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Since nobody has responded I will give my opinions on this.<br>
The ID3 standard is very loosely applied and there is not really any
governing body.<br>
Most applications are using ID3v2.3. ID3v2.4 is out there, but since
many applications and hardware devices do not support it, it is not
very useful. The same will apply to any new changes proposed.<br>
Also, bear in mind that there is nothing to stop people from
modifying or removing the ID3 tags from a file.<br>
There are many mp3 files out there with invalid tags, incorrect data
in frames, and tags formatted wrongly.<br>
I think the best is for you to agree on a format with your
customers, and hopefully they will then got to other suppliers and
get the convention more widely followed.<br>
If there are not frames for what you need, you can create your own
User defined text information frame (TXXX). There can be as many of
these as you need, each one with a unique description. You can use
your web address or domain in the description to keep it distinct
from frames used by others.<br>
As far as the TCOP frame is concerned, the definition in ID3V2.3 is
rather vague, as you mentioned, but the ID3v2.4 definition adds some
standards:<br>
<br>
The 'Copyright message' frame, in which the string must begin
with a<br>
year and a space character (making five characters), is intended
for<br>
the copyright holder of the original sound, not the audio file<br>
itself. The absence of this frame means only that the copyright<br>
information is unavailable or has been removed, and must not be<br>
interpreted to mean that the audio is public domain. Every time
this<br>
field is displayed the field must be preceded with "Copyright "
(C) "<br>
", where (C) is one character showing a C in a circle.<br>
<br>
You could use this definition with ID3v2.3 because it will still
fit the ID3v2.3 standard, and add some structure to the frame data.<br>
<br>
The Publisher frame which could be label or publisher - you will
have to agree on some convention, probably putting the label in TPUB
is most useful.<br>
<br>
Let me know if I can assist with any implementation details, Jampal
has some features that may make things easier for you, like mass
tagging of files, supporting user defined tags, batch processing.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
Peter Bennett<br>
(Music lover and author of Jampal)<br>
<br>
On 10/28/2011 5:43 PM, Steven Saffer wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:CAD09A56.2639D%25steven@abbeywoodrecords.com"
type="cite">
<div>
<div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas">
<div>Hi,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Please see below e-mail I sent to Dan O'Neill, who
has requested I send it to the list.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>There are two issues, namely with the definitions of
the TCOP field and the TPUB field, but the more urgent
issue is with the definition of the TPUB field:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:
Consolas; ">Definition of the TPUB field as "Label or
Publisher" is problematic. There needs to be a specific
field for the label – see below for explanation.</span><font
class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas">
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Steven</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</font>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas">
<div>Steven Saffer B.E.Sc (EE), MBA</div>
<div>President</div>
<div>Abbeywood Records</div>
<div>t: +1 416 441-9578</div>
<div>f: +1 416 391-2646</div>
<div>c: +1 416 301-0700</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:steven@abbeywoodrecords.com">steven@abbeywoodrecords.com</a></div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://abbeywoodrecords.com/">http://abbeywoodrecords.com</a></div>
</font></div>
<font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas">
<div>________________________</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Dear Dan,</div>
</font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Consolas">
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks for the prompt reply. I'm pleased to be on the
list, especially</div>
<div>since I have been involved in other standards groups,
as a developer at</div>
<div>the audio company TC Electronic, and an executive at
TC Applied</div>
<div>Technologies (<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://tctechnologies.tc/">http://tctechnologies.tc</a>).
Now running a record label, we</div>
<div>have noticed that many of our partners are now asking
for tagged mp3s of</div>
<div>our catalog. I started digging into the spec as a
result of uncovering</div>
<div>differences in how these fields have been interpreted
by developers of</div>
<div>tagging apps, specifically MusicBrainz Picard and
MP3Tag.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As relates to TPUB, the issues I am seeing seem to be
as a result of the</div>
<div>very loose definition of the TPUB field ("either
label OR publisher"), and</div>
<div>also as a result of the lack of specifics around the
TCOP field. Picard</div>
<div>interprets and displays the TPUB field as the name of
the label, whereas</div>
<div>MP3Tag (and other tagging apps) display it as
"Publisher".</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>These differences will have a significant impact on
the enforcing of</div>
<div>copyright and the payment of royalties to artists,
labels and publishers,</div>
<div>specifically as relates to the reporting of usage to
performing rights</div>
<div>(and other) societies. For example, when an MP3 is
submitted to an</div>
<div>internet radio station that decides to use the
included metadata to report</div>
<div>to Soundexchange (the organization that collects
money on behalf of</div>
<div>featured performers), the label information is used.
If the name of the</div>
<div>publisher is used, there is a risk that the label
will not see these</div>
<div>royalties. There needs to be a separate field for the
label name.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>A distinction needs to be made between the sound
recording copyright owner</div>
<div>(could be the same as the label but in case the
content is licensed, that will not be</div>
<div>the case), and the copyright in the composition (the
publisher), and</div>
<div>perhaps an additional field is necessary, as well as
a clearer description</div>
<div>of what these fields should contain. Although the
description in the spec</div>
<div>as relates to the TCOP field would seem to suggest
that the name of the</div>
<div>sound recording copyright owner is included in this
field, it is not</div>
<div>clearly defined and may be misunderstood by
developers. Another source of</div>
<div>confusion is that it is not clear whether the
application should prefix</div>
<div>the copyright field with the (C) symbol when
displaying the information,</div>
<div>or the person tagging should include the (C) symbol.
It is also unclear</div>
<div>whether the year should be included in the field
itself when the recording</div>
<div>is tagged, or this field will be prefixed with the
data in the 'year'</div>
<div>field when the metadata is displayed, or it will be
displayed in the field</div>
<div>heading in the app.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As relates to the TPUB field, the label may be the
same as the publisher,</div>
<div>but typically they are different. As we see broader
adoption of the</div>
<div>standard and use of the metadata by the music
industry, these are issues</div>
<div>that should be dealt with now.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Let me know if there is anything else you need, and
if there are any</div>
<div>upcoming meetings where this issue might be
discussed.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Looking forward to hearing from you.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Best regards,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Steven</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Steven Saffer B.E.Sc (EE), MBA</div>
<div>President</div>
<div>Abbeywood Records</div>
<div>t: +1 416 441-9578</div>
<div>f: +1 416 391-2646</div>
<div>c: +1 416 301-0700</div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:steven@abbeywoodrecords.com">steven@abbeywoodrecords.com</a></div>
<div><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://abbeywoodrecords.com/">http://abbeywoodrecords.com</a></div>
</font></div>
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</div>
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