Wondering how to get track names on iTunes? How about album title, artist and genre? Well you've come to the right place. The process is easier than you think and its even free. Here's a quick guide for you.
A tool
You will be using a site called Gracenote (previously known as the the CDDB database). It is a free service to consumers that has been around for over a decade and and provides the online service that enables users with an internet connection to see complete track and album details when they insert a CD into their computer.
When you load your CD into a computer, the media player (such as itunes, winamp etc – most are registered with Gracenote) reads the details of the CD and sends the (usually) unique track and album length details to the Gracenote database. Gracenote checks these details against their list of previously submitted albums and hopefully replies back to the media player with the album name, track names and album artwork.
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How does all of this information get onto the Gracenote database?
Obviously it doesn't just appear there, the data has to be manually entered. The Gracenote system has been created so that anybody can enter the details themselves at no cost.
1) Using iTunes (for this example) with a active internet connection, put your new CD into your computer (or open your mp3 file). The tracks should show in the media player as “untitled” ( this means that nobody has submitted the track information yet).
2) Next you need to click on each track one by one, select the “get info” option and enter the artist name, track name, album name, genre and year of release. Once this is completed for each track, navigate to the “advanced” tab at the top of the page and choose the “submit CD track names” option.
To Clarify, the fields you will need to enter are as follows:
ARTIST:
ALBUM:
YEAR RECORDED:
LABEL (if unsigned, leave blank):
PRIMARY GENRE:
TRACK NAMES:
ARTIST URL:
Once submitted you can expect the details to show up on the database around about 2-3 days later.
Gracenote alternative
Although the service is free, many people still would rather an experienced operator provide the service and this is where “Content Partners” come into it.
Content partners use software for the submission process will understand the submission requirement (such as captilisation and grammatical requirements).
As a registered Content Partner, my company, DiskBank will be happy to submit your CD at a very affordable cost.
Guest Post: David Metcalf is the founder of DiskBank, an Australia CD and DVD duplication facility. DiskBank have offices in Perth and Sydney and offer a full printing, duplication, packaging and replication service.
Visit http://www.diskbank.com.au/cd-
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