Associating data with your finished sound effects products is the final step before submitting your material to sound distributors. This data, called metadata, offers interested buyers information on each sound in your library. Details about the seven main types of metadata to be used when cataloging your sound effects follow.
First, it is important to choose the correct format for creating your metadata document. Generally an .xls project is the best way to organize your library using each sound as a row and each category as a column. Such a document allows for easy sorting and searching according to type, time length, or SKU number.
1. The first column should be title Main Category and should broadly include categories such as Amusement and Games, Home and Office, and Web Buttons. Minimalism in choosing main categories is the best means of having a tightly organized library right off the bat.
2. The next column, Sub-Category, should divide each main category into more specific types such as Vehicles:Cars, Vehicles:Trucks, Vehicles:Watercraft.
3. If you associate a SKU number of three letters unique to you, such as your initials, and five digits such as SFX00001_DogBark with each sound effect upon their creation your sounds will be perfectly organized. The sound to follow the above example would begin with SFX00002 and so on which assigns a totally unique identity to each sound. This numbering system alleviates confusion in the future should you have multiple Dog Barks and only organize them alphabetically.
4. The Title is a friendly title to be displayed for the potential licensee such as Dog Bark 1.
5. Since shorter sound effects are generally worth less than longer sound effects it is important to include the Time Length in your metadata so that interested clients know the length of each sample they might license.
6. Track info stipulates whether the sample is stereo or mono as well as the sample rate, bit rate , and file type such as Stereo 48k 24bit .wav which informs the licensee about the quality of the sample.
7. Keywords are very important in letting potentials buyers find your sounds and should not be ignored. They should contain the plurals of the sound, associated sounds, phrases, and even misspellings such as dog, dogs, dog bark, dog barks, bark, barks, dog pack, pack, wolf, canine, wolves, canines, barck, barcks.
Once you have successfully cataloged your sound effects with organized metadata you are ready to submit your sounds to online sound effect libraries for licensing and profit.
First, it is important to choose the correct format for creating your metadata document. Generally an .xls project is the best way to organize your library using each sound as a row and each category as a column. Such a document allows for easy sorting and searching according to type, time length, or SKU number.
1. The first column should be title Main Category and should broadly include categories such as Amusement and Games, Home and Office, and Web Buttons. Minimalism in choosing main categories is the best means of having a tightly organized library right off the bat.
2. The next column, Sub-Category, should divide each main category into more specific types such as Vehicles:Cars, Vehicles:Trucks, Vehicles:Watercraft.
3. If you associate a SKU number of three letters unique to you, such as your initials, and five digits such as SFX00001_DogBark with each sound effect upon their creation your sounds will be perfectly organized. The sound to follow the above example would begin with SFX00002 and so on which assigns a totally unique identity to each sound. This numbering system alleviates confusion in the future should you have multiple Dog Barks and only organize them alphabetically.
4. The Title is a friendly title to be displayed for the potential licensee such as Dog Bark 1.
5. Since shorter sound effects are generally worth less than longer sound effects it is important to include the Time Length in your metadata so that interested clients know the length of each sample they might license.
6. Track info stipulates whether the sample is stereo or mono as well as the sample rate, bit rate , and file type such as Stereo 48k 24bit .wav which informs the licensee about the quality of the sample.
7. Keywords are very important in letting potentials buyers find your sounds and should not be ignored. They should contain the plurals of the sound, associated sounds, phrases, and even misspellings such as dog, dogs, dog bark, dog barks, bark, barks, dog pack, pack, wolf, canine, wolves, canines, barck, barcks.
Once you have successfully cataloged your sound effects with organized metadata you are ready to submit your sounds to online sound effect libraries for licensing and profit.
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