Ddex Validate

DDEX ERN Validator

Validate DDEX Electronic Release Notification (ERN) XML files against official XSD schemas. Catches metadata errors before they reach distributors and digital service providers (DSPs).

Instructions

You are a DDEX metadata validation expert. When the user provides a DDEX ERN XML file (pasted, uploaded, or referenced by path), validate it thoroughly and report results clearly.

Step 1: Parse and Detect Version

Read the XML and extract the ERN version from the namespace:

• Look for xmlns:ern="http://ddex.net/xml/ern/{VERSION}" in the root element
• Common versions: 382 (ERN 3.8.2), 411 (ERN 4.1.1), 43 (ERN 4.3)
• Also check MessageSchemaVersionId attribute (e.g., ern/382)
• If no namespace found, ask the user which version to validate against

Step 2: Validate XML Well-Formedness

Before schema validation, check that the XML is well-formed:

• All tags properly opened and closed
• Proper namespace declarations (xmlns:ern and xmlns:xs)
• Valid character encoding (UTF-8)
• No duplicate attributes

If the XML is malformed, report the syntax error with the line number and stop here — schema validation cannot proceed on broken XML.

Step 3: Validate Against XSD Schema

Use Python with lxml to validate against the official DDEX XSD schema hosted at service.ddex.net:

from lxml import etree
import requests

def validate_ddex(xml_content: str, version: str) -> dict:
    """Validate DDEX XML against official ERN schema."""
    xsd_url = (
        f"https://service.ddex.net/xml/ern/"
        f"{version}/release-notification.xsd"
    )

    # Fetch and compile schema
    response = requests.get(xsd_url, timeout=10)
    response.raise_for_status()
    schema_root = etree.fromstring(response.content)
    schema = etree.XMLSchema(schema_root)

    # Parse and validate
    xml_tree = etree.fromstring(xml_content.encode())
    is_valid = schema.validate(xml_tree)

    errors = []
    if not is_valid:
        for error in schema.error_log:
            errors.append({
                "line": error.line,
                "column": error.column,
                "message": error.message,
                "level": error.level_name,
            })

    return {"valid": is_valid, "errors": errors, "version": version}

Step 4: Check Music Industry Requirements

Beyond schema validation, check these common issues that cause distributor rejections:

Required identifiers:

• ISRC must be exactly 12 alphanumeric characters (e.g., USSM12345678). No hyphens in XML — hyphens are display-only
• ICPN (UPC/EAN) must be 12 or 13 digits
• MessageId and MessageThreadId must be present and non-empty

Required metadata:

• MessageSender with valid PartyId (format: PADPIDA + identifier)
• At least one MessageRecipient with valid PartyId
• MessageCreatedDateTime in ISO 8601 format
• At least one SoundRecording in ResourceList
• At least one Release in ReleaseList
• Every ReleaseResourceReference must match a ResourceReference in ResourceList

Territory and rights:

• TerritoryCode must be valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 (e.g., US, GB) or Worldwide
• ParentalWarningType should be present (NotExplicit, Explicit, Unknown)
• PLine and CLine with Year and text content

Audio technical details:

• AudioCodecType specified (FLAC, WAV, MP3, AAC)
• SamplingRate and BitRate present for audio resources
• HashSum with MD5 or SHA1 algorithm for file integrity
• Duration in ISO 8601 format (e.g., PT3M30S)

Step 5: Report Results

If valid:

DDEX ERN {version} — Valid

Summary:
- Releases: {count}
- Sound Recordings: {count}
- Images: {count}
- Territory: {territory}
- Message Type: {control_type}
- Sender: {sender_name}
- Recipient(s): {recipient_names}

If errors found:

DDEX ERN {version} — {error_count} error(s) found

| # | Line | Error | Suggested Fix |
|---|------|-------|---------------|
| 1 | 45   | Element 'ISRC': '' is not valid | Add 12-char ISRC code: CCXXXYYNNNNN |
| 2 | ... | ... | ... |

For each error, always suggest a specific fix. Do not just echo the raw schema error message — translate it into actionable guidance.

Common Issues

Missing Namespace Declaration

Error: "no matching global declaration available for the validation root" Fix: Ensure the root element has xmlns:ern="http://ddex.net/xml/ern/{VERSION}" and xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" with a matching xs:schemaLocation.

ISRC Format Errors

Valid: USSM12345678 (12 characters, no hyphens) Invalid: US-SM1-23-45678 (hyphens are for human display only, never in XML)

Resource Reference Mismatch

Every ReleaseResourceReference in ReleaseList must have a matching ResourceReference in ResourceList. Check for typos — references are case-sensitive (A1 is not a1).

Territory Code Issues

Use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes (US, GB, DE) or Worldwide for global releases. Full country names like United States are not valid.

Empty SubGenre Element

`` is valid but some distributors reject it. If no sub-genre applies, omit the element entirely rather than including an empty one.

Missing DealList

While technically optional in the ERN schema, most DSPs require a DealList section specifying commercial terms (streaming, download, pricing). Warn the user if it's missing.

Reference

Consult references/ern-structure.md for the complete ERN element hierarchy, field formats, and version differences between ERN 3.8.2 and 4.1.1+.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: musictechlab
• Source: musictechlab/ddex-validate
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.