Media Enrichment and Description
The DDEX standard that allows the communication to DSPs of “non-core” information to help them market to consumers about the products they offer is the Media Enrichment and Description Standard (MEAD).
The text of the MEAD standard with detailed explanations and advise about how to go about an implementation is available on the Knowledge Base.
MEAD is the standard that enables the communication of a broad range of metadata that can be used for marketing which would not normally form a part of the data communicated along the supply chain. Such “core” supply chain information is communicated using the Release Delivery Standard.
MEAD supports more than 30 different mechanisms for the description of parties, releases, resources such as sound recordings, and works in ways that are different from the data exchanged using the Release Delivery Standard.
A few examples of such information includes:
- Information about “focus tracks”, which is crucial for voice-activated services (i.e. which sound recording or video is to be played when a consumer asks for, for example, “the latest George-Ezra track” – which may well differ from Ezra’s most recently released song because of advertisement campaigns or other events);
- Journalistic material such as reviews about a musical work, a recording, an album or a musician;
- Lyrics of musical works or recordings;
- Information about artist nicknames, whether “official” or not;
- Information about historic chart positions of and/or awards won by an artist, a work, a recording or a release; and
- Extended information of interest for aficionados of classical music.
DDEX expects the MEAD standard to develop and expand significantly over the years as greater understanding increases of what sort of information supports the marketing of music by DSPs.
