Media Enrichment and Description
The text of the Media Enrichment and Description (MEAD) standard with detailed explanations and advise about how to go about an implementation is available on the knowledge base.
The MEAD standard message enables the communication of a broad range of “non-core” metadata about musical works, sound recordings or music videos that can be used for marketing. The message is usually sent by a record company, distributor or other metadata source to a digital music service provider (DSP). This is metadata which would not normally form a part of the data communicated along the supply chain. Such “core” supply chain information is communicated using the ERN standard.
The MEAD standard supports more than 30 different mechanisms for the communication of metadata about releases, resources such as sound recordings or music videos, and musical works in ways that are different from the data exchanged using the ERN standard. It is anticipated that the MEAD standard will frequently be used in parallel with the PIE standard.
A few examples of such metadata includes:
- Metadata about “focus tracks”, which is crucial for voice-activated services. An example of this would be identifying which sound recording or music video is to be played when a consumer asks for, for example, “the latest George-Ezra track”. The “latest” track may well differ from Ezra’s most recently released track because of advertisement campaigns or other events;
- Journalistic material such as reviews about a musical work, a sound recording, an album or a musician;
- Lyrics of musical works or sound recordings;
- Information about artist nicknames, whether “official” or not;
- Information about historic chart positions of and/or awards won by an artist, a musical work, a sound recording or a release; and
- Extended information of interest for aficionados of classical music.
DDEX expects the MEAD standard to develop and expand significantly over the years as greater understanding increases of what sort of information supports the marketing of music by DSPs.
A slide presentation overview about the MEAD standard is available here.
You do not have to be a member of DDEX to implement the standards. Anyone can implement any of them once they have taken out a DDEX Implementation Licence. Information about the Licence is available here and the application form is available here.
