If your catalog has more than 10 releases, there is a 90% chance it has metadata problems — inconsistent artist names, missing ISRCs, conflicting cover art versions. Each one of those issues represents a quiet leak in royalties or a missed search hit.
The 6-step cleanup sprint
- Export your full catalog as a single CSV
- Standardize the artist name spelling across every row
- Verify every ISRC and UPC is present and unique
- Cross-check release artwork resolution (3000x3000 minimum)
- Tag every track with up-to-date genre and mood metadata
- Re-deliver the cleaned-up catalog through your distributor
Side benefits
A clean catalog is easier to license, faster to sync, and ranks better in store search. The same cleanup work also makes monthly royalty reports actually useful.