Producers, songwriters and engineers can be named on a song in Spotify and Apple Music. Neither service lets you type those credits in yourself: they come from the metadata your label or distributor delivers with the release.
What each service shows
| Spotify | Apple Music | |
|---|---|---|
| Where credits come from | Metadata sent by the label or distributor | Metadata delivered with the release |
| Roles shown | Producers, engineers, songwriters, featured artists | Performers; composition and lyrics; production and engineering |
| Time to update | Usually within 7 days of receiving new metadata | Up to five business days |
| Extra | Songwriter credits can be clickable when the writer has a Songwriter Page (in beta) | Optional artist identifiers such as an Apple Artist ID or ISNI |
Apple's rules for writing credits
- Use specific roles, not a generic "Performer".
- Credit each band member individually with their own instrument or role.
- One person can hold several credits.
- Use "Composer" for the music, "Lyrics" for the words, and "Songwriter" when someone wrote both or the split is unclear.
- Credit everyone involved in the final recording under production and engineering; for Dolby Atmos, include the Immersive Engineer.
Fixing a wrong or missing credit
On Spotify the fix is to ask your label or distributor to resend the track's metadata with the correct credits; once Spotify receives it, the change usually appears within 7 days. Spotify notes that some distributors do not yet send credits at all. On Apple Music, credits can be added to music already delivered and can take up to five business days to show.
Collect credits before release
The easiest moment to get credits right is in the studio, while everyone is there. Write down every contributor's full name and exact role, and keep it with the splits. Our free split sheet records who wrote and who recorded, and gives you a list to deliver with the release.
With Mazufa
Releasing with Mazufa is free: no upload fee, no subscription and no per-release fee, with the revenue share set out in your written agreement. Send the full credits with your release, and they are delivered with the metadata where each service supports them. Apply at mazufa.com/apply
Sources
- Spotify for Artists, Clickable song credits on Spotify — https://support.spotify.com/artists/article/song-credits
- Apple Music for Partners, Deliver credits to Apple Music — https://itunespartner.apple.com/music/support/5542-deliver-credits
On the limits of this guide. Both services can change which credits they show and how. The details above are as published on the date of this guide.