here are some tips for this part of the metadata that you should keep in mind when filling in this metadata:

• When crediting the people behind your track, it is always best to use their full legal name. 
• Clarify with your producer who will get composer credits if your release. If you bought your beat from a Beatmaker, check the license details to verify if they get a composer credit.
• If you are a songwriter and wrote the lyrics and music for the song, you must enter your legal name both on the Composer and Lyricist field.
• If your release is instrumental, leave the lyricist field empty.

Musicians & Performers

Lastly, you need to credit the performers participating in your track. This step is mandatory, and at least one participant must be indicated. 

This is where you have to add if anyone has performed an instrument in your track. You can choose from a wide range of options in our menu.

If no instruments are performed and the song has been solely made within your Digital Audio Workstation for example, through VSTs, then assign the performer role "programming" to the producer of the track and/or the vocals of whoever is singing in the track. 

Once all these roles have been filled in following the instructions mentioned above, you should be good to go! And remember, the rule of thumb is that the more transparent and complete your metadata is for your track, the smoother the delivery to DSPs.Release y our Tracks with your Collaborators

Making sure that your collaborators are correctly credited is an essential step before you start monetising your tracks on Winamp for Creators.

There are four levels at which you must add metadata about your collaborators: 

1. The "Artists" level
2. The "Writers & Collaborators" level
3. The "Producers and Engineers" level
4. The "Musicians" level