How to Submit CD Metadata to freedb
Article | August 25, 2007 | Updated: September 15, 2007 | Posted by Basilisk
freedb is an incredibly helpful service that offers track listings and other CD metadata through a wide variety of client software. In practical everyday usage, freedb enables CD rippers, audio taggers, and other music-related software the ability to fill in the blanks so that no manual data entry is required. This is an extremely important capability for anyone regularly working with CDs to rip and burn, encode to MP3, catalogue, archive, or otherwise digitize music stored on physical media.
This article has been written to provide all the information necessary to submit information to the freedb service. Record labels and independent artists are most likely to want to make use of this knowledge, but serious collectors and altruistic members of the listening public might also wish to learn how it all works. Ultimately, the goal is to provide CD buyers everywhere with accurate and useful metadata (in this case, information about CDs). Labels should be particularly concerned with keeping the freedb database updated with all the latest releases; it requires very little effort and provides a great convenience to paying customers.
To get started, I highly recommend downloading and installing Exact Audio Copy (EAC), the software I use here in the Ektopod. It is with this software that I will walk you through the steps necessary to successfully submit metadata to freedb. If you have any trouble working with EAC, you may wish to use one of the other programs listed on the client submits statistics page, but the directions that follow will probably be of little use.
Before attempting to submit anything, read the freedb FAQ for submitting new entries to brush up on the basic rules. In a nutshell: drop the “The” in group names where necessary, employ proper capitalization (see the Discogs submission guidelines for a good set of standards to follow), and format track titles on compilations featuring various artists like “Artist / Track Title.” If you encounter any errors during the procedure, check the FAQ, make a post on the EAC support forum, or see what Google has to say.
EAC in fine working order on the verge of submitting a new CD.
Ensure your copy of EAC is configured to access freedb properly; generally the server information is going to be correct, but you are going to need to enter an email address into the appropriate field if it is your first time using the software to submit. This can be found under EAC > freedb / database options [F12]. At this stage, it is time to insert a CD that you wish to submit to the freedb.
It is now time to type in some information! The entry fields in the top right corner of EAC are for title, artist, year, and genre—you know what to do. Check the box for “Various Artists” if you are submitting a compilation. The selections accessed through the “freedb” drop down box are, as mentioned, quite limited—apparently electronic music is supposed to be filed under “Rock.” Moving on to the track titles, enter “Artist / Track Title” if you are submitting a compilation, and only the track title if this is an album by a single artist. The tab and enter keys will help you navigate the various fields with ease. Once you have finished, verify the information you are about to submit—any mistakes in spelling or capitalization will be replicated worldwide, so be careful! The last step: submit the metadata by going to Database > Submit Information to freedb [ALT-U]. EAC also supports automatic revisions; if you have found an error in any existing metadata, you may correct it in the same way.
Hopefully this basic walk-through has been helpful in some way. Every record label should make every effort to submit new releases before they hit the shops, but it isn’t tough for the rest of us to pick up the slack. Remember—it only takes one person to enter details that will benefit thousands!
