This is recommending being able to link those characters to works. This will link the character to the work, and has nothing to do with actors as those are related to recordings. This isn’t quite as useful, but will aid in clearly tracking characters across works.
Near my first go around trying to create improvement tickets (apart from STYLE-2686 suggesting a new attribute), so appreciate any feedback.
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### Author:  [@UltimateRiff](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/UltimateRiff)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/2 "2025-04-17T15:11:49Z")
I could see another application for this in some soundtracks, where the vocalist is a character voiced by a person, as well as for virtual bands and musicals (both stage and film)
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this sounds like a perfect case for 3-point relationships, tho that’s not currently possible (and it is an old ticket)
[https://tickets.metabrainz.org/browse/MBS-1159](https://tickets.metabrainz.org/browse/MBS-1159)
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### Author:  [@glawie](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/glawie)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/3 "2025-04-18T18:17:32Z")
Situations as well such as individual characters who have multiple performers: for example, different speaking and singing voice actors, or different voice actors in foreign-language dubbings. Simba technically has three VAs in the original Lion King!
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### Author:  [@UltimateRiff](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/UltimateRiff)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2025, 3:44am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/4 "2025-04-19T03:44:42Z")
that’s pretty easily handled with the current setup, since you can set Spoken vocals or Lead vocals, but yeah, could make that clearer when both the speaking and singing voice actor appear on the same recording
as a related side note, I’ve added a ticket to add a vocal attribute to the artist ↔ artist relationship
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another major application (especially for the works relationship) is Opera. I think I have seen a request for this somewhere for this case, but I couldn’t tell you where
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### Author:  [@ElDubs](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/ElDubs)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2025, 10:02am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/5 "2025-04-24T10:02:21Z")
Perhaps there’s a way to do this in 2-point relationships with an extra step.
Say for example we’ve got this relationship:
Relationship: [Christopher Eccleston](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8c59d59d-6aa8-4829-82ef-e35599afec90) (English actor) performed spoken vocals [Ninth Doctor] on [A Theatre of Cruelty, Part 01](https://musicbrainz.org/recording/84322068-54d1-4a40-a30d-48a32e77f617)
This is how we’re currently doing it. The character is in plain text, but it links the actor to the recording.
Instead, right now without any changes we could create a new artist under type “Other”. And call it:
“Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor”.
Then you add these two relationships:
Relationship: [Christopher Eccleston](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8c59d59d-6aa8-4829-82ef-e35599afec90) (English actor) performed the voice of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor
Relationship: Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor performed the voice of [Ninth Doctor](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6ce691a5-7584-47bb-a3bd-a5d8dd9a1716) (Fictional Character from Doctor Who)
This joins the artist (person) to the artist (other), and then joins the artist (other) to the artist (character).
Finally, you join the artist (other) to the recording:
Relationship: [Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8c59d59d-6aa8-4829-82ef-e35599afec90) (Role) performed spoken vocals on [A Theatre of Cruelty, Part 01](https://musicbrainz.org/recording/84322068-54d1-4a40-a30d-48a32e77f617)
Does that make sense? You’re using artist (other) as a bridge object between the person and character, and then joining that bridge object to the recording.
Ideally for an improvement, we could ask for the new artist type “Role” to be created, but technically we could just start doing this right now under “Other” without any improvements.
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### Author:  [@reosarevok](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/reosarevok)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2025, 11:26am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/6 "2025-04-24T11:26:18Z")
That would theoretically be doable, but it seems entirely horrible. Please don’t 🙂
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### Author:  [@IvanDobsky](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/IvanDobsky)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2025, 11:34am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/7 "2025-04-24T11:34:18Z")
It also sounds like a hellish mess when tagging or linking another database to it…
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### Author:  [@ElDubs](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/ElDubs)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/8 "2025-04-24T13:10:37Z")
Aww really? I thought it was a pretty simple solution. Role joins Actor to Character, and Role is placed in recording.
Don’t worry though, wouldn’t go for it unless there was consensus.
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### Author:  [@ElDubs](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/ElDubs)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/style-2687-style-2688-recording-works-and-person-character-relationships/755251/9 "2025-04-24T13:11:44Z")
Nah you’d just link databases to the regular actor or character or work or whatever as you do now, you wouldn’t link another database to the role object.