We've previously featured artists and labels in this space, but this time around we're mixing it up a bit and talking about music data providers. Music data providers are companies who are instrumental in making your release information available to music consumers and fans.

Some music data providers are business to business (b2b) services like All Music Guide. For example, music destinations like iTunes and Rhapsody will license biographical information from (AMG) to power the artist pages in their on-line storefronts. In addition to the editorial service AMG provides, the site also includes basic data such as track listings, track time, cover art, mood, tempo, and production credits etc. If you want make sure your release(s) are complete on these 3rd party music sites, you'll need to make sure your catalog is serviced to AMG.

Other sites such as Audible Magic and Shazam, utilize artist metadata and audio fingerprinting as a way to help people identify your releases. This can be used as a security measure (make sure people have rights to use certain songs), or as a way for fans to identify music they are hearing, so they can purchase (or win a bet). Finally, other websites like MusicBrainz provide an open source database that can be used both commercially and by recreational users looking for release information about their favorite artists. Following are brief descriptions and links to a handful of important sites we recommend you utilize. Please feel free to contact Digital Music Marketing if you have any questions or if you would like to inquire about how we can help you deliver your music to these services.

All Music Guide is the Mac daddy of the music data sites. Originally known as All Music Guide, aka AMG or All Music was founded in 1991 as a reference book (remember those?) to help consumers and fans look up music recordings. Now owned by Rovi,they have further expanded to include movies and video game information which they license to retailers, online content sites and other entertainment media companies. Some of these companies are pretty big, including Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo!, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Ticketmaster and Napster. Find out where to submit your releases by linking here.

Audible Magic uses audio fingerprints (a technology that can analyze sound to recognize songs from a database) from your recordings to reference and compare against other music uploaded to 3rd party sites to determine ownership. This helps protect your recordings against illegally uploaded content and allows you generate income. A good example of a 3rd party site is Soundcloud who, who use Audible Magic’s content id system. If you are familiar with the site, you know it’s pretty easy to upload music here. If anyone tries to upload your song to Soundcloud, the song would be blocked from that user’s page and they would receive a notice letting them know you hold claim to the copyright. Companies that use Audible Magic include AOL, Facebook, Microsoft, MTV, MySpace, Myxer and Verizon. You can find out how to register your titles with Audible Magic by linking here

Discogs hosts a open source (user built) database that contains information on artists, labels, and their records. They also have a Marketplace where people can buy and sell recordings. This site is constantly growing as users can submit releases to the database.

CDDB or the CD Database is the granddaddy of the metadata services. CDDB began in the early 1990’s as direct result of compact discs, which don’t actually contain artist or track information. CDDB is now owned by b (Sony) and is known as the Gracenote Global Media Database. This outside database connects via the internet and supplies the information you see in your iTunes player when you put a compact disc into your computers disc drive. You should definitely submit your new release information into the CDDB database as soon as you have a master recording available to do so. (Especially, if you’re going to send out review copies on cd). You can submit your titles through iTunes, Winamp and QMP player applications.

Music ID extends b by integrating additional media recognition products. One of these is Stream Identification which uses an audio fingerprint that allows people to identify your songs using a sample taken through a smart phone or other device. This is essentially the same as Audible Magic’s technology mentioned above, but Gracenote uses it to enhance consumer electronic products like internet connected TV’s and mobile devices. The Music ID system is used to recognize any music source, whether it’s a CD, digital file, or analog stream. Another company that’s doing very well in the audio recognition space is Shazam, who are listed below.
 

Musicbrainz is like Wikipedia for music. It was initially created as a response to Gracenote taking over the free CDDB project and charging people for access to the (what up till that point had been free) data. It’s an open source site that makes music and record label metadata available for both public and commercial use. MusicBrainz has since built additional products and services to increase the functionality of the database. Everything is open source and/or free for non-commercial use. Visit www.musicbrainz.org to create an account, start entering your titles and label information. A couple of sites currently using MusicBrainz are GrooveShark and Zvooq.

Shazam is one of the better known music recognition services. The company has been around since 2002, but really exploded when they introduced their iPhone app a couple of years back. Shazam now has 30 million subscribers worldwide including the Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Windows platforms. The app has music recommendation, lyrics and tour information functions plus the opportunity to watch videos or buy music. You can mark tracks for later purchase too. The company has recently partnered with Spotify, so consumers can identify music and listen on Spotify right away.
 

SoundScan is a service that tracks the sale of music and video releases. Titles registered with SoundScan get counted when they are sold at brick and mortar stores (scanned) and download stores too. Soundscan also has a separate program where venues sales can be added into the reporting too. To be eligible for Soundscan tracking, your release must first have a UPC and/or Barcode, and then be registered with Soundscan so it can be counted. You can easily register your title and UPC online by clicking here. Soundscan also offers ISRC registration for singles and more accurate tracking of download sales. This information is useful for tracking results of your marketing and sales activities and a helpful tool for developing bands to build their story.

By familiarizing yourself with these sites, you will quickly learn the importance they play in music discovery. Data services help provide quick access to your artist information through cd computer drives, music websites and mobile devices. They can also help identify and protect your copyright and most importantly promote sales. Core providers include All Music Guide, Audible Magic, Discogs, Gracenote Music ID, MusicBrainz, Shazam and Soundscan. Consistent service to these sites will insure that your titles are properly represented throughout the internet, on mobile devices and more.