Everything a label, distributor or developer needs to understand DDEX music delivery, explained in plain language by the team that builds DDEX delivery systems.
Digital Data Exchange — the music industry body and family of standards for exchanging release, rights and sales data between labels, distributors and digital service providers. The standards are free to use and are maintained by member companies including labels, distributors and digital service providers.
The DDEX XML standard used to send a release — tracks, artwork, metadata, territories and deal terms — from a label or distributor to a store. Each ERN message contains a MessageHeader, a PartyList (ERN 4), a ResourceList with sound recordings, images and videos, a ReleaseList describing the product, and a DealList with territories, use types such as Stream and PermanentDownload, and start dates.
The NewReleaseMessage creates a release, updates it, or takes it down by changing its deals. The PurgeReleaseMessage removes a release and its files completely. After processing a batch, stores return an FtpAcknowledgementMessage confirming success or listing errors.
DDEX rules for how ERN messages, audio and artwork are transported — for example SFTP batch delivery or a web-service (API) profile. In SFTP batch delivery, a folder holding XML, audio and artwork is uploaded and closed with a completion file; the store processes it and returns an acknowledgement.
Every recording carries an ISRC, every release a UPC / EAN (ICPN in DDEX), every composition an ISWC, and every sending or receiving company a DDEX Party ID (DPID).
The DDEX standard for sales and usage reports sent from stores back to labels and distributors; the input for royalty accounting. A royalty engine matches each DSR line to a recording by ISRC, applies contract splits and produces statements.
A complete system needs a clean catalogue model, ERN generation for every version stores require, XSD and store-profile validation, a delivery engine for SFTP, S3, Aspera and APIs, acknowledgement tracking with retries, and DSR import for royalties. Plans Global Solutions builds this as the Global Distribution Hub.
| DDEX ERN version | How we use it |
|---|---|
| ERN 4.3 | Latest generation of the Electronic Release Notification standard; used for new integrations where the store supports it. |
| ERN 4.2 | ERN 4 release with refined resource and deal modelling; widely supported by stores moving to ERN 4. |
| ERN 4.1 | First widely adopted ERN 4 version; introduced the PartyList and a simplified release model. |
| ERN 3.8.2 | Mature ERN 3 version still required by many stores and partners; we generate it alongside ERN 4. |
Simplified sample of a DDEX ERN NewReleaseMessage for demonstration — production feeds include the full PartyList, technical resource details, deal terms and store-specific profiles. Delivery is simulated.
We build, host and run DDEX ERN delivery for distributors, aggregators and labels.
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