Guides

How to keep a music catalog in order when your tracks go to many places: stock sites, libraries, distributors.

Written by Ivan Ryzhko, a composer with 300+ tracks on audio stock and 12 years in production.

These guides are written around tracklog, an app that keeps this catalogue for you. Free for 14 days.

The rules of one site or library: Platforms A to Z.

• Free music catalog template for Excel and Google SheetsOne row per track, one column per platform. Download it free, then see why each column is there.
• How to keep track of where your music is uploadedYour tracks are on stock sites, in libraries and with a distributor. Here is a simple way to always know where each one is.
• How to build a music catalog you can keep track ofYour catalog is every finished track you have, and where each one is. Here is how to set it up so it still works at 500 tracks.
• Music metadata checklist: what to fill in for every trackLibraries, stock sites and distributors ask for much the same details. Fill them in once, in one place, and copy them from there.
• ISRC, ISWC and UPC: which code is whichThree codes for three different things: the recording, the song as written, and the release. Here is what each one is for, who gives it, and where to write it down.
• How many songs on an EP? Single, EP and album rulesSpotify and Apple Music sort releases by the number of tracks and the total length. Here are the rules, with examples.
• How to tag stock music: tags, genres and descriptionsBuyers find a track on a stock site by its words. Here is how to write them so they follow the rules of stock sites like AudioJungle and Pond5 and still bring people to your track.
• Versions, cutdowns and stems: what libraries ask forA production music track rarely travels alone. Here are the usual versions, how long they are, and how to name the files so they stay together.
• Retitling: when one track has several titlesSome libraries give your track a new title. Here is why they do it, what can go wrong, and how to keep every title straight.
• Spreadsheet or catalog app: when a sheet stops workingA spreadsheet is a good music catalog for a long time. Here are the signs it no longer is, and what to look for in its place.
• How to sell music on stock sites: a practical startStock sites sell licenses for your music to people who make videos, ads and games. Here is how it works, where to start, and what to prepare before the first upload.
• Exclusive or non-exclusive music librariesSome places want your track to be theirs alone. Others let it be everywhere. Here is what each deal means, what to ask before you sign, and how to keep the two apart.
• Music release checklist for independent artistsA release through a distributor has a lot of small parts. Here is what to do four weeks before, on release day, and after, so nothing is missed.
• Registering library music with your PROWhen your track plays on TV, someone has to report it, and someone has to be registered to be paid. Here is who does what, and what to check yourself.
• YouTube Content ID: how your tracks earn from other people's videosContent ID finds your music in other people's videos and gets you part of the ad money. Here is how it works, which tracks qualify, and why every registered track counts.
• DISCO and tracklog: what each one does and when you need bothIf you pitch music for sync, someone has probably told you to get DISCO. Here is what it does, what it doesn't do, and where tracklog fits in.
• Music libraries to submit to, and how to applySome places let anyone upload. Others want an application and pick a few. Here is who takes music as of October 2026, on what terms, and how to apply without losing track.
• AudioJungle and Motion Array titles, tags and file names in 2026Envato search now reads the meaning of your words, and Motion Array asks for the opposite kind of title. Here are the rules of both, and how to write words that work on each.
• How sync licensing works for independent artistsA sync license lets someone put your music in a film, a show, an ad or a game. Here is how the rights work, the ways in, how the money comes, and what to prepare before you pitch.
• How to back up your music projects, masters and catalogA dead drive or one wrong click can take years of tracks with it. Here is what to back up, where to keep the copies, and how to check that they work.
• Music distributor, library or stock site: where your music goesA distributor, a stock site, a music library and a PRO do four different jobs. Here is what each one does, who pays you, and when one track in several places starts a conflict.
• Can you sell AI music? Suno, DistroKid and TuneCore rulesSometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the tool, your plan, and the place where you send the track. Here are the current rules, checked on each platform's own pages in October 2026.
• Beat lease vs exclusive: how to keep track of beat salesYou lease the same beat to many artists, and one day someone buys it exclusive. Here is how the two licenses differ, what the big beat stores say happens next, and what to write down so nothing is missed.
• Stock music rejected: the common reasons and what to do nextA rejection is an answer about one track on one site. Here are the usual reasons, what each site's notice means, and what to do next.
• I checked my catalog against every site it is onI compared my catalog of 361 tracks with every stock site, library and registry it is on. Here is what was wrong, and how you can check yours.