Understanding Art Tracks

What is an Art Track?

The features described in this article are available only to partners who use YouTube’s Content Manager to manage their copyrighted content.

An Art Track is an automatically generated YouTube version of a sound recording. An Art Track consists of the sound recording, the album art, and metadata about the recording, such as its title and artist name.

The purpose of Art Tracks is to provide a single official, label-sanctioned YouTube version of every sound recording. Currently, official music videos are available for recordings only when a label or artist invests (non-trivial) time and resources into producing one. Art Tracks automate the creation of versions for recordings that don’t have a produced music video.

YouTube creates one Art Track for each sound recording that you upload using the YouTube Music DDEX feed or the“Audio – Art Tracks” bulk upload spreadsheet. It identifies recordings based on their ISRC. If you upload multiple instances of the same ISRC (for example, if the recording appears on multiple albums or as part of a compilation), YouTube creates the Art Track using the version with the earliest release date in each territory.

Art Tracks fill in the gaps to ensure that YouTube has a complete music catalog. They appear in the same places as produced music videos, such as on the YouTube topic channel for the main artist, in album playlists, and in search results, including watch cards for the artist. YouTube uses the produced music video for recordings that have one; when you upload a music video for a sound recording, the Art Track for that recording becomes unlisted and undiscoverable.

Creating Art Tracks

To create Art Tracks for your sound recordings, you upload the recording and artwork media files along with a metadata file that describes the recording. You can provide the metadata in one of two formats:

YouTube creates the Art Track based on the values you provide in the file; see below for details about how the metadata values impact the resulting Art Track.

Sound recordings that you upload for Art Tracks are not used for the YouTube rights management system or Content ID. To create sound recording assets for rights management or Content ID, use the YouTube Rights Administration Feed XML format or the “Audio – Sound Recording” bulk upload spreadsheet.

The Art Track consists of the artwork provided for the album and information about the track. If a track appears on multiple albums, the Art Track shows the artwork and title for the album with the earliest release date.

Building an Art Track from a DDEX file

The table below identifies the element in the DDEX file that YouTube uses for the track information. If the element in the Primary DDEX source column does not exist in the message, YouTube uses the value from the element in the Secondary DDEX source column. The items with an asterisk show in the Description associated with the Art Track, not in the Art Track itself.

YouTube does not support per-territory metadata. If the message includes multiple versions of the metadata for a track, YouTube uses only the version that appears first in the message.If you include translated titles or artist names, the translations appear alongside the original language text in the Description; the Art Track uses only the original language. More about providing translated titles and names.

Information Primary DDEX source Secondary DDEX source
Album art 
<ResourceList>
   <Image>
   <ImageDetailsByTerritory>
     <TechnicalImageDetails>               
       <File>

If a release has more than one <Image> element, the Art Track uses the first one

 None
Track title 
<SoundRecording>
  <SoundRecordingDetailsByTerritory>
   <Title TitleType=”DisplayTitle”>
 
<SoundRecording>
  <ReferenceTitle>
     <TitleText> plus optional
     <SubTitle>
Artist 
<SoundRecording>
  <SoundRecordingDetailsByTerritory>
    <DisplayArtist>
      <PartyName>
        <FullName>

If a track has more than one <DisplayArtist>, the Art Track shows each artist on a new line, up to four lines

 
<ResourceList>
  <DisplayArtist>
   <PartyName>
     <FullName>
Album title 
<Release>
 <ReleaseType>Album</ReleaseType>
   <ReferenceTitle>
    <TitleText>

plus optional <SubTitle>

 
<ReleaseDetailsByTerritory>
 <Title TitleType="DisplayTitle">
  <TitleText>

plus optional <SubTitle>
Copyright* <PLine>
If the track doesn’t have a <PLine> element, the Art Track description uses the <PLine> element for the album		 <CLine>
If the track doesn’t have a <CLine>element, the Art Track description uses the <CLine> element for the album
Release date* <ReleaseDetailsByTerritory> <OriginalReleaseDate> None
Contributors* 
<SoundRecording>
  <ResourceContributor>

The Art Track description lists each contributor on a separate line, with a comma-separated list of roles (from the <ResourceContributorRole> tag) followed by the contributor’s name. YouTube sorts the contributor list alphabetically by role unless the<ResourceContributor> includes an explicit SequenceNumber attribute.

 None
GRid and UPC 
<Release>
 <ReleaseType>TrackRelease</ReleaseType>
   <ReleaseId>
    <Grid>
    <ICPN>

If you provide them for the track release, these IDs are saved as attributes of the art track asset. They do not appear in the Art Track itself.

