Keith Kirk | Ep 6 | The Banski Show

The Banski Show – Episode 6: Keith Kirk | Metadata in Music

Keith Kirk | Metadata in Music 

Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? You spend hundreds of hours writing and producing an album, or many thousands re-recording and editing it, and you want to make money from it. But how? If you’re a DIY musician, you have to be able to look beyond the big numbers of Spotify or YouTube streams. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to do just that.

 

In this episode, I am joined by Keith Kirk, a music metadata specialist who has worked for majors like the Universal Music Group, BMG, Sony Music UK, and TOVA Music Group. We discuss metadata, certifications, codes, publishing, and music credits platforms and give you an all-round view of today’s algorithmic and data-driven music world.

 Learn how to create and embed your metadata properly, collect all of your royalties as a DIY artist, and monetize your music by checking the boxes we mention in the episode. 

 We discuss:

●     Keith’s background and why he started Music Motif Services.

●     Why things like spelling your name correctly, embedding metadata are critical to publishing your music, any error made does not only cause difficulty fixing it later on but can also delay your payment.

●     Learn about ISRC and ISWC codes and the differences between the two.

●     Why you should sign up as a songwriter for a publishing administration company like Songtrust.

●     More about ISRCs- not only does every song have its own ISRC, but every different version of a song (radio edits, explicit, clean) has its own ISRC too.

●     Why it is important to include ISRC with the song registration in your Songtrust account. 

●     Learn about MLCs or Mechanical Licensing Collective. It ensures music publishers and rights holders get paid whenever their musical works are streamed online or downloaded. MLCs are government-funded and work in favor of independent artists from the US.

●     Different types of Codes and numbers you have to take care of- IPI No., ISNI No., UPC, etc.

●     What are Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), and how do they collect royalties on songwriters and music publishers?

●     Learn about SoundExchange, a digital PRO. SoundExchange collects 5 percent of all your revenue to pay background vocalists and musicians.

●     Advice for artists who are trying to do their own metadata.

●     And much more!

Resources Mentioned:

●     Music Publishing Administration - Songtrust

●     Mechanical Licensing Collective - MLC

●     Music Credits Platforms - https://www.sound.credit/

●     MLC - https://themlc.com/

●     Music Encyclopedia - https://musicbrainz.org/

●     Digital Performance Rights Organization - https://www.soundexchange.com/

Connect with Keith!

Find Keith on Clubhouse for Music Mondays: @keithkirk