Vinyl: When album cover / jacket and label are in conflict

MusicBrainz
1

See this example.

On the album jacket, the song by Arlene Harden is identified as “Lovin’ Man” while the record label just says "Lovin’ ".

I looked but could not find a specific guideline on which is the “official” title. Should I use the album jacket..or the record label?

Either way, I assume the “unofficial” title should be noted in the release annotation.

Also, I assume that we will document it as it appears on this specific release so that (if album jacket is considered “official”), the release title of the Marty Robbins song will be “White Sport Coat” while the actual title [“A White Sportcoat (and a Pink Carnation)”] will be noted by the release title’s relationship to its recording.

2

Are there newer releases? Maybe see if they corrected the title one way or another on it. We can use the principle of “error correction” if there is something that has changed on later releases or see if it’s on digital, etc. If the work is already created match the title to the work. So, I’d use whatever title that is the correct one and just note the error in the annotation.

Update: I just noticed the release is a V/A compilation. I’d go with whatever the artist uses on their official releases and just note the error.

4 Likes