Lyrics

What Are Credits?Credits are the list of performers who participated in the creation of a song. We break credits down into the following categories: Artists: The Artists credit is attributed to the primary artist or artists who released the song. Artists on Genius should be credited in accordance with their credits on streaming services, preferably Apple Music. If the primary artist is a list of multiple artists on streaming services, see the Artist annotation in the How to Edit Metadata on Genius guide to determine whether the primary artists should be grouped together as a single artist or separated as multiple primary artists. One exception to this rule is for groups — two or more artists with their own artist pages that come together to release under an alias. These are often listed on streaming as the group name along with the members all as one primary artist. To simplify this, only use the group name. For example, on streaming services the album An Evening with Silk Sonic by Silk Sonic (the duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) is credited to "Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak & Silk Sonic," but on Genius you'd credit "Silk Sonic." Writers: The writer song credit is attributed to the artists who wrote the song—this includes both the artists who composed the music and those that wrote the lyrics. Featured Artists: Featured artists are guest artists that substantially contribute to a song—usually through vocals and songwriting. Producers: Producers handle the composition of music—in hip-hop they're generally the person(s) who made the beat. Additional Credits: This field covers all other artists who contributed to the song—this includes artists who played specific instruments, handled various forms of engineering, etc. When Should/Shouldn't You Add Credits?Song credits should ONLY be added to Genius once they've officially been released. This means: You shouldn't make assumptions for any credit fields You should be able to provide a reputable source for the credits you add Credits should never be added to certain song pages, in order to prevent those pages from appearing in artist discographies on Genius. Don't add song credits to: Translation/Romanization pages Fan-Made Mashups Unofficial Remixes Unofficially Released Covers AI-Written Lyrics How to Find CreditsLiner Notes: Liner notes are the credits that come in the sleeve of a physical album. They can also sometimes be found in the booklets that come with the purchase of a digital album. Performance Rights Organizations: A Performance Rights Organization (P.R.O. for short) is an organization that helps an artist collect public performance royalties. For writers to collect money from their P.R.O., they have to register songs they took part in —> How to find P.R.O. credits Streaming Services: Streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and TIDAL offer song credits within their metadata —> How to find credits on streaming services Social Media: Sometimes the primary artist of a song/other reputable sources will mention a song's writers on social media. These credits are okay to use as long as the source is reputable. Other Websites: Reputable song credit sites like AllMusic and Discogs are okay to source from. Crowdsourced sites like Wikipedia can serve as a reference but require additional confirmation. Additional Role StandardizationsSince different sources list credits differently, we've created our own set of standardized additional roles. When adding credits from official sources, refer to this guide to find the right standardized title to use. Note that this list of credits only lists the credits we've found to be most-used. If the credit you're attempting to add isn't listed here, use your best judgement or reach out to streetlights for further assistance. When adding these credits, keep in mind that all roles should be listed individually. Writing Roles Writer* Composer Lyricist Translator Production Roles Producer* Co-Producer Executive Producer Vocal Producer Additional Production Programmer Drum Programmer Arranger Studio Roles Mixing Engineer Mastering Engineer Recording Engineer Engineer Assistant Mixing Engineer Assistant Mastering Engineer Assistant Recording Engineer Assistant Engineer Studio Personnel Additional Mixing Additional Mastering Additional Recording Additional Engineering Preparer Vocal Roles Vocals Lead Vocals Background Vocals Additional Vocals Choir Ad-Libs Label / Publishing Roles Label Publisher Distributor Copyright © Phonographic Copyright ℗ Manufacturer Instrumental Roles Guitar Bass Guitar Acoustic Guitar Electric Guitar Rhythm Guitar Cello Drums Bass Keyboards Percussion Piano Violin Organ Synthesizer Strings Trumpet Viola Saxophone Trombone Scratches Instrumentation Locations Recorded At* Mastered At Mixed At Artwork Credits Artwork Art Direction Graphic Design Illustration Layout Photography Video Credits Video Credits should always be written in the following format: "Video" + "Role Title." Examples: Video Director Video Producer Video Director of Photography Video Cinematographer Video Digital Imaging Technician Video Camera Operator Note that video cameos should NEVER be included as an additional role. Instead, list those names in the Q&A section. Album Roles Album Roles are roles that should be placed on album pages rather than the songs on the album. Executive Producer All Artwork Credits A&R