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iStockphoto - Stock Audio Training Manual


5.0 - Metadata

The success of your portfolio depends on you and your keywording skills. iStock uses the following standards in metadata inspection:


5.1 Title

10 words or less describing the audio file’s subject or theme. Don't name files starting with: A1, A, AAA, 1A, etc. Trying to manipulate search results by starting every clip with A1, A, AAA, 1A, etc is not tolerated (nor is it effective). Titles should accurately reflect the clip or subject. Reviews of member accounts occur regularly.


5.2 Description

Please provide us with a good description of the audio — this information may help us decide if we can approve your recording. Provide a description of the recording’s subject, location, special circumstances, or any other interesting or valuable information regarding the clip. Description should not include musicians' names or ethnicity, trade names or copyrighted material/names.


5.3 Keywords

How well you keyword your audio determines how effectively the search engine matches it to client searches. The trick is to appear in relevant searches; getting in front of the buyer with the content they want results in sales. But accuracy is essential - bloating up your keywords to squeeze into searches where you don't belong may irritate members who want to find something specific. With thousands of members searching every day, someone wants to find your track. Here's how to help them:

Importance of Keywords - Describe the subject of your audio. You have a maximum of 50 words to describe all the pertinent details. However using 50 semi-descriptive words will not put your track in front of people that want to hear it. It is far better to use 10 words that perfectly fit the track. The more specific you are, the more likely your clip will be found by the right searches. What is it? Is it a guitar, in an arena, with distortion? Two singers in the distance, panned hard left & right? Two pots, banging together, in a kitchen? A looped section of drum & bass? Be sure to tell the search engine the correct information.

Describe Everything - Include everything about the recorded track. For tracks of music include the instruments used in the recording or the major effects used. For sound effects include items like location (train yard), subject (train), environmental conditions (rain, wind), background noise (construction, church bells, etc.) It can also be beneficial to include the mood or feeling of a particular music track (dreamy, exotic, suspenseful, etc.) Be sure to include any instruments that are used in the track. It is better to be general than too specific here (i.e. “acoustic and guitar” instead of Taylor acoustic electric guitar).

Be General - No one thinks alike, and no one visualizes in the same terms. Exact details are great, but without general terms, overly specific words can keep your clip away from less detailed searches. Someone may search for "tap shoes on wood," but are just as likely to search for "dance", or even "shoes". Include them all. Start with your specific description, and then expand to something more general; but know when to stop.

Synonyms - There are no hard and fast rules for adding synonyms to your keywords. On one hand, you want to broaden the possible range of searches that will find your track. On the other hand, you need to remain specific enough that the description is accurate. Padding out your 50 available words with every entry in the thesaurus may bring you more results, but increases your chances of being irrelevant to many of them.

  • Include a few synonyms for each of the most important parts of your audio. Be creative but realistic.
  • Try to imagine all the different words a person might use to describe the same thing. For example: drum, percussion, snare, beat, etc.

5.4 Other Descriptors

There are several fields that help narrow search results, and give more information to the searcher increasing the chance to find your audio clip that perfectly fits someone's needs. Fill out as many fields as possible:

  • Style or Genre (mandatory) - Pick the style that represents your audio.
  • Tempo - Audio inspectors will check and enter the appropriate tempo for your audio file.
  • Key - Pick the key that your song is in or select no key at all.
  • Time Signature - Pick the time signature of the piece or enter no key at all. (i.e. 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc..)

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