this release was intended to be available worldwide on june 17, 2020. the day before it would’ve been released, the remixers (100 gecs) cancelled the release as they did not want to be associated with melanie martinez. however, it was already set to become available at 12am and by the time they had decided not to release it, it was available in a few time zones. this had not been released in the artist’s country or the record label. this release is currently labeled as withdrawn because it was available in some countries for at least a few minutes. but would “cancelled” be more accurate considering it wasn’t available in most of the world?
I would stick with “withdrawn” since there was some (albeit brief) lag time between the release’s scheduled drop time and the cancellation.
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If you want to be super accurate, split the release into two releases under a release group. One release for the countries where is actually was momentarily available and the other release for cancelled.
If a release is released, then that’s it. Withdrawn isn’t correct. All the releases that have been dropped from record companies or are out of print would have to be updated as well.
My reading of https://musicbrainz.org/doc/Release#Status is that “withdrawn” matches the situation described in the thread:
withdrawn
A previously official release that was actively withdrawn from circulation by the artist and/or their record company after being released, whether to replace it with a new version with some changes or to just retire it altogether (e.g. because of legal issues).
The artist (accidentally) released the single in a few regions and then quickly chose to actively withdraw it.
This seems different from an album going out of print or otherwise becoming unavailable due to “inaction” (e.g. not bothering to manufacture more CDs because it isn’t selling).
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yes, but what does that mean? Withdrawing and making it not available to be sold / downloaded before it has been sold is one thing, but once a single copy has been sold, it’s released… forever. The MB guidelines are wishful thinking… Who is going to volunteer to bring back to the shop, their ultra rare copy?
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Why do you think ‘withdrawn’, in the MB sense, requires any copies to be returned?
It’s a way to indicate that an artist does not consider a release to be part of their discography proper, while still having it in the database (because, as you say, the release did still happen).
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It’s my interpretation of “actively withdrawn” as listed the definition. The definition leaves room for interpretation…
What do you think it means? and why?
How does the active act of withdrawal differ from actively deciding to let a release go out of print?
Am I correct to assume that a release in any given country can only be in one state? and that it transitions from one state to another in response to events? and that some states can only be reached from certain others?
I think it means literally what it says in it’s description. Nothing about recalling all copies or expunging it from history.
If there’s a better definition that’s less confusing for you then suggest some edits and we can fix it up 
It’s difficult when I don’t understand the concept or scenario that is being described!
How are recalled CDs logged in MB? (Sony had to recall some that had DRM software on them) These CDs were ‘released’, and the state of the release was ‘released’. Then a recall was issued. Should the release now be marked as recalled?
Recalled and ‘out of print’ are examples of states entered as result of an action. Withdrawn seems to be another. Don’t understand it though.
We’re probably talking cross-purposes because I can’t quite put myself in your shoes either 
Possibly it’s semantics - different understandings of what the word ‘withdrawn’ means? Do you read ‘withdrawing’ as destroying or returning releases? MB is using it in a more general sense, if so.
This sounds like the MB ‘withdrawn’ state:
A previously official release that was actively withdrawn from circulation by the artist and/or their record company after being released, whether to replace it with a new version with some changes or to just retire it altogether (e.g. because of legal issues).
A recall definitely meets the above definition (“actively withdrawn from circulation”). But note that the definition does not require the release to be ‘recalled’, e.g. for customers to return all copies.
Out of print is a bit different, because it’s usually due to inaction, or the ‘natural’ lifespan of a product has been reached (e.g. a older release is removed from digital sites because the artist thinks their new songs are better - but they’re not disowning it).
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No, I did get any thing / notion from reading it, which was why I was asking! It would be helpful to give examples such as recall. I struggled to understand what it means!
Yes, agreed.
I believe ‘Out of Print’ is also an active decision. While it’s a book publishing term, I using it to refer to physical media such as CDs, vinyl and cassettes etc. All require duplication / ‘pressing’ to create additional copies to be held in inventory and/or distributed to shops. This requires an upfront investment that has to be balanced against future sales and alternatives. So, it’s an active decision to decide not to invest. However, the release is not withdrawn if it goes out of print. It could come back into ‘print’ for whatever reason.
So in conclusion, withdrawn includes recalls, not sure what else and does not include ‘out of print’
Would these examples be helpful? Maybe someone else has more or better ones.
withdrawn
A previously official release that was actively withdrawn from circulation by the artist and/or their record company after being released, whether to replace it with a new version with some changes or to just retire it altogether (e.g. because of legal issues).
Examples:
- Play Date (100 gecs remix) was cancelled, but was available briefly in at least one time zone before being removed.
- The label that released Patupaiarehe removed it from their catalogue, and all stores, after allegations surfaced.
- Sony BMG recalled all CDs with the ‘XCP’ copyright protection software.
If we put those in then the other types on that wiki page should probably have examples as well - but that wouldn’t be a bad thing and can be done I think!
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The Sony DRM CD recall is another:
Background:
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Thanks, I added it to the little list above. What do you think? Is it helpful? Or still not really!
edit: I have proposed that these examples be added in this thread
It’s a nice list of examples and some interesting reading, but for me the word recall was enough! However, lets keep it. Thanks 
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