The information on your release metadata must match what appears on your cover art. Discrepancies can confuse customers and may prevent CD Baby from delivering your release to digital stores.

For example, if your artist name on the cover art is “Chris Robley & the Fear of Heights,” the same exact name must appear in your CD Baby submission metadata.

Artist name artwork requirements

• The spelling and formatting of the artist name on the cover art must match the artist name entered in your submission.
  
• Any additional performing artists listed on the artwork must be credited as primary or featured artists on the album or on the specific tracks they perform on.
• Artists listed as “featuring” or “with” on the cover art must appear as a featured artist on at least one track.
• If the cover art uses the phrase “& Friends,” those “friends” must be credited as featured performers unless the name refers to an established group.

Album or single title artwork requirements 

• The spelling and formatting of the album or single title on the cover art must match what you entered in your submission.
• Version information (e.g., Remix, Radio Version) displayed on the cover must also be included in the metadata.

Language artwork requirements

• Cover art must be presented in a single language.
• The language or characters used on the cover must match the album language selected in your submission.
  • Example: If the cover uses Greek characters, your submission must also be entered in Greek.
  • If the album language is set to Spanish, cover art must be presented in Spanish.

Exceptions and special cases for artwork

• Cover art can list both the band name and individual band members, but only the band name must appear in metadata.
• Abbreviations and acronyms are allowed if they clearly correspond to the full name in metadata (e.g., ICP ↔ Insane Clown Posse).
• Artist names not included in metadata are only allowed if:
  • They aren't preceded by “feat.” or “with”
  • The primary artist is displayed more prominently than unlisted names
  • They include “produced by” or “mixed by”
  • The release is not in the Classical genre
• Cover art must match the language of the metadata. For example, if metadata is in English, the cover cannot be exclusively in Japanese or Greek characters.

Things to note

• Metadata and cover art must align to avoid delays or delivery issues.
• Review all artist names, track titles, and language selections carefully before submission.