Audio metadata are an essential tool that supports control and management of systems that create, transmit, describe, manage, and store digital audio. Throughout the lifecycle of digital audio objects—pre-production, acquisition and production, post-production, distribution, storage, transmission, and archiving—metadata “describe the attributes of a resource, characterize resource relationships, and support resource discovery, management, and effective use” (Vellucci, 1999). Technical and structural metadata enable audio in devices and software applications; descriptive metadata provide context. Metadata also relate and incorporate audio in a multimedia environment resulting in profound effects on conception, reception, and consumption.