#musicbrainz

the other day I noticed we have this medium type now — Download Card. but no real documentation about its usage. anyone encountered an release using that format type?

yeah, I've had a couple of japanese singles which included a download card as a "first press" bonus content that added an extra track.

so that's preferred now instead of .... "Digital"?

for the specific case of a physical card with a download code on it, sure

I can't quite wrap my mind around how that works..... semantically

in the cases i've seen these are usually unique codes per card and can only be redeemed once (or to one account)

cuz the card medium has a code, not music. not the same way for instance a USB drive does

is the strictly exclusive content a defining feature, maybe? 🤔🤔 being exclusive can always change, but that sort of sets it apart from being just like, the exact digital copy of the same thing on vinyl

the download card is very much tied to the music tho, both in being a physical object that represents it (and being effectively the artwork for it) as well as having a 1:1 relation to a downloaded copy of the music (for people obtaining it legally, at least)

and in the cases i've seen it usually is an exclusive bonus track

Because there's like..... a *ton* of vinyl releases like that, with digital copy download cards

I have a lot of releases (Rush LPs that came with a "download card" that could be modified in this case.

i think in general, the "download card" media type is probably suitable for most cases of "digital media, except access to it is granted by possession of a specific physical object which does not itself contain the music data"

I actually submitted a fun release last month that I got from a show. RFID card they sold which contained the link to the download.

I'm kind of surprised it's not a subtype of digital media, but i guess pure "digital media" implies that there's no physical component at all.

That is one I definitely feel deserves the Download Card medium

hmm, i think all the examples i have are buried in boxes somewhere, but pretty sure one of the ones i have is https://musicbrainz.org/release/2a8e736c-df45-4... (which is just https://musicbrainz.org/release/e3a7d352-891a-4... plus they threw a card in alongside the release)

^^ like cheezmo says, there's a toooonn of vinyl (cassette too I'm sure) releases out there with download cards that are 1:1 identical digital copies

Knee-jerk gut feeling says that would clutter up the database in a non meaningful way

apparently with this release there were 3 different download cards and you got a different one (with a different bonus track) depending on where you bought it

but yeah it's making sense to me now to use "download card" medium if it's something supplemental and not a 1:1 copy

I actually think it adds something. I mean digital media with a physical release didn't really make sense. Download Card tells how it was attached.

yeah, i dunno about the case for vinyl + a duplicate copy as digital. theoretically (ignoring the analogue nature of the media) the digital copy is equivalent to if you recorded the playback from your turntable, just more convenient.

or ripping a CD

possible with any CD lol

And i've seen a bunch of cases on e.g. bandcamp where it's not a physical supplement saying how to download, but rather that you buy the vinyl or cassette and bandcamp also gives you a download copy before your physical media even ships.

A recording of vinyl is subject to all kinds of corruption. The digital download is the same for everyone.

i did explicitly say "ignoring the analogue nature of the media" there, did i not? :)

Yeah, not sure that bandcamp example is a "download card". Maybe another media type of "included download", lol.

the bandcamp example, i can't think of any better option than a "digital media" medium, tbh

^ kepstin I've also gotten many cards specifically powered by bandcamp too, lol, ie you enter the code on the site and there's your download.

You did, kepstinbrainz.

ah, interesting that bandcamp does that. I guess that's handy for artists who want to sell merch at shows and already use bandcamp for internet sales.

is that a different release than purchasing the same thing on bandcamp without the card tho? :)

No, it's almost certainly the exact same thing.

I personally wouldn't be for setting out to bloat every applicable analog release with an accompanying download card digital copy

especially if the same thing as the download card / included download is also available for sale on its own

that sort of data can go in annotation 🤷🏼‍♀️

Updated my Rush releases, FWIW

right, when it's that sort of thing it's like any other bundled goody like a sticker or goody

Thinking about the Amazon releases that come with digital copy, drives me mad.

Not a card, just comes with it.

Wow I'm actually sorry I brought it up 😭😭

yeah, i do think that the cases of a physical release which when purchased from a store includes a digital copy, where you can also purchase the digital copy alone, probably shouldn't have the digital version added as an additional media to the physical release.

I mean, I am really happy to do it for the releases that I've purchased that came with a download card. But there are similar things that are "bloative".

(especially if the identical physical release is available from other stores without including the digital copy)

kpestinbrianz, I disacgree. If the store purchase includes a code for a download that should absolutely be included.

Oh, I see they already had the digital copy as an additional medium... uh... um... 🤢🤢I'm just going to excuse myself from this discussion now.

yeah, i'm thinking specifically of the case where a physical download code is not included with the release, but rather that the digital copy is provided through the store

The Amazon thing is tricky. You could be some new releae of an album (with bonus tracks or whatever) or some physical LP or something and be granted access to a "digital copy" that isn't even the same release.

I'll just conclude by saying a a release-release relationship for bundled/bonus digital copies would be a ton more elegant

"remastered" https://i.imgur.com/ydvvrlg.png

now with extra clipping!

Just catching up, but the download card thing seems weird to me. At Bandcamp, I can generate a set of 100 download codes, which I can print on cards (or just e-mail out), or even order download cards from Bandcamp with codes on them… but the content accessed by those cards is just the Bandcamp release. Making that a distinct release seems really weird…

Like, if someone e-mails me the code, is that a different release than if get it on a piece of paper, or if I find the site on my own?

@crism: I agree, in such cases the "download card" media does not make much sense. There have been other cases where e.g. certain editions of an album contained such cards to download tracks from the band's website that otherwise were not available. There this media type makes much more sense.

Maybe a release-release relationship "contained a download card for {release}" would be more usefull. don't know

https://musicbrainz.org/label/c9ecb3cf-ed8c-4f4... says "not normally a release label", but i have an obi with "(p)(c) The Island Def Jam Music Group" printed on it, so...?

perhaps this release is just not normal :-)

(p) (c) is very much not a release label, so it fits

Those are phonographic copyright and copyright relationships

(which can be added to the release separately)

What is the logo?

Release labels follow imprints, so mostly logos

reosarevok[m]: Mercury (which is what i added it as in the end)

Seems more appropriate then, yes :)