[mb-users] Adding releases not yet released

[Aaron Cooper]

On 9/4/07, Philipp Wolfer <phw at rubyforge.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I wanted to raise a topic I run into regularly. Often "releases" are
> added before they are actually released. Some times such edits get
> accepted, sometimes they are voted down - the result is pretty random
> and depends completely on who is voting for the edits.
>
> I think we should have clear guidelines for those cases and I have set
> up a Wiki page for further discussion on
> http://wiki.musicbrainz.org/NotYetReleasedReleases where I have
> written down some ideas.
>
> I'm personally in favor of adding such releases if they are well
> researched and seem reliable. This makes MusicBrainz up-to-date and
> useful for people buying new releases, since the data is already
> available. But there are good arguments against that as well, and I
> really want to see this discussed. So please have a look at the Wiki
> and provide some feedback.

I think we should only add them if there is a recording to base the
release off.  A published tracklist should not be added because the
artists often do not mention bonus or hidden songs.  Until there is a
promotional or early copy of some sort (CD or digital, whatever) they
shouldn't be added.

When a release is added early, proof is a must.  The more sources that
confirm the tracklist the better.  Online stores are better than
Wikipedia or blogs since they have a little more credibility.

I believe the current practice by many editors is to set the release
to Low Data Quality so they can be edited easier.  And also add an
annotation like this:

"'''''Note:''''' This release was added before its official release
date.  Once this has been officially released please verify the
existing information and remove this annotation."

My $0.02,
-Aaron (cooperaa)