What Is Label Copy?
Label copy is the complete metadata sheet for a release: for the release and every track, it lists titles, versions, artists, songwriting and production credits, ISRC, UPC, P and C lines, genre, language, explicit flag and release date. Store listings, the credits on Spotify and Apple Music, and royalty accounting are all built from this information. Mistakes in the label copy show up everywhere later on — or stop a release from being accepted in the first place.
What information goes into label copy?
At release level: release title, release type (single, EP, album), primary artist, label, UPC, release date, genre, P and C lines and the cover art. At track level: title and version, primary and featured artists, ISRC, songwriters (composition and lyrics), producers and engineers, language of the vocals, explicit flag and, where applicable, details on AI use. Label copy used to be a document sent to the pressing plant; today it’s the dataset your distributor uses to build the delivery to the stores.
Writing titles, versions and artists correctly
Stores have strict style rules. Featured artists belong in the dedicated field, not in the title. Version details such as “Remix,” “Acoustic” or “Extended Mix” go in the version field. All caps, emojis or additions like “Official Audio” get rejected or corrected. And the artist name must be spelled identically across all releases — even a different space can send a release to someone else’s artist profile.
Credits: stage name or legal name?
Primary and featured artists are credited under their stage name. Songwriters — composers and lyricists — are usually listed under their legal name, because composition royalties are matched through them, for example at your collecting society. Production credits such as producer, mixing engineer and mastering engineer can usually use a stage name. Apple Music additionally requires credits from the composition, performance and production categories for every track.
How label copy gets to the stores
Your distributor translates the label copy into a standardized delivery package, usually in DDEX format, and sends it to each store together with the audio and cover art. Every platform checks the information against its own rules. That’s why it pays to enter metadata cleanly right from the start: changing many fields on a release that has already been delivered is only possible to a limited extent or via support.
The most common mistakes — and how to avoid them
A featured artist in the title instead of the field, missing songwriter credits, a wrong explicit flag, cover art with text that doesn’t match the title or artist, a new ISRC for a recording that’s already been released, a release date without enough lead time. The release wizard in OGRECORDS™ music distribution walks you through the label copy step by step, assigns ISRCs and UPCs automatically and checks for missing required fields before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need label copy as an independent artist?
Yes, even if you don’t call it that: every detail you enter with your distributor is part of the label copy. Putting it together cleanly beforehand saves you rounds of corrections.
What does explicit mean for a release?
The explicit flag marks tracks with content that may be unsuitable for children, such as strong language. It controls parental filters in the apps and must be set truthfully.
Can I change metadata after the release?
Partly. Some fields can be updated through your distributor; others — such as the ISRC or artist assignment — are locked on delivered releases or can only be changed through the stores’ support.
Where do the credits from the label copy appear?
In the song credits on Spotify and Apple Music, among other places. That’s exactly why the names there need to appear the way you want them to be publicly visible.
Do I have to set the release date in the label copy?
Yes. The date controls when a release appears in the stores and determines the lead time for pre-saves and editorial pitching. Allow several weeks of lead time if you want to submit to playlist editors; for a recording that was released earlier, the original release date belongs in there too.
Get your next release right.
The release wizard handles ISRCs, UPCs, credits and metadata for you — delivered to Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and every other store.