# "Weathered" attribute for cover art?
**URL:** https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680
**Category:** MusicBrainz
**Tags:** cover-art, cover-art-archive
**Created:** [December 8, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680 "2022-12-08T13:02:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/1 "2022-12-08T13:02:08Z")
Look at this lovely old copy of the Joni Mitchell Blue cover… (from discogs)
It’s well-used and weathered… It’s not perfect, but in many senses I’d like to be looking at this while listening to the album… Do we need a ‘weathered’ attribute?
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### Author:  [@IvanDobsky](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/IvanDobsky)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 1:08pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/2 "2022-12-08T13:08:22Z")
> [@dpr](#):
>
> Do we need a ‘weathered’ attribute?
OR a “_Photoshopped unto the edge of unreality_” option… 🤣
Give me battered over artificial any day. There are plenty of other sites for touch-up repainted perfectionism. A well loved album looks good as well loved. (But a 600x600 image is too small for me…)
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### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/3 "2022-12-08T13:13:39Z")
> [@IvanDobsky](#):
>
> Give me battered over artificial any day.
agreed…
> [@IvanDobsky](#):
>
> OR a “_Photoshopped unto the edge of unreality_” option… 🤣
there’s probably a weathering filter that can be applied… I know I have some for photos on my phone that turn my landscapes in oil paintings… (by constable or picasso 🙂 )
> [@IvanDobsky](#):
>
> But a 600x600 image is too small for me…
yes, just an example…I have this album in vinyl and as a cd… when I’m listening to the flac from the cd, in my mind I’m listening to the vinyl…
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### Author:  [@sound.and.vision](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/sound.and.vision)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/4 "2022-12-08T14:53:00Z")
> [@dpr](#):
>
> Do we need a ‘weathered’ attribute?
Nope because then we may end up with 100 variations of one cover in various states of disrepair, and then people may ask “i want one for water damage” or “I want one for torn”. Use the free text field to state condition (if you so desire); however don’t be surprised if another editor comes along and replaces your scan that is in poor condition with one that is better condition.
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### Author:  [@IvanDobsky](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/IvanDobsky)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/5 "2022-12-08T15:29:56Z")
> [@sound.and.vision](#):
>
> Nope
I don’t think @dpr was serious. Sorry, we should probably have started a new thread in _General Chatter_…
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### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/6 "2022-12-08T15:37:38Z")
> [@IvanDobsky](#):
>
> I don’t think @dpr was serious.
I was half serious, but @sound.and.vision is probably right…
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### Author:  [@UltimateRiff](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/UltimateRiff)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/7 "2022-12-08T19:38:55Z")
obligatory [@webuywhitealbums](https://instagram.com/webuywhitealbums) link
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### Author:  [@sound.and.vision](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/sound.and.vision)
#### Post date: [December 9, 2022, 9:52am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/8 "2022-12-09T09:52:58Z")
apologies - i’ll put my silly hat back on 🎩
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### Author:  [@Comrade\_Mike](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/Comrade_Mike)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/9 "2022-12-10T18:11:03Z")
I’m actually in favour of a weathered/damaged attribute, the same as how we have one for watermarks.
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### Author:  [@aerozol](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/aerozol)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/10 "2022-12-10T18:27:33Z")
I don’t see anything wrong with a weathered attribute, it may need a guideline to go with it to clarify that they should be replaced with cleaner versions (?), as the attribute could be seen as ‘legitimizing’ them as separate covers. Which could also be cool… but probably not in MBs wheelhouse ☹
The UI could probably separate out some of these secondary ‘condition’ types if more were added, as well.
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### Author:  [@sound.and.vision](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/sound.and.vision)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/11 "2022-12-10T19:16:46Z")
why not just have a grading system against the cover art, like we have for overall data quality?
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### Author:  [@IvanDobsky](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/IvanDobsky)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/12 "2022-12-10T19:59:06Z")
I don’t see the point of a grading system. Better quality artwork already replaces the bad artwork. Artwork has its own natural grading system.
You only have to look at how weird the release grading system is. Release grading is just a personal opinion by one editor. I see a lot of releases with 600x600 artwork and no copyright relationships marked as “high”. Or old pre-NGS rating still in place on a release that is now clearly borderline.
Every editor has a different opinion on a “complete” release. It would be the same on the artwork. There are better places to spend the precious developer hours.
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### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/13 "2022-12-10T21:14:00Z")
> [@Comrade\_Mike](#):
>
> I’m actually in favour of a weathered/damaged attribute
I’m not in favour of it. It was a fun idea, but I think there’s already enough to do on the artwork area for each release:
- the correct set of artwork for the release
- the complete set of artwork (cover, back, booklet, medium) etc
- high quality ( resolution, no glare etc)
With a good / great quality scan, it should be
easy to run it through a filter and create a coffee stained, weathered cover
> [@\[Site Improvement\] Have Bigger Focus on Cover Art](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/site-improvement-have-bigger-focus-on-cover-art/600764/59):
>
> There are better places to spend the precious developer hours.
Agreed
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### Author:  [@aerozol](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/aerozol)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/14 "2022-12-11T04:31:22Z")
Random but related open question: What’s the level of hate for digital fake ‘weathered’ covers 😛
Or do people find them charming?
[Like this one](https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/927cb842-5da1-4fa7-87a8-c864926ec792) (initially shared by @UltimateRiff in Discord)
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### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 8:59am UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/15 "2022-12-11T08:59:18Z")
> [@aerozol](#):
>
> What’s the level of hate for digital fake ‘weathered’ cover
I don’t dislike the fakes, they are amusing…I much prefer the covers that are genuine. Sort of like jeans that have torn knees you can buy. My jeans have worn though use and working in the house or garden
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### Author:  [@outsidecontext](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/outsidecontext)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/16 "2022-12-11T12:05:22Z")
Would be a fun feature if your media player would show cover art with different artificial wear depending on the age of the release 😃 I think I’d love such a feature, as long as it would not manipulate the original files but just apply it for display.
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### Author:  [@dpr](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/dpr)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/17 "2022-12-11T12:28:04Z")
> [@outsidecontext](#):
>
> Would be a fun feature if your media player would show cover art with different artificial wear depending on the age of the release :
I’d love it too. I don’t have a media player that will even display the back or the booklet… what do you use?
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### Author:  [@Beckfield](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/Beckfield)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/18 "2022-12-11T19:46:46Z")
I’m a ‘pristine as possible’ cover art person, myself. If the publishing label produces a cover with a weathered look, that’s the way I want it represented. If I’m scanning a cover that has natural wear, I’ll generally try to clean it up.
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### Author:  [@aerozol](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/aerozol)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/19 "2022-12-11T20:20:04Z")
> [@outsidecontext](#):
>
> Would be a fun feature if your media player would show cover art with different artificial wear depending on the age of the release 😃
This wouldn’t be hard to do from a visual standpoint, transparent PNG’s with wear and tear get overlaid based on the year tag.
Shame MeB doesn’t make a player 😛
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### Author:  [@Comrade\_Mike](https://community.metabrainz.org/u/Comrade_Mike)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.metabrainz.org/t/weathered-attribute-for-cover-art/613680/20 "2022-12-11T21:31:33Z")
> [@dpr](#):
>
> With a good / great quality scan, it should be
> easy to run it through a filter and create a coffee stained, weathered cover
I don’t mean when a user wants to show off their Photoshop skills by making a good quality scan look worse by adding a coffee stain or whatever to it. I mean when the actual thing being scanned is in a poor condition and a good quality scan of it will still look terrible, like @UltimateRiff’s White Albums example.
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