Metadata as Narrative The label-like string "WAAA-436" and the version-esque "un02-02-02 Min" insist we read metadata as part of the narrative. Catalog numbers historically index physical production—pressing runs, label series—but under digital distribution they become persistent identifiers attached to streams, downloads, and archival records. The presence of a machine-readable token in the public-facing title collapses backstage and frontstage: we are made aware of the artifact’s manufacturing lineage even as we consume its affective content.