How different does a re-release or re-pressing of a CD need to be to be considered a different release within the same release group?
I recently purchased a re-released CD which had the same barcode as a previous release, but had a different packaging type, and with the catalogue number and distribution imprint removed. Should I be adding both versions when I add the release group?
There is a similar situation with this release, in that later pressings of the release have been sold in a jewel case with the same barcode and catalogue number (I compared the 2 side to side in a record shop recently).
It would be really handy if you have a scanner and can scan in the front and rear cover so other people can see the differences. Annotation field is handy for describing the differences too. (This also stops someone trying to merge them at a later date)
MB is also very good at making it easy to make a copy of a release so you won’t have to enter all the tracks in again.
I was a bit unsure how literally to take the idea that if the packaging and/or artwork is different it warrants a new release. I found that I had a disk where the diskid and barcode matched, but the label was Parlophone. The cover-art and booklet were exact matches except for exchanging Parlophone for EMI in key phrases.
MB allows us to “Add Label”, so it seems appropriate to allow small divergences in the cover-art where it is consistent with the fact that we are dealing with a different music label. Am I right?
So I have a disc which (perhaps) we are content to say fits within the release. Among the cover-art scans is a scan of the disk matrix. That is (unsurprisingly) quite different from mine.
Should I ignore or upload a similar scan of the IDs typical of the Parlophone label’s variant?
My edit to add the Parlophone label still has under a day to go
I believe that “Add Label” is intended for cases where a single release is double branded. For instance many of the Original Jazz Classics reissues have both the OJC logo and the original issuing label, often with catalog numbers for both (example). It sounds like your case would call for a separate release.
Once you get to the level of disc matrices, things are muddier. There’s a forum discussion on that subject.
OK - No problem with that.
I misunderstood the situations under which “Add Label” should be used and presumed that “different packaging” might mean different packaging which a user might notice e.g. structurally different, different designs, missing inserts or lyrics. Fine print on the packaging which is consistent with a different issuer didn’t seem to be all that close to the concerns of the purchaser… a bit like the SIDs and pressing stamps on the media!
I’ll cancel or remove that edit to add the Parlophone label
