Based on both the style guide, prior art, and other threads like this one Song covers compilation - Album artist I know for compilations of inspired works, covers, etc that it’s standard too use Various Artists as the credit.
However, I wanted to double-check since in this case there’s a release that explicitly seems to credit the original artist (Neu!) on both storefronts and streaming platforms.
It’s also unusual in that it was originally part of a box set of Neu! work and only later released separately. After seeing an RSD vinyl release with a different title and credited to Various Artists (also added as a release), I changed the Release Group’s credit to Various Artists, but I’m now thinking I should probably just put both that and Neu! in. Still, before I add further edit churn, I figured I should ask here. Would it be appropriate to do that?
If they are remixes
Only credit to Neu! And only Neu! as the track artists, the remixers can then be linked using the remixer relationship.
If they are actually covers, but called ‘remixes’ for stylistic purposes
Release + group credit is Various Artists. Neu! should not be in any of the track artists, the original work can be linked credited via ‘cover of’ relationships, or whatever is appropriate.
The thing that tied me up (but I also find it interesting; I like that it’s a hybrid) is that it’s seemingly a mix of all of the above! There are straight remixes, a couple covers, and - in the case of the tracks Zum Herz and 4+1=5 - Neu!-inspired semi-original songs containing samples from two or more of their works!
That said, the bulk of them are remixes, so if not splitting the difference then my instinct is to
follow @ernstlx’s advice and put Neu! back as the Release Group artist
tag each recording’s artist and relationships according to their category (which I think I’ve got fixed now but need to review just in case)
Thanks for this, I think I was assuming too much label intent with the V.A. credit for the RSD vinyl release just because that’s what it was on Discogs - not the it says Various Artists on the vinyl sleeve! As for the tracks, i think I’ll just have to mark the outliers accordingly in the recordings.
Main thing left I’m going back and forth on is whether to leave the track artists as credited on each release or make them match the recordings…
If you have the knowledge and know which is which (remix vs cover etc) then that’s a great approach!
I would also be tempted to make the recordings as technically correct as possible, but being a bit more flexible with the release.
It would probably depend on how messy everything would get - if super messy then I’d consider claiming “artist/label intent” for the release credits and keeping them uniform.
You probably already know this but never hurts to say - edits don’t have to be perfect, as long as they are improvements. So it’s okay to make the changes you are comfortable with and then move on
Other editors can make further edits later, if they want.
