I am currently using $set(date,$if2(%originaldate%,%date%)) script to get the original release date.
This is clearly not the original release album or single. Am I using the wrong script?
This is clearly not the original release album or single. Am I using the wrong script?
The script only affects which date to use. What date does it set? The screenshot you shared doesn’t show the date.
The script doesn’t influence which release gets loaded. If this is not the release you are looking for, tag the file against another release which contains this recording.
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Hey @outsidecontext the date is correct. I guess I am using the wrong script. I am looking for the earliest original album or single release while completely avoiding compilations (If possible). I DJ and this matters a lot. Any script ideas would be very helpful. Thank you.
A script won’t help you with that. But you can change preferences for which types of albums to load in the options under Preferred Releases.
You can also search for any album available on MusicBrainz, load that into Picard and tag your files against that.
See Retrieving Album Information — MusicBrainz Picard v2.13.3 documentation for different ways on finding the proper release.
In your example you have a track that is 4:52 long.
In MB under the Singles for Akon \ Don’t matter there is nothing of that length.
Instead, you have an album track. But as your sliders are so hard to zero it won’t pick that up and instead finds something else. Maybe bring the Album slider up to 20%
Likely you get the Compilations instead as the compilations are using the album version.
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Thanks for your input but I have tried adjusting sliders. Compilations always come up first before albums or singles. Yet, If I use the check for similar option, it’s right there in plain sight. Not sure what the issue is. Why isn’t Picard using that information that I am specifically requesting? I am looking for the original release of the songs. MB has the data but reverts to compilations albums.
I am also using this script if that helps $set(date,$if2(%originaldate%,%date%))
You have 100% single and 0% other.
If there is no single metadata in the MB database, it selects a random release, e.g. compilation.
I use this:
or this:
You can use this:
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As @Antichrist01 says - your problem is having zero on the album. Give that some weight.
The best match for “Don’t Matter” @ 4:53 length is the track that appears on compilations.
Clearly they use an album track on compilations. And I assume that is where your track is sourced from.
So what you get is one of those at random. If you at least had 33% on that album slider then you are more likely to get the album when the single fails to get a match.
Single never was released at that length, also the title of the single tracks all include extra text in brackets that also reduces the chance of a match.
Picard just gives you the best it can based on your selection. And you weight Albums equally to compilations. Change the weight and you’ll get a better date.
A bit off-topic.
Yellow finger? 
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Lol Just saw that finger. Thanks all. I really appreciate all the input.
Is there anyway of reducing the importance/ weighting of length in the matching algorithm?
I don’t know enough about the matching, I think it is about name, length and maybe populatity. But even if you reduced the length you still have to deal with the partial match of the title. All the single tracks have ETI.
The main control you have over the choices are from those sliders. Get Single, EP and Album up higher to get a cleaner match.
Re: finger. Didn’t notice a shape, just drew on the image to pick out what I believe it the more popular recording which has some weighting on the match algorithm.
How are you actually looking up the tracks? And how does the existing metadata look like? Picard provides a variety of different ways to load releases.
Given the above I assume you are using scan, which uses audio fingerprinting with AcoustID. If the audio matches no recording that is part of a single then with your preferences the results will be kind of random.
Also in the end when deciding between different possible releases a lot also depends on existing metadata. So with the preferences you showed if your files already have e.g. album and track number tags and there is no matching single then it will choose the release that matches existing tags most closely.
Also the original example, where you showed the screenshot in your first post, the release it found actually is a single (Release “Essential 5” by Akon - MusicBrainz). If you look at the recording it found (Recording “Don’t Matter” by Akon - MusicBrainz) you’ll see that it appears on many releases, but only one has the type single.
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