Any chance of validating release dates / blanking out release dates that are clearly out of range? i.e.,
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Apple IDs are assigned sequentially. Assuming a label doesn’t put up a release for pre-order for years in advance, then it is possible to gate a range of +/-1 years around Apple IDs. For example,
- 1720084561 is from 2024
- 1683512766 is from 2023
- 1633045198 is from 2022
- 1585610528 is from 2021
- 1509594482 is from 2020
- 1477420592 is from 2019
- 1358949269 is from 2018
- 1221204617 is from 2017
- 1180462915 is from 2016
- 1001890192 is from 2015
- , 811769944 is from 2014
- , 681088393 is from 2013
- , 509026157 is from 2012
- , 484756845 is from 2011
- , 380639200 is from 2010
- , 327062805 is from 2009
- , 160213834 is from 2006
- , 102445265 is from 2005
- the iTunes Music Store didn’t even exist before 2003
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When Spotify says a release date is January 1, it’s usually junk data.
Some users of the tool don’t think they need to think about this, so ideally the tool should be able to do it for them. (Interestingly, the YouTube videos backing YouTube Music have upload dates, but I think only the month precision can be relied on since the displayed date can differ from more established sources, even after accounting for correcting the timezone.)
By the way, something that can’t be accounted for is different markets having different release dates. (For example, many Japanese releases were only available in Japan, and then international markets were added to an existing release years later. In those cases, Japan should have a different release date than whatever people are trying to use for worldwide these days.)