For the best possible listener experience, lyrics must be accurate and match the audio. This includes everything that is an integral part of the vocals. Apple may change the formatting of provided lyrics for stylistic reasons.
The structure of a song must dictate a lyric’s format and structure. When transcribing lyrics, it is important to separate the lyrical sections and changes within a song with line and section breaks. All lyric lines must be single-spaced and a double space separate each stanza. All background vocals should be on a separate line following the main vocal line.
If unsure when to input a line or section break, some common identifiers are:
A defined chorus, verse, intro, bridge, or hook
Changes in the song tempo
Changes in how the artist delivers the lyrics (from singing to rapping)
Capitalization in your lyrics should follow traditional grammar rules. Proper nouns should be capitalized. Additionally, all lyric lines should begin with a capital letter.
Here are examples of words that must be capitalized:
Divinity and religious intricacies (“God,” “You,” “Him,” “Your” in religious songs)
Acronyms (NASA, FBI)
Geographical location (East Coast, Southside, etc.)
Title casing
The first letter of the first word contained in parentheses
Brand names
Do not end any lyric line with a period or comma. Exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks are the only acceptable end-line punctuations and should be included as needed.
Within the line, it is most important to follow traditional grammar rules.
Additional examples of acceptable punctuation:
Hyphens for dropped words, spelled out words, and acronyms (L-Y-R-I-C-S)
Apostrophe for certain slang and contractual modifications (‘Rari for Ferrari)
The lyrics should match the audio. If a line is repeated, it must be written out.
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)
Currently, spoken word/conversational content within a song should not be transcribed.
Non-word vocals should be transcribed sparingly and only if they add to the content of the song, either narratively or stylistically.
Improvised scatting is considered instrumental content and must not be transcribed.
Non-lyrical, or “harmonious non-word vocal sounds,” should be transcribed.
For example: “ooh,” “ah,” “whoa,” as well as onomatopoeia such as “burr” or “skrrt.”
Do not include computer-generated sound effects in lyrics (door slamming, car horn, phone ringing, etc.)
The term “clean” must only be used if there is an available corresponding explicit version of the track. In clean lyrics, dropped and edited content must be represented with asterisks.
If the track is explicit, all explicit language must be transcribed as it is heard in the audio.
Audio: “I'm the motherfucking man”
Lyrics: I'm the motherfucking man
Partially or fully censored words must be completely starred out with asterisks.
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
For Indian languages, delivery of a Romanized copy is requested as the primary lyric. The original Brahmic script can be shared as an optional separate attachment.
Time-sync must be applied to the exact audio version you are providing to Apple Music. Different versions of the same songs will have different time-sync. To learn more about the spec, see TTML File Format.