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When filling in fields, watch out for upper/lower case and stray spaces

Details that make the difference

One extra lower-case letter or a space at the end of a field – and the recording shows up under the wrong name, or the platform does not match it at all. Read on to find out how to get it right.

When you fill in the metadata for a recording or set up an account, seemingly small details have a big impact. Platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music are sensitive to accuracy – they do not correct your input automatically and take it exactly as you enter it. That is precisely why it pays to know what to watch out for.

Upper and lower case

Letter case is not just a matter of looks. To the databases of streaming platforms, “Novák” and “novák” are two different entries. As a result, your music may be matched not with your artist profile but with someone else's, or the same name may appear in several variants. In Artists Bez Labelu, too, the names of additional primary and featured artists are compared case-sensitively – to the system, “Jan Novák” and “jan novák” are two different artists.

Keep it consistent

If you enter a name as Jan Novák once and as jan novak the next time, the platforms will treat them as two different artists. Always use the same variant in all fields and for every release (or rather, for every recording).

Artist name (pseudonym)

  • Enter it exactly as the artist actually uses it.
  • If they go by dj mrkev, write it in lower case.
  • If they go by DJ MRKEV, write it in capitals.
  • Follow how the name appears on their profiles and releases.

Legal name (author)

  • Format: First name Surname – exactly as on the ID card.
  • A capital letter at the start of each name.
  • No titles, no abbreviations, no nicknames.
  • If there are several authors, separate them with a comma.

Address in your account

  • Fill it in exactly as on your ID card (the article Why you must provide your real address explains why).
  • If in doubt, check the correct format, for example on mapy.com.
  • Watch out for unofficial street abbreviations – always write the correct name.

Spaces – an invisible problem

An extra space (especially at the start or end of a field – or several spaces in the middle by mistake) is an error you cannot see at first glance. Yet it can cause the platforms to interpret the field differently from what you expect. This most often happens when copying text from a chat, another document or a website.

What you entered How the platform sees it Result
Jan Novák Jan Novák Correct
Jan Novák (space at the start) Jan Novák Error – a different entry
Jan Novák (space at the end) Jan Novák Error – a different entry
Jan Novák (extra space between names) Jan Novák Error – a different entry
jan novák (lower case) jan novák A different artist in the database
JAN NOVÁK (all caps) JAN NOVÁK A different artist in the database

Diacritics – háčeks and accents

Whether you use diacritics is up to you – but you must use them consistently. If you enter an artist as Lukáš once and as Lukas the next time, duplicate entries are created. This applies in particular to pseudonyms.

Tip: Make up your mind before your first release

Once you have chosen a variant (with diacritics or without), it should stay the same on all releases. Changing it retroactively is technically complicated and can split your artist profile on the platforms in two. What is more, the account's artist name can only be changed once free of charge before your first release; after that, only for a fee and with a new profile on the platforms.

Checklist before submitting

Before you click “Save” (and “Distribute” in the release detail), go through these basic rules:

  • Check spelling and letter case – especially in the artist name, song titles and author names. Make sure everything matches how it appears on the other platforms.
  • Remove spaces at the start and end of each field – if you copied the text from somewhere else, extra spaces are very common.
  • Check the diacritics – háčeks and accents, yes or no? Choose one variant and stick to it. Once chosen, a variant cannot easily be changed.
  • Compare with previous releases – the artist name, the author's name and the project name should always be written the same way.
  • Before each field, ask yourself: “Is this really information that belongs in this field?” – the right field = the right data.

Chaos in the databases has real consequences

If the same name exists in different variants (once with a capital letter, once in lower case), the platforms read them as different entities. This has a negative effect on playlist placement, the reliability of recommendation algorithms and the overall credibility of the profile. On top of that, platforms respond to such inconsistencies with increasingly strict automatic filters – they will fix some things, but you cannot rely on that at all. The forms in Artists Bez Labelu will at least warn you about author names without capital letters, and the Data check in the release detail will flag extra spaces or titles written in CAPS LOCK.

Summary

Metadata is your music's calling card. Accuracy when filling it in is not bureaucracy – it is the foundation for fans and platforms recognising you correctly and for your music being assigned to the right profile. Give each field a moment of attention and fill it in as it should be – including letter case, with no spaces at the edges and with your chosen approach to diacritics.

If you are not sure how to fill in a particular field correctly, take a look at our other articles – for example on how to enter an author's name correctly, or what a pseudonym is and how to register it properly.