Explicit content

Every track carries a content rating that states whether it has explicit language or content. It's required and defaults to Clean.

The three options

• Clean — the track contains no explicit language or content. This is its natural state, not an edited version.
• Explicit — contains explicit language or content: profanity, sexual or violent references, etc.
• Clean Version — an edited version of an originally explicit track, with those parts censored or removed.

It's set per track

The rating is set on each track, not on the release. An album can have clean tracks and explicit tracks at the same time.

You can change it while the track is editable.

Why labeling it correctly matters

Stores use this data to:

• Show the "E" tag next to the track.
• Apply parental controls and content filters.
• Respect restrictions on certain playlists and territories.

Marking a track Clean when it's actually explicit can get it rejected in review, or get the release removed by a store later. When in doubt, mark it Explicit.

Explicit and clean versions of the same song

If you want to distribute both, they go as separate tracks (or releases):

• The original, marked Explicit.
• The edited one, marked Clean Version, usually with "Clean" in the version field.