1 Introduction

This document defines the Recording Information Notification standard and was developed by the member organisations of the Digital Data Exchange, LLC (DDEX). Any organisation wishing to implement this (or any other DDEX standard) is required to apply for an Implementation Licence. Information about the Implementation Licence, its terms and conditions and access to an application form can be found found here and here.

The Recording Information Notification standard (RIN) is a format that can capture and communicate data relevant to the process of creating a recording which is complex and iterative, with many production stages between capturing sound and releasing a finished recording. RIN is designed for machine-to-machine communication. It is not designed to be read by humans. Interpretation of RIN XML messages will be performed by studio based systems, such as digital audio workstations, metadata collection applications or consumer focused production applications.

Every stage in the process leading to a new audio creation, be it of a new composition, the inclusion of a new guitar track or creation of a new mix, etc. is a “studio event”. In each studio event there are a number of metadata elements that may be worth capturing. Who performed which musical work? Who played which instrument? When and where was this performance recorded? Who was the sound engineer? Which recording components (or, in studio parlance: tracks) were used to create a specific mix? And which sections of these recording components have been used? These pieces of information are important for several reasons, including the attribution of credits and the payment of royalties to the correct people. Also, the richer the data provided to retailers, the better they can market the products, which can potentially increase the audience and, thus, the royalties generated.

When implementing this standard, it should be borne in mind that the definitions of some terms may well differ from the way in which they are defined and used in different parts of the music industry and/or as they may be defined in different legislations around the world. One such example is “producer” which is sometimes defined to mean the company that initiates the production of a sound recording (usually a record company) and sometimes defined to be the individual person that directs the recording process. To avoid such confusions, in this particular case, DDEX is using the term “Initial Producer” for the former meaning and "Studio Producer" for the latter meaning (see Clause 4.1).