[mb-users] Adding releases not yet released

[Aaron Cooper]

On 9/5/07, Philipp Wolfer <phw at rubyforge.org> wrote:
> 2007/9/5, Aaron Cooper <cooperaa at gmail.com>:
> > 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.
> I'm against requiring that. Promotional releases or leaked versions
> are not more reliable than official announcements of the release.
> Promotional releases don't always contain the final track list or
> exactly the track versions of the final release. So I think an
> official announcement for the near future is enough.

As Chris has said, we have a Promo release status that can be used and
there should be no problem adding promotional versions of releases to
MB.  Leaked versions of albums are much more reliable than just a
published tracklist because they usually come from promotional CDs and
therefore are considered a "release" in MB.

> > 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 even would *require* some kind of official source. For "released
> releases" (we get into trouble with the name "release" here) you
> normally have people owning the release which is always a reliable
> source (as long as the editors are reliable). But adding a release
> before the release date based upon rumors on Wikipedia or some fan
> page is IMHO a really bad idea.

This is why I say don't add a release based on a published tracklist
or rumors.  Only add it when there is a recording to go with the
tracklist.  It is very easy to validate many of these leaked albums
because they are all over torrent sites and I've seen instances where
the first few pages of searches on an 'artist name + album title' are
filled with torrents.  This makes it somewhat simple to verify
promotional tracklists, but I'm not saying it is the best way to
verify.  It is always better to confirm with official sources.

-Aaron