I have some things whose covers I’ve never uploaded here (even if I know ours to be wrong) because mine has a price tag on it that I don’t want to risk attempting to remove, and because it doesn’t seem to me that a price tag belongs in the cover art archive.
But now I have a release variant that is material: My disc in hand has a catalog number on the front, where ours does not; and the release in hand has its tracks in a different order from the one we currently track. I’m disinclined to put in a new release with no front cover, so I’m feeling stuck. Opinions?
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It would be better without, but if there isn’t a better image, you can of course use it. Damaged covers (e.g. from removed price tags 
) aren’t ideal either, but what do you want to do? It’s certainly better than nothing.
If releases with different covers were mixed up, I would try to untangle them and make two releases out of them - not just delete the wrong cover for your release.
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A cover with a price tag is better than no cover. Especially as you have that catalogue number on it
One trick I have seen done is to edit in an art program and just “black out” the price tag with a block of colour.
As the main point of artwork in MB is to see the cover so I can compare it to my copy then a price tag is not a problem.
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I prefer seeing the price tag (it’s another useful info) than an edited image that may trick people into thinking it’s genuine.
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I do agree with you. Images “warts and all” can be interesting to see.
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I have a few old LPs from a family friend with German shop stickers on them. My OCD kicked in and I started the long and risky process of removing them - and then quickly realized I was removing something interesting. Now I am happy to have them there, and let them tell some of the story of the record.
Not perfect for MB cover art submissions ofc, but thought I’d share.
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Actually in this case, we have only one release for the group; I have another one from a different country that has a nearly identical front cover — except for that catalog number — and a completely different track list, documented on the back cover. Here it’s not a question of untangling; this is a whole different release with the same recordings in a different order, and a very subtle difference on the front cover.
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The “not edited” angle is a good one. If I visibly blur out the price tag, what else have I fudged…
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Some labels love making a minefield of tiny little differences on covers. Also those lines of copyright text on the rear. Different countries, reissues, etc. Stick a note in the annotation pointing it out to help the next person.
I was uploading artwork at the weekend that is water damaged. I had to steam pages apart in the booklet to read them. Literally “better than nothing” as I’ve never seen these anywhere else.
Music is a living thing. And those price tags help show these are from the German market. It is also fascinating as to how things change. Especially interesting if they were in DM and not Euros.
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Yeah, interesting to see the prices! And the occasional interesting sticker. Though I’m sure the German users here see these stickers as pretty boring/not as novel 
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These are always nostalgic and interesting with time.
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I agree that a price tag should not disqualify an image from being used, but I don’t share some of y’all’s enthusiasm for them. The price tag isn’t part of the story of the release, just the story of that particular copy of the release, like someone’s handwritten “property of” or marked favorite tracks.
I hope we’d all agree that if there’s a choice between cover art with a price tag or without, the version without the tag is preferable.
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Yes, enjoying price stickers on my personal copies has nothing to do with what would be the ‘best’ image for MusicBrainz (the cleanest possible scan) 
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I think the tilt of the discussion is if there was no other art then using one with a price tag or other damage is not a problem. The moment a better image appears then it would be used instead.
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I think so too.
Even an imperfect photo with furniture in the background is better than none. 
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You can then have a pattern and find excellent cover art in your better sources.
