Following the Apple Music Style Guide is mandatory to maintain your music distribution rights with Apple Music and iTunes. The guide establishes standards for organizing and presenting metadata, covering titles, artists, track versions, and album details. It details best practices and provides clear instructions to ensure your content is displayed correctly on the release date. Proper metadata is crucial for a positive user experience and is a fundamental requirement for Apple and other digital service providers (DSPs).


We highly recommend sharing this guide with your team and ensuring compliance when preparing and reviewing a release for distribution.

Key Guidelines in the Apple Metadata Style Guide:

These guidelines cover some key points, but they are not exhaustive. For complete details, please read the full guide.


  • Title and Artist Information:
    Provide accurate and complete information on song titles, artist names, and featured artists. This helps with clear identification and attribution.

  • Album Information: Follow the specified format for album titles and include essential details such as release dates and explicit content labels.

  • Artwork Requirements: Ensure your album artwork meets Apple's guidelines for size, resolution, and content. High-quality artwork enhances the visual appeal of your music.

  • Genre Classification: Select the most appropriate genre categories for your music. Proper classification increases the likelihood of your content being recommended to users interested in similar genres.


TIP: To quickly find specific topics in the guide, use keywords like "Artwork," "Explicit," "Various Artists," and others. This approach will help you locate guidelines on the subjects that are most relevant to you.



Example from the guide: How to avoid creating a Compound Artist:


Metadata Issues and Apple Tickets


If Apple identifies a metadata issue in a release, it can affect its visibility in some or all territories on the release date. In cases of missing or significantly incorrect metadata, the release might be removed from all Apple Music and iTunes stores.


When Apple detects a metadata issue, it generates an Apple ticket, prompting us to notify you via email through Revelator Support. The email will describe the problem, request a resolution within 48 hours, and provide step-by-step instructions for fixing it and redistributing the release. Once you've addressed the issue, we'll follow up with Apple to ensure the ticket is closed. Failure to resolve an Apple ticket within the specified timeframe could result in Apple removing the release entirely.


Example: An Apple ticket from Revelator Support:



If you have any questions about the correct application of the Style Guide, or how to resolve a pending Apple ticket, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

APPLE MUSIC STYLE GUIDE 2.2