The short answer
Do not pay on Raw Artist, because it arrives in YouTube's reports as the asset's uploader typed it: one artist in several spellings, merged collaboration names, different languages. Build an approved names list your accountant signs off, tie each name to the asset, and to video plus asset for compilations, and never merge two similar names automatically.
Accountants at networks and record labels ask: “Raw Artist in the report is a mess; do we rely on it or build our own names?”. The answer, from monthly work with hundreds of artists and reciters: build your own. Raw Artist is useful context, not a reference to pay on.
Why is Raw Artist not a reference for payment?
Because it is descriptive metadata written by whoever delivers the asset, with no consistency across assets or months. The result on statements:
| Problem | Hypothetical example | Effect on payment |
|---|---|---|
| Several spellings | “Sheikh Ahmad”, “Ahmad” and Ahmed for one reciter | One artist's statement split across three names |
| Merged names | “Artist A & Artist B” in one field | You can't tell whose revenue it is |
| Tags inside the name | Cover, Tracks or the channel name added to the artist | Names that look different but are one, or the reverse |
| Empty field | An asset with no Raw Artist | Revenue with no owner |
How do you build an approved names list?
- Give each asset one final name approved by the accountant, not Raw Artist and not an AI suggestion.
- Tie the approved name to the asset, and to video plus asset when the video is a compilation of several artists.
- Never tie the artist name to the channel: one channel airs several artists and rights holders.
- Never merge two similar names automatically, even if they look like one person. Merging is the accountant's decision alone.
- Keep tags like Cover and Tracks when the accountant uses them to separate business.
- When renaming, store “old → new” and apply it to every linked asset, not one line.
- Normalize spaces before any comparison, since an Excel save cycle adds spaces to Arabic names.
What do you do when a line's owner is unknown?
Leave it blank for review, and do not guess. Don't pick the most frequent name, don't take the first or last, and don't accept name similarity as evidence. A video linked to more than one approved artist is never attributed by video alone; it stays with the accountant. One wrong merge moves an artist's revenue to someone else every month after.
How does the list stay correct every month?
It stays correct when every correction the accountant approves becomes a permanent rule. The accountant reviews only the missing names; what they approve enters the list and applies automatically to the same asset in later months, so review shrinks month after month. No financial figure changes while names are corrected.
How does Injaz AI build your artists' names list?
This is the model Injaz Digital uses for its artists' statements every month: every artist receives their statement under the right name, and one accountant correction becomes a rule. Injaz AI by Injaz Digital builds the same system for networks and record labels, around your accountants' workflow and names, within a month-end close of about half an hour instead of two weeks.
- What disappears: chasing missing names every month and fixing the same error again and again.
- What the team gets back: a statement per artist under the right name, and review of only what is missing.
FAQ
Should I rely on Raw Artist in YouTube reports?
Not for payment. It is a name typed by whoever delivers the asset, with no consistency. Use it as context, and pay on an approved names list tied to the asset.
Should I merge two similar names for the same artist automatically?
No. Merging is the accountant's decision alone, since two similar names can belong to different artists, and a wrong merge moves revenue every month.
Which key do I tie the artist name to?
The asset, and video plus asset for compilations. Never the channel, since one channel airs several artists.
Can AI be used to unify names?
It can suggest, but a suggestion is only approved by the accountant's decision. Similarity alone is not evidence.