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The final step in organizing sound effects for submission to a sound effect library is pairing different types of data with each sound. This metadata, as it is called, lets prospective clients in on specific details concerning each sound. The seven most useful categories of metadata to be included in your sound effect catalog are listed below.

First, it is important to choose the correct format for creating your metadata document. Generally an .xls project is the best way to organize your library using each sound as a row and each category as a column. Such a document allows for easy sorting and searching according to type, time length, or SKU number.

1. The Main Category column should contain broad categories such as Ambiences, Animal, Human, Transportation. Try to be as efficient in their use as possible in order to maintain a logical order to your library from the start.

2. The next column, Sub-Category, should divide each main category into more specific types such as Vehicles:Cars, Vehicles:Trucks, Vehicles:Watercraft.

3. Assigning a SKU number that begins with three unique letters, such as your company’s initials, and five digits such as SFX00001_BirdChirp as you make them will add immediate organization to your library. The next sound should begin with SFX00002 etc. allowing each sound to be completely unique in title. This sort of numbered titling eases future confusion should you end you with 50 dog barks organized alphabetically.

4. A friendly title for Title is simply intended to inform the buyer on the type of sound like Bird Chirp 1.

5. Since shorter sound effects are generally worth less than longer sound effects it is important to include the Time Length in your metadata so that interested clients know the length of each sample they might license.

6. Track info stipulates whether the sample is stereo or mono as well as the sample rate, bit rate , and file type such as Stereo 48k 24bit .wav which informs the licensee about the quality of the sample.

7. One of the main ways that clients find your sounds will be by searching for keywords and thus your Keyword category is very important. Plurals of the sound, related sounds, phrases that include the sound, and misspellings can all help your sounds be found such as car, cars, vehicle, vehicles, car driving, driving a car, kar, kars.

The next step after cataloging your sounds according to the above seven steps is submission to online distributors for sale of licensing rights.

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment