In this article
You'll learn how to:
- create a Catalog and connect a Channel in the right order
- prepare your music and add it to the Catalog
- feature playlists, albums, tracks, and artists on the homepage
- design and brand the Catalog
- control who can find, stream, and download your music
- avoid the mistakes that undermine a Catalog
Before you start
Building a Catalog assumes you already know your way around DISCO. If you are new, watch the 6-minute DISCO overview first. It is also worth reading Understanding Playlists, Channels, and DISCO Catalogs - a Catalog is built from a Channel, so knowing how those fit together will save you time here.
Terms used in this guide:
- Channel - the container that feeds content to a Catalog
- Auto publish - the setting that sends playlists and albums from a Channel to a Catalog automatically
- Discover Music - the area where verified music supervisors search Catalogs
- Nesting - whether instrumentals, alternate mixes, and stems appear alongside the main track
Setting up the structure takes around 5 minutes. Preparing and tagging the music takes considerably longer and depends on the size of your catalog.
Step 1: Create the Catalog and connect a Channel
Order matters here. Create the Catalog, create the Channel, connect them, and switch on auto publish before you add any content to the Channel.
- Open the Catalogs dashboard
- Create a new Catalog and name it after your company
- Create a new Channel - name it "Catalog content" or something similar
- Back in the Catalogs dashboard, open the new Catalog
- Open the Connect Channels tab and select the new Channel
- Toggle on auto publish playlists and auto publish albums and click Update content
Playlists and albums that were already in the Channel when you switch auto publish on will not appear on the Catalog, and nothing will flag them as missing - the Catalog will just look emptier than you expect. If that happens, remove them from the Channel and add them again.
Before moving on, check that the Connect Channels tab shows your new Channel with auto publish playlists and auto publish albums both switched on. The Catalog will be empty at this point, which is what you want.
Step 2: Prepare and add your content
A Catalog is only as good as what goes into it. A music supervisor searching your Catalog uses tags, keywords, lyrics, and artist names to find what they need, so if that information is missing or inconsistent, strong tracks stay buried.
Have this ready before you add anything to the Channel:
- files uploaded and playlists saved, including any you want to present as albums
- every track auto-tagged - drag tracks or playlists onto Auto-tagged tracks in the sidebar to make them searchable by mood, genre, and instrumentation. See Deep metadata and catalog management for how far to take this
- track metadata cleaned up - title, artist, artwork, and comments carrying your contact and rights information
- lyrics transcribed for vocal tracks
- themed playlists curated by genre, style, mood, language, or location
- logos and artist photos gathered for the design
With auto publish already on, anything you now add to the Channel appears on the Catalog automatically.
A Catalog published with messy metadata and no artwork makes a poor first impression, and music supervisors will compare it to every other Catalog in the ecosystem.
Step 3: Feature your content
Your homepage is the first thing a visitor sees. Feature tracks, playlists, albums, and artists so people land on something curated rather than a wall of files.
Playlists and albums
Open the Manage playlists tab in the Catalog. Every playlist you added to the Channel is available here.
Hover over a playlist to open its menu and feature it on the Catalog homepage.
Choose which albums to feature on the homepage. Albums appear with square artwork and show release dates.
To turn a playlist into an album, toggle on the album switch when you save the playlist.
Tracks
The Manage tracks tab shows every track added from the Channel, playlists, and albums.
Hover over the info icon next to a track to see how it was added - via the Channel, a playlist, or an album.
Check the box at the far right of a track to feature it on the homepage, then use the Featured tracks tab to rearrange the display order.
Artists
Artist profiles are generated automatically from the artist metadata field on your tracks. Every unique artist name creates a profile, and all tracks carrying that name are linked to it. Artist profiles only appear once tracks have been added.
Variations in the artist name field create separate profiles - "2 a.m. Orchestra" and "2 A.M. Orchestra" will not merge. Clean these up before you build.
In the Manage artists tab, hover over a profile and click the pen icon to edit it - add a photo, bio, and social links. Check the Featured box to show specific artists on the homepage.
Step 4: Design the Catalog
Open the Design section and add your logo, hero image, and a short description of what the Catalog contains. A Catalog without branding looks unfinished - match it to your company or label's visual identity.
Fill in the Contact page carefully. The About field should give a clear picture of your business, and your contact details are how a supervisor reaches you when they find something they want to license.
Step 5: Set up access and go live
When you are ready, switch on the Live toggle in the top right corner. Some access settings cannot be edited until the Catalog is live.
Music supervisor discovery
Open the Access and promotion section. This controls whether your Catalog is only a link you send to clients, or something supervisors can find on their own.
DISCO's Discover Music area is open to verified music supervisors inside their own DISCO accounts.
You choose how your Catalog appears there:
- Private (default) - your Catalog is not visible to music supervisors
- Limited Access - supervisors can find, search, and stream your Catalog in Discover Music, but must request approval to download or save tracks
- Easy Access - supervisors have pre-approved download and Save to DISCO permissions, and your tracks are opted in to appear in their search results
Easy Access puts your tracks in front of the most people. When a supervisor searches inside their DISCO, your tracks appear alongside results from their own library, across the whole supervisor community, without further effort from you.
Opting in to music supervisor search and discovery was previously called MultiDISCO Search.
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When you select Easy Access or Limited Access, a description field appears. Fill it in carefully - supervisors can search Catalogs by description in Discover Music, so a specific, accurate description makes yours easier to find.
Client access
- View without login is the recommended default - anyone with the Catalog URL can browse and stream, and only invited clients with approved access can download
- Login required to view - only logged-in users with access can see the Catalog. Use this for private client Catalogs, but not if you have selected Limited Access or Easy Access above
Step 6: Invite clients and promote
Once the Catalog is live, share the URL with clients directly, add it to your email signature, and link to it from your website. Send invites from the Clients section to pre-authorize access for close contacts. Do not wait for people to find it on their own.
Step 7: Review general settings and notifications
Two settings are worth checking.
Format settings control whether high-resolution WAV and AIFF files are available for download, or MP3s only. Give supervisors full-resolution files unless you have a specific reason not to.
Nesting controls determine whether nested versions - instrumentals, alternate mixes, stems - are available in the Catalog. If you have generated instant instrumentals or have stems ready, make them available.
Then confirm your notification options.
Check your work
Open your Catalog URL in a private browser window, so you see it the way a visitor does, and confirm:
- every playlist and album you added to the Channel appears
- featured tracks, playlists, and artists show on the homepage
- your logo, hero image, and description are in place
- artist profiles have photos and no duplicates
- a track plays, and downloads behave the way you intended
- your contact details are correct on the Contact page
If playlists or albums are missing, they were most likely added to the Channel before auto publish was switched on. Remove them from the Channel and add them again.
Common mistakes to avoid
- adding content to the Channel before switching on auto publish
- publishing without artwork, a logo, or a hero image
- using a vague or generic name such as "One-stop sync music"
- adding tracks with inconsistent or incomplete metadata
- duplicate artist profiles caused by an inconsistent artist name field
- opting in to music supervisor discovery before the Catalog is finished
- leaving the Catalog description empty before opting in to Discover Music
A half-finished Catalog reflects on your business. Supervisors who visit once and find empty pages are unlikely to come back.
Wrap up
A well-built Catalog means clients and music supervisors can browse, search, and stream your music without you sending a link or setting up a call each time. It takes real time to set up properly. Once it is live, well tagged, and opted in to music supervisor discovery, it is searchable by supervisors who are actively looking for music.
Get the foundations right, present it well, and plan how you will get people to visit.