 None
Partner-specific ID 
<SoundRecording>
 <SoundRecordingId>
   <ProprietaryId>

If you provide a ProprietaryId for a sound recording, the ID is saved as the custom_id of the art track asset. It does not appear in the Art Track itself.

 None
Building an Art Track from an “Audio – Art Tracks” spreadsheet

The table below identifies the column in the spreadsheet that YouTube uses for the track information. The items with an asterisk show in the Description associated with the Art Track, not in the Art Track itself.

You can’t provide translated titles or artist names using the spreadsheet, nor a list of contributors. You need to provide a DDEX feed to include these items.
Information Spreadsheet column
Album art album_art_filename
Track title track_title
Artist track_artist
Album title album_title
Copyright* track_pline
If the track doesn’t have a track_pline, the Art Track description uses the album_label
Release date* album_release_date
GRid, EAN, and UPC If you provide them for the track release, these IDs are saved as attributes of the art track asset. They do not appear in the Art Track itself. None

YouTube assets and objects created for Art Tracks

The features described in this article are available only to partners who use YouTube’s Content Manager to manage their copyrighted content.

When it processes the content of a YouTube Music DDEX message or a “Audio – Art Tracks” bulk upload spreadsheet, YouTube creates objects in the rights management system and associates them with your partner account.

For messages with new content, YouTube creates these objects:

  • For each album (DDEX <Release> with a <ReleaseType> of Album), YouTube creates a playlist. The playlist consists of the its tracks (in DDEX, the primary resources identified in the <ReleaseResourceReferenceList> for the release).
  • For each track (in DDEX, each <SoundRecording> in the <ResourceList>), YouTube creates:
    • A sound recording asset, if one does not already exist for the same ISRC code. The audio file is added as an inactive reference file for the asset; to make an active reference file for use with Content ID, use the YouTube Rights Administration Feed.
      If a sound recording asset exists for the same ISRC code, YouTube updates the sound recording asset with the metadata specified in the file.
    • An art track asset, with no reference file. If you provide a ProprietaryId for the recording, the ID is saved as the custom_id of the art track asset.
    • A relationship between the sound recording asset and the art track asset
    • An Art Track
    • A claim on the Art Track from the art track asset
  • YouTube sets ownership of the art track asset and applies a usage policy to it. The policy monetizes the Art Track in territories in which you’ve claimed ownership and blocks it in all other territories where there is no ownership defined. From a DDEX file, YouTube sets ownership based on the <ReleaseDeal> that defines subscription terms for an individual track; from a spreadsheet, it uses the track_territory_start_dates.
    If a DDEX message does not provide subscription terms, YouTube applies a policy that blocks the Art Track worldwide. The blocked Art Track is not available in the ad-supported service or the subscription service.

For messages containing updates, YouTube updates the previously created objects with the latest updates. For example, if the update message provides new subscription terms, YouTube updates the policy applied to the Art Track.

YouTube creates just one Art Track for each ISRC code. If more than one music partner submits content for the same ISRC code and the same territories, YouTube creates the Art Track using the metadata, artwork, and audio file from the submission with the earliest release date. YouTube also assigns ownership of the art track asset based on the earliest release date in each territory.

Ownership of Art Tracks

The features described in this article are available only to partners who use YouTube’s Content Manager to manage their copyrighted content.

YouTube creates a single Art Track for each sound recording, and a single art track asset to represent the Art Track in the YouTube rights management system. Having a single asset per ISRC enables YouTube to aggregate rights across territories and to make the Art Track available in all territories in which the owner(s) have granted YouTube proper rights. It also enables YouTube to aggregate all views on a single Art Track.

To identify which territories you own rights to the art track asset in, you list the territories in the DDEX feed or the spreadsheet. These files are the only way to set or update ownership of an art track asset. You can’t edit the ownership in the YouTube Content Manager or using the YouTube Content ID API.

Different partners may own the art track asset in different territories. For example, if Label A released a given song in the United States and Label B released it in the rest of the world, YouTube creates a single art track asset which Label A owns in the United States and Label B owns in the rest of the world. The Art Track is available worldwide with all views and comments concentrated on the same video. YouTube shares revenue with Label A for all revenue generated in the United States, and Label B for revenue generated in the rest of the world.

If multiple partners claim ownership of an art track asset in the same territory, the partner whose version has the earliest release date for the recording is designated as the owner. If multiple owners deliver a recording with the same release date, the corresponding art track asset has an ownership conflict that needs to be resolved.

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