Music Catalog Metadata Spreadsheet for Sync: Columns Every Artist and Studio Should Track

Why sync catalogs need a spreadsheet

A catalog can sound amazing and still be hard to use. If you cannot quickly find songs by mood, tempo, clean status, one-stop status, instrumental availability, writer, publisher, master owner, or sample risk, your catalog will slow down under pressure.

A metadata spreadsheet gives artists, studios, managers, and sync producers a practical operating system. It does not replace agreements. It points to them and makes the catalog searchable.

Choose a row structure you can maintain

For a small catalog, use one row per recording, with a stable internal work label linking versions of the same composition. Keep recording title, version, audio link, and ISRC separate from the work title, composition agreement, and ISWC.

As the catalog grows, put works, recordings, and individual writers or publishers in linked tabs or tables. Avoid treating several writers and several share percentages in one cell as a database that can calculate ownership reliably.

Creative discovery columns

Add title, artist, genre, subgenre, mood, energy, tempo, BPM, vocal type, language, explicit status, lyrical theme, instruments, era, similar scene uses, and short pitch description. Write like a human searching for a scene, not like a keyword robot.

Useful examples include: “tense trap instrumental for sports comeback,” “warm acoustic love song for family montage,” or “clean confident hip-hop hook for brand launch.”

Track the evidence behind the status

Include composition agreement status, recording ownership, approval route, restrictions, evidence location, last-checked date, and the next responsible person. Keep the underlying contracts in private storage.

Use explicit values such as “authority needs confirmation,” “separate publisher approval,” and “rights unresolved.” A single green status cannot tell you whether the audio is complete, ownership is agreed, or a particular license is approved.

Download and adapt the catalog starter

Download the sync catalog starter (CSV). It contains three fictional recording rows and the fields used in the example below. Replace or delete the examples before using it for your own catalog.

The internal labels link recordings to compositions. They are not official identifiers. Blank ISRC and ISWC fields mean the example supplies no assigned code.

Import the CSV into your preferred spreadsheet app and keep identifier columns as text. It has no formulas, automatic clearance, or DISCO connection. Add detailed writer and publisher records separately rather than treating the summary as a completed split agreement.

Audio and asset columns

Track full mix, instrumental, clean, stems, acapella, lyrics, artwork, WAV link, MP3 link, file location, and version notes. The sheet should answer whether useful edit versions exist before someone opens the session folder.

For studios, this doubles as a delivery record. For managers, it becomes a quick way to know which songs can be submitted to a brief.

Identifier and registration columns

Add ISRC for recordings, ISWC for compositions when assigned, IPI for writers and publishers, distributor, release date, UPC, PRO registration status, MLC status, copyright registration status, and notes.

ISRC guidance says ISRC is intended for recordings and music videos. Keep it attached to the correct recording version instead of treating it as the song ownership ID.

Link to signed records without making them public

Link the work to the applicable signed agreement or mark it missing. Keep a separate status for the recording agreement and any licensing authority. A composition split can be complete while master terms remain open.

Use access-controlled evidence links for people who need them. Before sending a catalog extract outside the team, remove private agreement URLs, personal contact data, and internal negotiation notes that the recipient does not need.

Filter for the question you are answering

For a brief requiring instrumentals, filter for that file availability and then review rights authority and restrictions. For a rights cleanup, filter for missing agreements or stale authority checks. These are different tasks.

If someone supplies the missing instrumental, update its file status without silently changing an unresolved approval to complete. Confirm every required condition for the actual pitch and log the version sent.