Contributor Roles & Requirements

Contributor roles credit the people behind a recording — the writers, performers, and technical personnel who shaped the work. On digital platforms, you typically see performers, featuring artists, and remixers, while supporting roles may be hidden. Although contributor roles aren’t considered for top billing on a release or song, digital music providers have begun to support or require these roles for credits and proper attribution.

Producers, songwriters, drummers, mastering engineers, and other roles you’d find in traditional liner notes are the types of roles supported in this feature. More partners are adopting these roles and may require them in the future, so adding them to your releases now may benefit how your release displays over time.

Contributors are organized into three groups, entered at the track level under Distribute ► Releases ► [your release] ► Tracks:

• Writers — those who contribute to the writing and composition of a work (songwriter, composer, lyricist).
• Performers — those who actively perform on the recording, as an individual or part of a group (guitarist, keyboards, drums, lead vocals, etc.).
• Production & Engineering — those who work behind the scenes finalizing and shaping the recording (producer, mastering engineer, recording engineer, etc.).

You can add as many roles as you need to properly attribute a song.

Apple requirement: Tracks delivered to Apple Music must have at least one role represented per contributor group (Writers, Performers, Production & Engineering). Details from Apple can be found in their Apple Music Style Guide. When creating a release, you’ll be prompted to include the necessary roles. (See Apple Requirements below for full details.)

Writers

Symphonic requires every track to have at least one Writer role (Composer, Lyricist, or Songwriter), regardless of which DSPs you select. This has been required on all tracks since August 3, 2021, and aligns us with industry content standards for crediting these contributors. You’ll be prompted to provide it when creating a release or when editing an existing one.

Choosing the right writer role

Choose the role that matches what each person actually contributed:

• Composer — The person who wrote the music (melody, harmony, or instrumental composition), but not the lyrics. Use this when someone contributed only the musical portion of the work.
• Lyricist — The person who wrote the lyrics (the words), but not the music. Use this when someone contributed only the words.
• Songwriter — The person who wrote both the music and the lyrics. Use this as a combined credit when the same person created both parts.

Which should I use?

• If one person wrote both the music and the lyrics, credit them as Songwriter.
• If different people wrote the music and the lyrics, credit each separately — one as Composer and the other as Lyricist.
• If a single person wrote only the music or only the lyrics, use Composer or Lyricist rather than Songwriter, so their specific contribution is credited accurately.

Note: Some platforms and territories require writers to be credited for their specific contribution (music vs. lyrics). Selecting the most accurate role ensures your credits are delivered correctly everywhere your music appears.

Use real legal names

The legal first and last name of each writer is required. These roles should not use aliases or performer/artist names. If not provided correctly, the release may be rejected.

• Correct: Austin Post
• Incorrect: Post Malone

(For a track by the artist Post Malone, the writer would be entered as Austin Post — his legal name — not his performer name.)

Unknown authorship: If a track contains selections of unknown authorship, such as a folk song or Gregorian chant, use Anonymous or Traditional as the composer.

How to add a writer

On your release, navigate to Distribute ► Releases ► [your release] ► Tracks. Under your track details, you’ll see a Writers section. Enter the writer’s first and last name, then select Composer, Songwriter, or Lyricist from the drop-down. To add more writers, select + Add Artist.

Performers

Performers are those who actively perform on the recording, either as an individual or as part of a group.

Examples: Lead Vocals, Rap, 12-String Acoustic Guitar, Moog, Synth Bass, Drum Machine, keyboards, drums.

Performers are optional in general but required for Apple (at least one role per track). If you are interested in delivering your release(s) to Apple, a performer credit is required. 

Production & Engineering

Production & Engineering covers those who work behind the scenes finalizing and shaping the overall recording to be ready for consumption.

Examples: Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Immersive Engineer, Graphic Design.

Non-performing contributing roles such as Producer, Recording Engineer, or Graphic Designer should not be credited as the Primary artist.

Production & Engineering is optional in general but required for Apple (at least one role per track). If you are interested in delivering your release(s) to Apple, a performer credit is required. 

Where These Roles Appear on Platforms

Support varies by platform. For example, Spotify supports displaying Producer & Songwriter credits on its releases, and Apple requires a role per contributor group, as described above. More partners are expected to adopt and require these roles over time.

FAQs

Do I have to edit all my past releases to supply these requirements? 

No. You are not required to edit past releases. If you choose to edit an older release for any reason, you’ll be prompted to fulfill the current requirements at that time.

If I deselected Apple on my releases, can I add Apple later? 

Yes. Edit your release, fulfill the updated requirements, and select Apple as a DSP before resubmitting.