User:Hawke/Proposal/Vinyl track numbering

Guidelines

Sides

Medium sides should be indicated with a letter (A, B, C, etc.) before the track number.

For most releases this will be similar to A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3.

If the numbering does not restart at 1, use the number on the release: A1, A2, A3, B4, B5, B6.

Some releases have more than two “sides”: This is common on older multi-disc vinyl records designed for a stacking turntable. For these, use A, B, C, D, etc. as applicable. This means that track ordering may be strange, e.g. A1, A2, A3, D1, D2, D3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3. (second side of first disc is the end of the release).

Sub-tracks

Some single-sided media have “Sub-tracks”. This applies to CD “indexes”, DVD “titles”/“chapters”, and 4 or 8-track cartridge “programs”, and is also common in production music to identify alternate versions of a track (e.g. a 30-second excerpt).

For these releases, separate the main track from the sub-track with a period: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2.