Through our partnership with LyricFind, Sonomo enables the seamless delivery of lyrics to platforms such as Google, YouTube, Amazon, TikTok, Deezer, Pandora, and more.
This article covers essential tips, formatting rules, and best practices to ensure your lyrics are delivered without issues.
How to Add Lyrics
To add lyrics, log into your Distribution Dashboard, then navigate to the asset page and locate the "Lyric" field, which is positioned below the Genre and above the Playtime fields.
Lyrics must be 100% accurate and match the audio exactly, including any integral vocal parts (such as ad-libs or background vocals).
General Formatting
- The structure of your lyrics should mirror the song's structure. When transcribing, ensure you use appropriate line and section breaks to differentiate between the various parts of the song.
- Line breaks: Separate different lyrical sections (e.g., verses, choruses) with line breaks.
- Stanza spacing: Leave a double space between stanzas.
Identify key sections in the song, such as:
- Defined parts (chorus, verse, intro, bridge, hook)
- Changes in tempo
- Changes in vocal delivery (e.g., from singing to rapping)
Capitalization
- Capitalize the first letter of every lyric line.
- Follow standard grammar rules for capitalization, including:
- Proper nouns (e.g., “God,” “You,” “Him” in religious contexts)
- Acronyms (e.g., NASA, FBI)
- Geographical locations (e.g., East Coast, Southside)
- Title casing (e.g., “The Road to Nowhere”)
- The first word inside parentheses (e.g., (Chorus))
- Brand names (e.g., Coca-Cola)
Punctuation
- End punctuation: Do not place periods or commas at the end of lyric lines. Only use exclamation marks, question marks, or quotation marks as needed.
- Within lines: Follow traditional grammar punctuation rules (e.g., commas, periods, apostrophes).
- Additional punctuation:
- Hyphens: For dropped words, spelled-out words, and acronyms (e.g., L-Y-R-I-C-S)
- Parentheses: Background vocals should be placed in parentheses at the end of a line, with the first letter capitalized (e.g., “I’ll be there (I’ll be there)”).
- Apostrophes: Use for slang or contracted forms (e.g., ‘Rari for Ferrari).
Repeated Lines
The lyrics should mirror the audio exactly, including repeated lines. If a line is repeated multiple times, it must appear as written in the lyrics.
Correct:
Until you respect me and my dogs, I’ll keep barking up the wrong tree.
I’ll keep barking up the wrong tree.
I’ll keep barking up the wrong tree.
I’ll keep barking up the wrong tree.
Incorrect:
Until you respect me and my dogs, I’ll keep barking up the wrong tree (Repeat x3).
Clean and Explicit Lyrics
The term “clean” should only be used if there is an available corresponding explicit version of the track. In clean lyrics, dropped and edited content should be represented with asterisks.
Clean vs. Explicit Lyrics
- Clean Lyrics: Only label the lyrics as "clean" if there is an explicit version of the track available. Censored words in clean lyrics should be represented by asterisks (e.g., "****").
- Explicit Lyrics: If the track is explicit, transcribe the lyrics exactly as heard in the audio, including any explicit language.
Example:
Audio: “I'm the motherfucking man”
Lyrics: I'm the motherfucking man
Clean Version (if censored):
Audio: “I'm the mother(bleeped out) man”
Lyrics: I'm the **** man
Audio: “I'm the (bleeped out) man”
Lyrics: I'm the **** man
By following these guidelines, your lyrics will be delivered seamlessly to the platforms we support, ensuring they meet all necessary standards. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out!