How To Fill In... The DML Datasheet
The DML Audio File Delivery Guidelines
“No matter how brilliant your music is, TV and film producers will never license it if they can’t find it…” Read more at Sound On Sound
When searching for music, new tracks are mainly discovered by searching for keywords or phrases in a search engine—this information comes from the data you enter in your datasheets.
When your tracks are uploaded online, your data will be added to other databases with thousands of tracks, so the more detailed and accurate yours is, the more likely your music will be discovered.
As the artist, you are the best person to describe the work you have created, as we pen-pushing office bods were unable to capture the full vibes and put them down on paper.
Please remember that if you produced, wrote lyrics, sung vocals, or played the bass, you must collaborate to complete the datasheet in the same way that you collaborated to create a track. It shouldn’t be left to just one person (unless the track was solely created by you!).
The datasheet may look daunting, so we have created How to Fill In… guides to help you, along with many drop-down lists with keywords to choose from. We hope both tools will make this process a bit less of a chore.
So here goes
Column L – TRACK: Title
You need to add the track’s title here. For more guidance and ideas, please visit our Titling & Description page.
Column M – TRACK: Display Title
Please add the title of the track again.
Column N – TRACK: Alternative Title
If you have an alternative title for the track please insert it here.
Column O – TRACK: Description
Each version of each track needs to have its own description. Obviously, each description may be similar, which is fine but you need to make sure they are not identical and are relevant to the version you are describing. For more guidance and ideas, please read our The Importance Of Good Data guide or head to our Titling & Description page.
Column S – TRACK: Version
Here you can choose from the dropdown arrow to select the version of the track. Options of versions area as follows:
- Main—This is the full version in all its glory, which can be 1.5 – 3 minutes in length.
- Commercial 30 Sec- This version needs to be exactly 30 seconds and should contain the main theme representing the track in all its glory.
- Commercial 15 Sec- This version needs to be exactly 15 seconds and should contain the main theme representing the track in all its glory.
- Short- It only needs to be between 2- 5 seconds, containing something punchy with impact.
- Underscore- Only needs to contain any Drums & Bass; it can be anything from 30 seconds to the full length. Cut out the gaps where no Drums & Bass are present; you may have to rearrange it to maintain interest & flow slightly.
Additional Versions for Drag & Drop:
- 16 Bar Loop- Please add description
- 8 Bar Loop- Please add description
- 4 Bar Underscore Loop- Please add description
Instrumental Versions:
If there are any vocals (including vocal fx), they all need to be removed. No other editing is required. This is required for every edit that has vocals. For example, if you have used vocals in the main and 30-second versions, you must provide instrumental versions for both the main and 30-second versions.
For more info on the edits we require and how they should be produced, please have a look at our Edits page.
Column T – TRACK: Duration
Here, add the length of each track version. Please use the format mm:ss- 2:32, 0:43, 0:05.
Column U – TRACK: BPM
Here, you need to add the beats per minute for the track.
Column W – TRACK: Genre
Here, you can select from the dropdown to match the most relevant (primary) genre of your track. If you think it’s like none of these, let us know and we’ll add a new one!
Columns Y-AC – TRACK: Instrumentations
Select the lead instrument from the drop-down list. If yours isn’t included, let us know and we’ll add it! You need to fill in a minimum of 3 instrumentations (1 instrumentation per cell) and remember, the more information you can input on the datasheet about your track the easier and more likely potential customers will find your music- which hopefully will lead to more sales!!
Column AD – TRACK: Root Key
Add the root key of the track.
Columns AE-AJ – TRACK: Keywords
Use the drop-down list to enter a minimum of 4 keywords to describe the track. Keywords are used to link specific, descriptive words to your track. When someone is searching for tracks, normally (unless they already have a track in mind), they will type in whatever keywords they can think of relating to the track in mind. As tracks normally have an artistic name, adding keywords is perfect to help lead people.
You can, of course, add your own but keep it clean.. 🙂
Column AK- TRACK: Lyrics
Does the track have lyrics? Use the drop-down list to select whether your track includes lyrics and if they are explicit or not. Make sure you have filled in a lyric sheet. For guidance on creating lyric sheets, please see our Lyric Template Sheet.
Column AN- TRACK: Composers
Here you can add the names of the composer(s) / artist(s) of the track. Please use commas ‘,’ to separate each featured composer/artist. I.e James Maytal, Curtis Nancy
Column AP- TRACK: Artist(s)
Here you can add the Pseudonym or preferred same of the composer(s) / artist(s) / group that features in the track. I.e Darwin feat Jeffrey
Column AQ- TRACK: Audio Filename
Please leave this blank, this is to be filled by the person who masters the album in full.
Column AR- TRACK: Mood
Select the emotion/mood of the track from the dropdown options. Again, if you think it’s like none of these, feel free to add your own.
Columns AS-AV – TRACK: Music For
Use the dropdown options to match the ideal usage of your track best. Please fill in as many of these as you can. We require a minimum of 3. Again, the more you can fill in, the better your chances of people finding your music and making sales! If you think it’s like none of these, let us know, and we’ll add a new one 🙂
That’s it, you’re done!
Thanks for reading the guide. As usual, if anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Many thanks
The DML Team
