Is there any sense in adding artist aliases (i.e. “credited as”) in works? I was adding credits from the back of an album cover where names were abbreviated, presumably for space considerations rather than artistic intent (sometimes a first initial appears, sometimes not). I see these aliases are displayed at the work level as well as at the recording level (I guess they are formally a part of the work). Maybe there is some other release out there that has work credits (like “written by”) printed differently, so which would win and appear on the work? I guess the “credited as” field should only be used if the work itself had an official release, like printed sheet music or something? Anyway I think I’ll remove the “credited as” names in my case unless someone advises differently.
The release in question: Release “Mello” by Mel McDaniel - MusicBrainz
Back cover art I’m transcribing: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/615Xw1gYtTL.jpg
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In the context of work authorship, I generally only use “credited as” if it’s a genuinely different name, like someone writing under a pseudonym.
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Legal names are often used on works when they may use a different artist name as a performer. They are still the same artist, so the credited as field is used for the legal name that may appear on the release. I agree that you don’t need to abbreviate first names on writing credits. But, say if a release by Lady Gaga for example has all the works credited as Stefani Germanotta, then that’s how the work should be credited. Sometimes she’ll use Lady Gaga as author on releases as well. So, this field can show the differences.
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The other usual legit AC is when artists use pen names, like 横須賀恵, 白鳥瞳, or CREA…
Usually, I trying to add those pen names (artist name) and abbreviated names (D. Jones, search hint) in aliases, because relationship AC don’t appear in AC section, and are not indexed for the artist searches, otherwise.
But for last names (Jones) or abbreviated given names (D. Jones), I think we should expand (David Bowie as David Jones), indeed.
Because it’s just a matter of space saving or old custom to abbreviate.
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