[mb-style] Agree, and more detailed proposal [was: Re: Composition/Performer/Production ARs at Release or Track level? - PROPOSAL]

[Bram van Dijk]

Thanks! I agree with this proposal.

Jim DeLaHunt schreef:
> Hi, folks:
>
> I had just come strongly to Brian's Viewpoint #2 when this thread broke out. 
>
> I support his proposal, but I'd like to reword it (below):
>
>
> Brian Schweitzer wrote:
>   
>> ...
>> Viewpoint 2:
>>    A release and its tracks are two entirely separate considerations.
>>    An AR added at the release level is valid if is says something about at
>> least one of the tracks on the release. ....
>>
>> =========================
>>
>> Proposal:
>>
>>   Release level ARs are not now or ever to be inherited to tracks.
>>   Release level ARs are allowed to be, and always ought to be viewed as
>> "fuzzy".
>>   However, track level (and for later, track master ARs) are *never* to be
>> fuzzy.
>>   Finally, apply ARs to every track you can, if you have the info - ie:
>> from
>> this point on, if an AR applies to all tracks, it ought to be applied to
>> all
>> tracks, and not just to the release.
>>
>> =========================
>>
>> (Any time I say AR here I mean performance and production ARs, not the
>> ones
>> that inherently have nothing to do with tracks, such as the coverart AR.)
>> ...
>>
>>     
>
> I think the word "fuzzy" is causing trouble for some editors who want MB
> data to be carefully researched and based on solid evidence. 
>
> I also think that (who?) on this thread had a good point that some ARs don't
> really apply to Tracks, they apply to Track Masters. I think we should carry
> this discussion forward to Track Masters, as if they already were part of
> the structure, and work out the implications. I think we should also do this
> for Musical Compositions, which many people agree are sorely needed, and
> which I hope will arrive soon.
>
> Thus I support David's proposal, and suggest the following more complicated
> but precise wording. (Each point numbered J-1..J-13, so you can refer to
> them in discussion.)
>
> J-1: A Release is an entity that exists separately from the Tracks it
> contains. An AR can describe a Release without describing the Tracks of the
> Release. The "provided photography on" AR is an example. 
>
> J-2: Brief Definition: a Track is one rendition of a Track Master. Each
> Track has exactly one Track Master, but each Track Master can be rendered by
> multiple Tracks. A Track Master contains performances of one or more Musical
> Compositions. A Musical Composition is an entity that exists separately from
> any performances of it.
>
> J-3: An AR describes at most one of a Track or a Track Master or a Release
> or a Musical Composition. (Some ARs describe none of these, e.g.
> Artist-Artist or Artist-URL ARs. They don't apply in this discussion.) As
> part of this proposal, we need to go through each AR and be specific about
> which entity it describes. Some ARs may need to be split if they say
> different things about Tracks vs Releases.
>
> J-4: An AR that describes a Track *should* be attached to each individual
> Track record that it applies to, if there is solid evidence that ties the AR
> to that Track. If it means an AR is attached to every Track in a Release,
> that's fine. Similarly, an AR that describes a Track Master should be
> applied to each individual Track Master entity, and an AR that describes a
> Musical Composition should be applied to each individual Musical Composition
> entity; if there is solid evidence.
>   
> J-5: An AR that describes a Track or Track Master or Musical Composition
> *may* be applied to a Release. This formally means that this AR applies to
> some, at least one and perhaps all, Tracks of the Release. Applying a such
> an AR to a Release is appropriate if there is solid evidence which ties the
> AR to the Release, but which does not specify to which Tracks (or Track
> Masters or Musical Compositions) the AR applies.  
>
> J-6: If you find a Track or Track Master or Musical Composition AR applied
> to a Release, then you must not conclude that the AR *certainly* applies to
> each Track (or Track Master or Musical Composition) of the Release. You must
> conclude that it *might* apply to any or all of them, and use that
> conclusion appropriately for your task. For example, if you are a tagger,
> you might put the AR information into an MP3 tag, but marked with a "?".
>
> J-7: If you are summarising information about a Release, if it is
> appropriate for your task, it is correct to include AR information from the
> Tracks, Track Masters, and Musical Compositions of that Release in the
> summary. For instance, if you are generating a report about the Performers
> on a Release, it is correct to list all Artists mentioned in Performer ARs
> for all Track Masters and Tracks.  If you find that in all the Musical
> Compositions of a Release there is only one Composer mentioned, it is
> correct to report that as the "Composer of the Release".
>
> J-8: An AR that describes a Track Master may be attached to a Track. (Right
> now it *always* will, by necessity, since there are no Track Master entities
> in the MB structure.)  This means that the AR applies to the Track Master
> associated with the Track. If there is no explicit Track Master entity, then
> the Track Master is implicit, and the Track is its placeholder. Where a
> Track Master or Musical Composition record for the track exists, it is
> always correct to remove relevant ARs from the Track and apply them to the
> Track Master or Musical Composition entity.
>
> J-9: An AR that describes a Musical Composition may be attached to a Track
> or Track Master. (Right now it *always* will, by necessity, since there are
> no Track Master or Musical Composition entities in the MB structure.)  This
> means that the AR applies to some, at least one and perhaps all, of the
> Musical Composition(s) associated with that Track Master. If there are no
> explicit Musical Composition entities, they they are implicit, and the Track
> Master (or Track) are the placeholder for them. Where a single Musical
> Composition entity for the Track Master exists, it is always correct to
> remove relevant ARs from the Track and apply them to the Musical Composition
> entity. Where multiple Musical Composition entities for the Track Master
> exist, then it requires editor judgment to move the AR from Track or Track
> Master to Musical Composition. 
>
> J-10: Transition task: Review all Track and Release ARs and assign them to
> exactly one of a Track or a Track Master or a Release or a Musical
> Composition. Revise the AR description to be precise about what it is
> describing. If needed, split ARs which presently mean one thing for Track
> and another thing for Release.
>
> J-11: Transition task: Review all Track or Track Master or Composition ARs
> that are attached to Release entities, and make a judgement about whether
> they should be migrated to Tracks.  It would be helpful to have reports and
> tools to make this easier. It would be nice to let editors who added ARs get
> first crack at judging them.  It will be important to have a convention for
> recording judgements that an AR belongs at the Release level.
>
> J-12: When Track Master entities join the MB structure, it should be a
> fairly mechanical operation to migrate Track Master and Musical Composition
> ARs from Track to Track Master entities. It's mechanical because each Track
> has exactly one Track Master. Track Master and Musical Composition ARs which
> are attached to Release entities at this stage can stay there, if an editor
> has judged that they belong at the Release level.
>
> J-13: When Musical Composition entities join the MB structure, most Track
> Masters will have exactly one Musical Composition. For these, it should be a
> fairly mechanical operation to migrate Musical Composition ARs from Track
> Master to Musical Composition entities.  However, there will be a transition
> task to determine whether a Track Master contains one or multiple Musical
> Composition entities. If multiple, there is a judgement task to decide to
> which Musical Composition each such AR belongs.  There will probably be some
> judgement tasks to resolve conflicting ARs migrated to one Musical
> Composition from multiple Track Masters.  Again, Musical Composition ARs
> which are attached to Release entities at this stage can stay there, if an
> editor has judged that they belong at the Release level.
>
>
> Whew.
>
> Comments?
>
>      --Jim DeLaHunt, Vancouver, Canada
>