[SOLVED-ish] Similar release; stop removing tracks!

Is there any way to have MBZ stop changing the track listing when you simply want to add a new release to a release group? Right now, the only way I can do this without completely screwing up the track listing is to add a release as a new release group, then merge the release groups which takes an entire week to update. Seems almost like a bug that track lists would be affected when you simply want to add a new release that has a different track listing than what’s already in MBZ. I use scripts and Picard to automatically add track listings and times, etc. I’m not typing all this in by hand (what is this…1996? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: )

Anyone know how to get this to work properly?
TIA!

I’m not sure if I understand? I add new releases, with different track lists, to existing release groups all the time without problem.

You’re not clicking on one of those “Similar releases” under the “Release Duplicates” tab, are you? Don’t do that, make sure “Do not use any of the above releases as a starting point” is selected.

Yeah, that’s what I do as well, but then it makes a new release group. Then we get dupes that I have to merge, which take a week to “approve.” Like this:
Screen Shot 2022-02-14 at 9.40.26 PM

I would love to be able to add a new release to an existing release group without having to then merge them afterward. Not sure if it’s possible. But I also don’t understand why if I select “base this release on ” that it would change the tracklist I’m submitting to whatever the other release is. Doesn’t make any sense to me.

Link to artist I’m using as an example:

Oh oh oh! I Know what’s going on! I do this on accident myself all the time…

On the first tab, “Release Information”, under “Release Information”, It says: Title: then Artist: and then “Release Group:” which will be black text on a white background…

Click on the little magnifying glass icon, or just click to put the cursor in the text field and then press the “down arrow” key (what I do). You’ll see a list of release groups, select the one you want to add this new release to, and the background of the field will turn green, and a gray colored bubble appears to the right side saying “You selected Example Release by Example Artist.”

If you don’t find the right release group in the drop down search list, cut/copy the URL from the Release Group page you want, and paste it in the field. It’ll automatically parse out the MBID of the Release Group and load it in.

The UI is not really good about this, like I said, I keep accidentally creating new Release Groups all the time too. And then I have to wait a whole week for them to merge.

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Please vote for MBS-9479

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I still don’t understand how this editing of the track list of an existing release could happen. Even if you select one similar release as a starting point it should not modify the tracklist of the original one in the next step.

The way I do this usually is that I use the “Add release” link on the sidebar of a release group page. Than the release group is already prefilled. On the next step I often did select an existing track list if it matches the one I want to add closely enough (e.g. when adding the Vinyl version and the CD is already there):

After clicking on Next the track list is pre-filled, but can be edited (e.g. to add / remove bonus tracks or re-order tracks etc.):

But that should only modify the track list of the new release you add. At what point have you experienced that it changes existing releases? If that happens it would be clearly a huge bug I think. Or maybe some scripts are causing this?

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I have a similar problem when using a similar release.
It does not take my disc ID track times any more.
I have to remember applying track times afterwards.

Oh sorry, maybe it’s not the case any more.
Apparently it was reported and fixed already:

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Hero status unlocked!!! Thanks! It’s funny… you type this and I read it… and it feels obvious. But in practice, not so much. Thanks! This should be much better moving forward. Appreciate the help!

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Every single time I add, say, a deluxe edition or something that has more track (for example), the track list truncates to whatever you select in that previous list. It make zero sense that the track list should be affected. Was driving me nuts. :rofl:

Just in case this is still bothering you - and if I’ve understood correctly?

If you pick something here you are telling the editor that you want it to copy the tracklist of the selected release. It expects you to want to use or start with the ‘19 tracks’ (for instance) that it’s suggesting, and thus will overwrite your original submission.

If you don’t want it to copy the tracklist don’t select anything here before clicking next at the bottom :ok_hand:

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It’s actually the sole purpose of this functionality: to copy an existing track list as a starting point, because the tracklists in one release group are often identical or at least similar. As written above, if you rather use the track list you maybe have seeded from Picard or somewhere don’t use this copy tracklist from existing release feature.

I wish there were a way to copy recordings without changing the new track list.

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See, I get that this is what it’s supposed to do… But in practice, it doesn’t make sense unless you are manually entering in track names, etc. And there’s nothing more I hate in this life than manual data entry. We have apps like Picard and a multitude of scripts out there that make populating this database much MUCH better. But if I’m submitting something from Picard or one of those apps, if I pick an album as a STARTING POINT (key words), I don’t expect it to then remove all the tracks that have already been submitted, but we haven’t got to that tab first.

Honestly, to make this work properly, they need to have it COMPARE what you select there versus what you’re already submitting. It should NOT clear out what you’ve already parsed out via script… that makes no sense to me. Unless I was in the business of just making a ton of duplicate releases for some reason.

Process example right now:
Load 20 track Deluxe album files into Picard > Submit Cluster as Release > get to “start point” tab > select 10 track original album release as starting point > Get to tracklist, and the remaining tracks you submitted through Picard have vanished.

What should happen:
When you get to the “starting point” tab, select the original release > Tracks tab shows original release recordings PLUS the ten other tracks being submitted.

What I’m reading here is that the Start Point function actually overrides anything entered from Picard or other scripts. This is no good.

Suggestion for Solution:
Compare starting point to submitted data, show differences, ask user to clarify before moving on to the tracklist tab.

There may be a more elegant way for this to happen, but my suggestion above would also clean up how duplicate recordings happen while importing. Then there would not have to be mass merges that happen where mistakes can be introduced like the other week when a bunch of tracks suddenly got labeled as videos instead of audio tracks (which has since been rectified).

Following me?

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If you load the original 10-track album in Picard, you can use it to tag your files with the MB recording IDs (it’s unnecessary to write any other tags for the following). Cluster the files and submit them as a release from Picard and the recordings will now already be assigned on the tab. You can use a similar process for the bonus tracks too, if recordings for them already exist. I find this a lot easier than tediously assigning all the recordings on the tab manually or overwriting the tracklist with one from a different release.