[mb-users] Can someone clarify on how labels/imprints works?

[artysmokes]

fridaythe14th wrote:
> 
> As I understand it a label on MB can be either a producer or distributor,
> and in the case of the first it could be original production or reissue
> production. Say that an album was first released and distributed in
> America by Label X. Label Y handles the distribution in Europe and label Z
> later reissues it and distributes it in Russia. On all the releases Label
> X's logo is printed on the CD/booklet/inlay while the other labels are
> only mentioned in the copyright notes.
> 
> Does that mean that Label X should be the label in the release event for
> all of them? I hope it's not the case, but this is how I read the 
> http://wiki.musicbrainz.org/Label Label  wiki page. IMO what's interesting
> is what makes the releases different, which as I see it would always be
> distribution.
> 
In a word, YES, Label X (the original imprint) should be used if its logo
appears on the sleeve. Distributors should NOT be chosen for release events
(partly because distribution licenses change all the time and are very hard
to confirm). The general rule of thumb is to use the lowest level of the
holding company/distributor/label/imprint hierarchy. You can add the
distributor's name in the annotation and if there are two cat numbers, then
add two release events for the same date and barcode, e.g. FOODCD32 - Food
Records, and EMI - CDP 894352.

While (foreign) distribution is of interest to some people, for MBz purposes
we want to specify the "imprint". A re-issue *may* be on a different label
and in that case, the re-issue label should be used (especially if the cat
number "matches" it), but not the distributor. I'll be happy to have a look
at any particular label edit if you want specific advice.
Hope this helps.
--
Cheers, Arty.
-- 
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