# Special purpose entity language
**URL:** https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116
**Category:** Style
**Tags:** special-purpose-artists, artist-credit, variousartists, language
**Created:** [February 26, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116 "2025-02-26T23:35:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/1 "2025-02-26T23:35:16Z")
Currently all special purpose entities, e.g. Various Artists, [unknown] and [anonymous] are English named but for releases in other languages it’s odd IMO to see a [hidden] track inside a track listing in a different language.
Is it allowed to translate those entities? I couldn’t find anything in the docs or this forum.
Personally I enter Hebrew various artist releases as `Various Artists credited as אמנים שונים`: [Log in - MusicBrainz](https://beta.musicbrainz.org/artist-credit/3547749)
Is that acceptable?
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 26, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/2 "2025-02-26T23:45:04Z")
One more thought: artists are easy because they’re an actual linked entity and easy to search for but things like `[untitled]` tracks would be harder to find if they are written in different languages.
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### Author:  [@jesus2099](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/jesus2099)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 7:53am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/3 "2025-02-27T07:53:22Z")
> [@dvirtz](#):
>
> Personally I enter Hebrew various artist releases as `Various Artists credited as אמנים שונים`: [Artist credit “אמנים שונים” - MusicBrainz](https://beta.musicbrainz.org/artist-credit/3547749)
> Is that acceptable?
IMO it’s good.
I was using Various Artists, credited as オムニバス or サントラ or オルゴール for example (widespread Japanese VA).
These artist credits were all removed, long time ago, although I think it was a mistake to remove them, then.
Ah, I found the topic back, it was not so long time ago:
> [@Why removing オムニバス and other localised artist credits from Various Artists (SPA)](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/why-removing-and-other-localised-artist-credits-from-various-artists-spa/428130):
>
> I’m creating this topic because the same edit is repeated despite my remarks and voters are not aware as VA edits usually fall out of all radars (including mine). Couldn’t we keep the localisation artist credits on Various Artists? There is a history of will to remove them by a minority [https://musicbrainz.org/edit/18044905](https://musicbrainz.org/edit/18044905) tried to remove ultra common Japanese オムニバス, voted no [https://musicbrainz.org/edit/19243353](https://musicbrainz.org/edit/19243353) retried same removal of オムニバス and it passed with another set of voters as it d…
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### Author:  [@glawie](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/glawie)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/4 "2025-02-27T19:04:35Z")
I agree with the localisation of special purpose entities, it makes sense for them to be displayable in the language of the release being used, even if the primary display in English to match the rest of the site.
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/5 "2025-02-27T20:05:55Z")
The question is whether they should be localised by the editor or GUI.
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### Author:  [@jesus2099](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/jesus2099)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/6 "2025-02-27T20:09:44Z")
The releases are localised by the editors, so, IMO, it should be the same for the special purpose artists that appear in them.
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/7 "2025-02-27T20:56:50Z")
How do you make that consistent then?
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### Author:  [@jesus2099](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/jesus2099)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/8 "2025-02-27T21:18:21Z")
What do you mean, consistent?
Consistent with what? 🤔
To make a release consistent, I was using artist credit in the same language.
Once you click Various Artists, you see the artist in its main name, regardless.
Not using artist credit means the release is not consistent, it has a somehow unwanted English artist name, compared to how the release is usually listed elsewhere (like in shops).
In France, Various Artists is often credited as Compilations.
Never seen it as Various Artists.
In Japan, it is almost always credited as オムニバス (Omnibus) or as サントラ (soundtrack, OST), depending on type.
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/9 "2025-02-27T21:34:14Z")
I’m _not_ talking only about artist credits but things like `[untitled]` ([Log in - MusicBrainz](https://beta.musicbrainz.org/doc/Style/Unknown_and_untitled/Special_purpose_track_title#Untitled_tracks)).
1. Translating these will impact searchability. There’s no entity they’re linked to which will show all uses.
2. If we agree they should be localised, then there should be an official translation per language to keep it consistent between releases.
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### Author:  [@jesus2099](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/jesus2099)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/10 "2025-02-27T21:59:14Z")
> [@dvirtz](#):
>
> searchability
Artist credit does not block searchability, hopefully.
And I don’t think consistency of artist credit between releases is a good idea.
It’s not what artist credit was created for.
But, it’s not the end of the world.
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### Author:  [@reosarevok](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/reosarevok)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2025, 7:19am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/11 "2025-02-28T07:19:04Z")
I have often translated these sorts of artists _as printed_: “Tradicional” instead of [traditional] or “Anonyme” instead of [anonymous] seems fine to me. Sometimes I’ll use “French Traditional” or whatever as credit as well if that’s what’s printed, etc.
I don’t much like the idea of making up a translation that is not printed though. In that case I’d personally probably just default to the, well, default - except maybe in a pseudo-release
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2025, 8:36am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/12 "2025-02-28T08:36:22Z")
I’m just saying the default should be according to the release language.
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### Author:  [@reosarevok](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/reosarevok)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2025, 9:20am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/13 "2025-02-28T09:20:01Z")
I understand, I’m just not sure I agree 🙂 That seems like something that should be done by taggers, not in MB proper?
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### Author:  [@dvirtz](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dvirtz)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2025, 10:01am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/14 "2025-02-28T10:01:14Z")
Created [https://tickets.metabrainz.org/browse/PICARD-3039](https://tickets.metabrainz.org/browse/PICARD-3039) to do that in Picard.
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### Author:  [@rdswift](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/rdswift)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/special-purpose-entity-language/746116/15 "2025-02-28T17:37:27Z")
In Picard, I think this sort of thing can be done using a tagger script something like (untested code):
```taggerscript
$set(artist,$replace($%artist%,[unknown],[your translation of unknown]))
$set(artist,$replace($%artist%,[anonymous],[your translation of anonymous]))
$set(albumartist,$replace($%albumartist%,[unknown],[your translation of unknown]))
$set(albumartist,$replace($%albumartist%,[anonymous],[your translation of anonymous]))
$if($eq(%title%,[untitled]),$set(title,[your translation of untitled]))
```
As for “Various Artists” and “standalone recordings”, these can be set in the [Metadata Options](https://picard-docs.musicbrainz.org/config/options_metadata.html) settings page in Picard.
Of course, this will only use whatever you have entered, and not be different for each different release language or selected user language.