AcoustID

AcoustID is an audio fingerprinting solution built entirely on open-source technology. While it isn't fully integrated into MusicBrainz yet, you can already collaborate by submitting your fingerprints, and even use it to match your files to MusicBrainz in Picard!

With the Acoustid Fingerprinter

If your files already have MBIDs stored in their tags, just use the Acoustid Fingerprinter (you can download it from the Acoustid website).

Open the Fingerprinter and input your API key in the key field (if you don't have one, press "Get API key" to do that!). Select the folders that contain the files you want to fingerprint and press "Fingerprint": your files will be fingerprinted and the info submitted to Acoustid. You're done!

With Picard

If your files do not have MBIDs in their tags, you can use Picard to submit Acoustid fingerprints while you tag them.

Configuring Picard

1. Go to Options → Advanced → Fingerprinting, select Use AcoustID.
2. Download fpcalc for your platform from the Chromaprint download page.
3. Enter the path to the unzipped fpcalc tool into the Fingerprinter field.
4. If you want to be able to submit fingerprints too, enter your API key (you can get it from acoustid.org)

Using AcoustIDs in Picard

Select an unmatched file (or cluster) and press the Scan button. Picard will calculate the fingerprint of the file and look it up on the Acoustid server, trying to find an ID corresponding to the file's fingerprint. If the fingerprint yields a match, and it is already linked to a MusicBrainz ID, the track will be matched. You don't need to submit it! If it does not get a MB or Acoustid match, the fingerprint stays associated with the file in memory, but the file stays in the left-hand pane. Now you must manually match the track using another mechanism (e.g. Cluster/Lookup or manual search on the website). Once the file is matched to MusicBrainz, you can press the Submit button to send the information to Acoustid, thus helping future users.