Giving song links a better chance of a playable preview

Illustration of a record sleeve linked by a chain to an open window onto a small concert stage.

I’ve updated the metadata behind my song pages so a link can point to a public video as well as the artwork and audio. The aim is to make it easier to start listening when a search or sharing service supports a playable preview.

The update covers 35 public YouTube recordings and the landscape visualiser for Light Will Win. Some of the YouTube recordings are Art Tracks or official audio uploads, so their descriptions reflect what they actually show. Pages without a verified video keep their existing artwork and audio metadata.

A short, silent recording of the live Light Will Win player. Playback starts with the keyboard and the progress bar advances. This shows the website’s player, rather than a Google or social-media preview.

The video’s title, thumbnail, publication date and duration are stored separately from the song’s release details. Google’s embedded-video markup is added only when that exact video is embedded in the EPK and the required facts are known. A link alone doesn’t qualify. The first-publication date of the Light Will Win video is still unconfirmed, so it’s left blank.

All 35 YouTube players started after one click in the deployed player, and the native Light Will Win video plays too. Checks across all 54 EPKs confirmed that their existing page bodies, artwork and audio references were preserved. Google’s Rich Results Test detected one valid video item on the Amnesty EPK.

That’s useful validation, but it isn’t a promise of a play button wherever a link appears. Google generally reserves video results for pages centred on watching a video, and sharing services decide how they display a card. The new fields give them accurate information to work with.

The plugin is available as Kieran EPK Social Metadata 1.1.0.

Abstract linked preview cards with play buttons representing song links becoming playable.
Abstract linked preview cards with play buttons representing song links becoming playable.

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