Release Group: Difference between revisions

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A '''release group''', just as the name suggests, is used to group several different [[Release|releases]] into a single logical entity. Every release belongs to one, and only one release group.
{{DocumentationHeader|Release|Terminology}}


Both release groups and releases are "albums" in a general sense, but with an important difference: a release is something you can buy as media such as a CD or a vinyl record, while a release group embraces the overall concept of an album -- it doesn't matter how many CDs or editions/versions it had.
A '''Release group''' is used to group several different [[Release|release]]s of an album into a single entity.


When an artist says "We've released our new album", they're talking about a release group. When their publisher says "This new album gets released next week in Japan and next month in Europe", they're referring to the different releases that belong in the above mentioned release group.
[[Album]]s are often released in different ways in different markets. For example one album could be released in the USA with 14 tracks and re-released in Europe with one additional bonus track. In a colloquial sense they are the same ''album'' but not exactly the same to MusicBrainz. A release group will group together these two slightly different releases of the same album.


MusicBrainz automatically considers every release in the database to be part of a release group, even if this group only contains the one release. When a brand new release is added to the database, a new release group is automatically added as well.
When an [[Artist|artist]] says "I have released my new album", she's talking about a release group. To her it does not matter much whether the USA version will be exactly the same as the European version.


== Examples ==
When her publisher says: "Today we released her new album, next week we will released a limited edition version with two bonus track", he is talking about different releases of the release group the artist has told you before. Both these version will be grouped in the same release group.
* Transplant's single "[[ReleaseGroup:ffecdcc5-08d6-3f2e-8d61-6329ce954bf1|Diamonds and Guns]]" is a single release inside its own group.
* Weezer's "[[ReleaseGroup:9b8af98f-8214-32ee-9b05-96b8c557f7f0|Weezer]]" (Red Album) has ten editions in the database, some releases from different countries, some deluxe editions, and one transliteration.
* Franz Ferdinand's "[[ReleaseGroup:1b4f4b3c-ca01-37b7-af1d-3e37989f86ad|Tonight: Franz Ferdinand]]" was issued on its own, with a bonus disc, and on two vinyl records.
* A 3 disc self-titled compilation by "[[ReleaseGroup:7349c1f3-09fa-397f-848d-f976f315a746|Nirvana]]".
* Mozart's 9 volume, 170 disc "[[ReleaseGroup:3ea5428d-1d2b-35ee-bbb4-5fb7171a7269|Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Complete Works]]" box set, or Enya's 3 disc box set "[[ReleaseGroup:27a611a6-30d6-304a-9926-6b1eaa893499|A Box of Dreams]]".
* Blind Guardian's "[[ReleaseGroup:3a5d9bb8-8e19-379d-b294-ee8fcf743f77|Nightfall in Middle-Earth]]" was first released in 1998 and then remastered with a bonus track in 2007
* The musical "[[ReleaseGroup:afdd011e-e2aa-39f3-b52b-1ffe001d8d87|My Fair Lady]]" (Original London Cast) was originally released on vinyl in 1959 and on CD in 1998.


== Style guidelines ==
Additionally, MusicBrainz considers each [[Disc|disc]] in a [[Disc set|disc set]] a different release. Release groups are also used to group these releases into a single entity.


Please see the [[Style/Release_Group|guidelines for release groups]].
MusicBrainz has a set of guidelines on [[Release groups usage guideline|when and how to group releases together in a release group]].


== Properties ==
[[Category:Release]] [[Category:Terminology]]

=== Title ===
The title of a release group is usually very similar, if not the same, as the titles of the releases contained within it.

=== Artist ===
The artist of a release group is usually very similar, if not the same, as the artist of the releases contained within it. Multiple artists can be linked using [[Artist Credit|artist credits]].

=== Type ===
The type describes what kind of releases the release group represents, for example album, single, soundtrack, compilation etc.

See the [[Release Group/Type|Type]] subpage for a full list of release group types.

=== MBID ===
See the [[MusicBrainz_Identifier|page about MBIDs]] for more information.

=== Disambiguation comment ===
See the [[Disambiguation Comment|page about comments]] for more information.

=== Annotation ===
See the [[Annotation|page about annotations]] for more information.

[[Category:Terminology]] [[Category:Release Group]] [[Category:WikiDocs Page]]

Revision as of 13:16, 5 July 2012

A release group, just as the name suggests, is used to group several different releases into a single logical entity. Every release belongs to one, and only one release group.

Both release groups and releases are "albums" in a general sense, but with an important difference: a release is something you can buy as media such as a CD or a vinyl record, while a release group embraces the overall concept of an album -- it doesn't matter how many CDs or editions/versions it had.

When an artist says "We've released our new album", they're talking about a release group. When their publisher says "This new album gets released next week in Japan and next month in Europe", they're referring to the different releases that belong in the above mentioned release group.

MusicBrainz automatically considers every release in the database to be part of a release group, even if this group only contains the one release. When a brand new release is added to the database, a new release group is automatically added as well.

Examples

  • Transplant's single "Diamonds and Guns" is a single release inside its own group.
  • Weezer's "Weezer" (Red Album) has ten editions in the database, some releases from different countries, some deluxe editions, and one transliteration.
  • Franz Ferdinand's "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" was issued on its own, with a bonus disc, and on two vinyl records.
  • A 3 disc self-titled compilation by "Nirvana".
  • Mozart's 9 volume, 170 disc "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Complete Works" box set, or Enya's 3 disc box set "A Box of Dreams".
  • Blind Guardian's "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" was first released in 1998 and then remastered with a bonus track in 2007
  • The musical "My Fair Lady" (Original London Cast) was originally released on vinyl in 1959 and on CD in 1998.

Style guidelines

Please see the guidelines for release groups.

Properties

Title

The title of a release group is usually very similar, if not the same, as the titles of the releases contained within it.

Artist

The artist of a release group is usually very similar, if not the same, as the artist of the releases contained within it. Multiple artists can be linked using artist credits.

Type

The type describes what kind of releases the release group represents, for example album, single, soundtrack, compilation etc.

See the Type subpage for a full list of release group types.

MBID

See the page about MBIDs for more information.

Disambiguation comment

See the page about comments for more information.

Annotation

See the page about annotations for more information.