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UMW supports the DDEX Electronic Release Notification (ERN) standard for enterprise partners who require a standards-based, XML-driven approach to music metadata exchange and digital release delivery. If your organization already operates a DDEX-compliant pipeline, the UMW platform can ingest your ERN messages natively, normalizing them into the UMW catalog model without requiring a separate REST integration layer.

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What is DDEX?

DDEX (Digital Data Exchange) is an international standards body that publishes specifications for exchanging music industry data between creators, distributors, and digital service providers. The Electronic Release Notification (ERN) standard defines the XML message format used to communicate release metadata — including track listings, contributors, territories, and rights information — across the supply chain. UMW supports DDEX ERN 4.x, the current major version of the standard, which introduced a more flexible choreography model and improved support for multi-asset release types including albums, EPs, singles, and audio-visual releases. All ERN 4.x message variants accepted by UMW are validated against the official DDEX schema before being admitted to the processing pipeline.

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Supported Workflows

UMW’s DDEX integration covers the core ERN message types required for end-to-end catalog delivery and lifecycle management.

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NewReleaseMessage Ingestion

The NewReleaseMessage is the primary ERN 4.x message type for creating and updating releases. When your system submits a well-formed NewReleaseMessage, the UMW platform:
  1. Validates the message envelope and all nested resource descriptors against the ERN 4.x schema
  2. Resolves referenced assets (audio files, cover art) from the agreed delivery transport (SFTP or cloud storage bucket)
  3. Normalizes the release metadata into the UMW catalog model, populating all fields including ISRCs, UPCs, contributor roles, and territory rights
  4. Creates or updates the corresponding release record, making it available via the REST API at GET /v1/releases/{release_id}

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PurgeReleaseMessage (Takedowns)

The PurgeReleaseMessage triggers a takedown workflow for a previously delivered release. Upon receipt, UMW will:
  • Mark the release as pending takedown in the catalog
  • Initiate store-level withdrawal requests to all active distribution territories
  • Emit a release.takedown_initiated webhook event to your registered endpoint
  • Confirm completion via a release.takedown_completed webhook event once all stores have acknowledged the withdrawal

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Metadata Normalization

Regardless of whether a release originates from a NewReleaseMessage or the standard REST API, all catalog records are stored in the unified UMW catalog model. DDEX-sourced metadata is automatically mapped to the canonical field names used across the REST API, ensuring that royalty reporting, delivery tracking, and statement generation work identically for both integration paths.

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Qualifying for DDEX Integration

Not all UMW partners use the DDEX integration path. The standard REST API is available to all approved partners and covers the full range of catalog, delivery, and royalty workflows without any DDEX requirements.
1

Confirm ERN 4.x compatibility

DDEX delivery is available exclusively to enterprise partners whose systems already produce valid DDEX ERN 4.x messages. If your pipeline generates ERN 3.x messages, you must upgrade to 4.x before onboarding to the UMW DDEX integration. UMW does not accept ERN 3.x or earlier versions.
2

Contact your UMW account manager

Reach out to your designated UMW account manager to request DDEX mode activation for your organization. Your account manager will coordinate a technical review to confirm compatibility and agree on a delivery transport configuration (SFTP credentials or cloud storage bucket access).
3

Complete sandbox validation

Before production enablement, your team will deliver a representative set of test messages to the UMW sandbox environment. The UMW integration team will review ingestion results, surface any schema or mapping issues, and confirm that the catalog records are normalized correctly.
4

Production enablement

Once sandbox validation is complete and signed off, your account manager will enable DDEX mode on your production organization. From this point, your DDEX pipeline and REST API access operate in parallel — you can use either path or both, depending on your workflow.
All DDEX integrations are fully tested and validated in the UMW sandbox environment before production enablement. The sandbox provides schema validation feedback, ingestion logs, and a pre-seeded store catalog so your team can verify end-to-end behavior without any risk to live catalog data. Production DDEX mode will not be activated until sandbox validation is formally signed off.

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Resources

DDEX Standards Body

Visit the official DDEX website for ERN 4.x schema downloads, implementation guidelines, and industry working group updates.

Catalog Guide

Learn how releases, tracks, and assets are modeled in the UMW catalog, including how DDEX-sourced metadata maps to REST API fields.

Delivery Guide

Understand the full delivery lifecycle — from asset processing to store distribution — for both REST-based and DDEX-based workflows.

Releases API Reference

Explore the full REST API reference for the /v1/releases resource, including all endpoints, request schemas, and response models.