Lyrics
Review guidelines for submitting lyrics
Ahh, lyrics. It’s what songwriters would arguably consider the most essential part of a song.
It’s what DJs use at shows for crowd participation. And lyrics can help write the vows at a wedding or serve as a witty caption on a social media post. With that said, lyrics are a pretty big deal. With all ears on the beat and all eyes on your words, every integral part of the vocals must be accurate and match the audio.
Because we want to present your brand and your lyrics in the best light, Apple may change the your lyrics’ format for stylistic reasons.
General formatting
The structure of a song should 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 should be single-spaced and a double space should separate each stanza.
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
Capitalization in your lyrics should follow traditional grammar rules. Proper nouns must be capitalized. Additionally, all lyric lines must 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
Punctuation
There should be no periods or commas at the end of any lyric line. Exclamation points, question marks, and quotation marks should be the only end-line punctuation and should be included as needed. Within the line, it is most important to follow traditional grammar rules.
- Hyphens: dropped words, spelled out words, and acronyms (L-Y-R-I-C-S)
- Parentheses: background vocals should be wrapped in parentheses at the end of a line, with the first letter capitalized
- Apostrophe: for certain slang and contractual modifications (‘Rari for Ferrari)
Repeated lines
The lyrics should match the audio. If a line is repeated, it should 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)
Spoken word
Currently, spoken word/conversational content within a song should not be transcribed.
Non-word vocal sounds
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 should 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.)
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.
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 should 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
Time-sync
At this time, the time-synced lyrics is a feature that is implemented at Apple’s editorial discretion.
If you haven’t submitted your lyrics already please submit here : https://sdyp.us/submit-lyrics