Bulk Importing, Exporting, and Updating Objects

Objects in IC are the building blocks that comprise a Catalog - Artists, Releases, Tracks, Items, Contracts, Payees, and Ledgers - and each of these objects can be imported, exported, and updated in bulk using our Import and Export tools on each respective object page.

When an object is created in the system, it is assigned a unique ID which can be viewed by adding the ID column at the top of the list view on each object page as shown below. These IDs can also be found within the data delivered from the Export action on each object page. When performing bulk updates - or bulk imports on Releases, Tracks, Items, and Contract Splits - this ID is necessary for our system to reference the object being updated, or for our system to attribute the newly created object to the proper object above it.

For example - Track objects created by bulk imports must be associated with an existing Release by listing the Release ID in the bulk import template. Likewise, Release objects must be associated with an Artist before they can be created by a bulk import. For this reason, you must start with the largest object - Artist - before bulk importing Releases and Tracks in this order. Similarly, you will want to bulk import Payees and Ledgers (when applicable) prior to importing contract splits in order to reference the respective Payee IDs and Ledger IDs on the bulk imported contract splits. To build objects within the system using our Bulk Import tools, follow the processes in the order below.

Bulk Importing Artists

Artists are the first object which must be created in the system before Releases and Tracks can be created. Artists are the objects which reference the artists or composers within your catalog from which Releases and their respective Tracks can be built. To bulk import Artists, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Artists page in your account (Catalog -> Artists)
2. Click the Import button at the top of the page
3. Download the Artist CSV Template linked under the file selection window
4. In the CSV file, add an Artist value in the Name column in each row for each Artist you would like to create within IC. When bulk importing Artists, this is the only value needed.
5. Save the CSV file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Artists Import page
6. Your data will be validated, and Artists will be created upon import

In addition, Artist objects in the system can also be updated using the bulk Import page. To do so:

1. Add the Artist ID to the CSV Template for each Artist you wish to update
2. Changes can be made to Name and Alias of ID values in order to bulk update Artist names or bulk alias Artists within the system
3. Omit values for Artist ID to create new Artists - and use “1” as a value in the Delete column along with an Artist ID to delete
4. Save the file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Artists Import page
5. Your data will be validated, and Artists will be updated upon import

Bulk Importing Releases

Releases are the objects - such as albums, EPs, singles, even compositions and merch - assigned to Artists. As such, Artists must first be created in order to create Releases and assign them accordingly within the system. Once Artists have been created, Releases can be bulk imported following these steps:

1. Navigate to the Releases page in your account (Catalog -> Releases)
2. Click the Import button at the top of the page
3. Download the Release CSV Template linked under the file selection window
4. In the CSV file, add the release Name and respective Artist ID in the Artist ID column for each Release (Tip: referencing an Artist page Export with Artist IDs can be very helpful here!)
5. In addition, Catalog Number and UPC values, alongside the release-level Contract ID can also be input in order to assign these values within the system. For Contract ID, you must first create the contract within the system and reference its unique ID in order for it to be assigned to the Release upon bulk creation.
6. Save the CSV file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Releases Import page
7. Your data will be validated, and Releases will be created and assigned to Artists upon import

Like Artists, Releases can also be bulk updated using the bulk Import page. To do so:

1. Add the Release ID to the CSV Template for each Release you wish to update.
2. Changes can be made to Name, Catalog Number, Artist ID, Contract ID, and UPC values in order to bulk update these values within the system.
3. Omit values for Release ID to create new Releases - and use “1” as a value in the Delete column along with a Release ID to delete.
4. Save the file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Releases Import page
5. Your data will be validated, and Releases will be updated upon import

Bulk Importing Tracks

Tracks are the objects assigned to Releases - typically the tracks of an Artist's album, EP, single, or even a compilation. As such, both Artist and Release objects must first be created before Tracks can be created and assigned to the associated Release object within the system. To do so:

1. Navigate to the Tracks page in your account (Catalog -> Tracks)
2. Click the Import button at the top of the page
3. Download the Track CSV Template linked under the file selection window
4. In the CSV file, add the Name and respective Release ID and Artist ID for each Track
5. In addition, Track Number and ISRC values, alongside the track-level Contract ID can also be input in order to assign these values within the system. For Contract ID, you must first create the contract within the system and reference its unique ID in order for it to be assigned to the Track upon bulk creation.
6. Save the CSV file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Tracks Import page
7. Your data will be validated, and Tracks will be created and assigned to Releases upon import

Tracks can also be bulk updated using the bulk Import page. To do so:

1. Add the Track ID to the CSV Template for each Track you wish to update
2. Changes can be made to Name, Track Number, Artist ID, Release ID, Contract ID, and ISRC values in order to bulk update these values within the system
3. Omit values for Track ID to create new Tracks - and use “1” as a value in the Delete column along with a Track ID to delete.
4. Save the file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Tracks Import page
5. Your data will be validated, and Tracks will be updated upon import

Bulk Updating Items

Items are the lowest-level catalog object that IC uses to organize your transactions and are assigned to both Release and Track objects. Items are automatically created through the process of bringing your transactions into the system via Data Imports and manually created transactions and should be created through these processes rather than in bulk.

With that said, our Bulk Import and Export tools can be very useful in order to bulk assign contracts at the Item level for format or region specific contractual needs. In order to do so:

1. Navigate to the Items page in your account (Catalog -> Items)
2. Click the Export button at the top of the page and a CSV file with your catalog's Item data will be delivered to you
3. In the Contract ID column of this CSV file, enter the Contract ID for each Item you wish to update. Tip: it can be helpful to have an Export CSV from the Contracts object page with your Contract Names and IDs handy for this!
4. Save the file in UTF-8 format and import it on the Items Import page (Catalog -> Items -> Import)
5. Your data will be validated, and Items will be updated upon import

Bulk Importing Payees, Ledgers, and Contract Splits

Similar to the Artist, Release, and Track objects above - contracts and their splits can also be bulk imported into the system. However, Payees and Ledgers (where applicable) must first be created before Contract objects can be bulk imported with their splits. To do so, follow the process outlined below:

1. Bulk Import Payees:
   1. Navigate to Catalog -> Payees and click Import
   2. Download the CSV Template, list Payee names under "Name" column, save this file as a CSV UTF-8 and import it on the Payees Import page
   3. Click the Export button on the Payees page to get a list of Payee IDs
2. If your Contracts have balances which are not cross-collateralized, Bulk Import Ledgers:
   1. Navigate to Catalog -> Ledgers and click Import
   2. Download the CSV Template, list Ledger names under "Name" column, save this file as a CSV UTF-8 and import it on the Ledgers Import page
   3. Click the Export button on the Ledgers page to get a list of Ledger IDs
3. Bulk Import Splits:
   1. Navigate to Catalog -> Contracts -> Actions -> Import -> Import Splits
   2. Download CSV Template, copy/paste Payee and Ledger IDs from exports above into relevant columns, fill out Contract Name and Split Amount columns, save this file as a CSV UTF-8 and Import it on the Import Splits page

Once your contract splits have been imported into the system, you can Export the list of Contract IDs from the Contracts object page and bulk assign contracts to Release, Track, and Item objects using the Contract ID values as outlined above.

Bulk Importing and Updating Mechanicals, Reserves, and PPD Rates

Release, Track, and Item page Exports include columns for Mechanicals Rate, PPD Rate, and Reserves Rate as they pertain to the Object (for example, Reserves Rates are only available on Release Exports).

To Bulk Import or Update these rates, simply click Export on the corresponding Object page (Release, Tracks, Items) and a worksheet containing the corresponding columns will be delivered to you. Rates can be assigned or updated in the worksheet, and then imported on the corresponding Object's Import page (Catalog -> [Object] -> Import).