Important Notice!

Hello folks. After setting the database to read-only and hiding comments due to the DMCA notice as a first step to prevent further harm I have now decided to continue working on the project and re-enabling create, edit and delete functionality again in the future. This update will take some time as it basically means rewriting everything from scratch with a new framework and adding a lot of new functionality. But you can continue scanning albums, just keep the logs on your hard drive for the time being. There will be a use for it. :)

The planned changes: All actions will be held in a moderation queue and selected members (moderators) have to confirm any changes before they are visible to the public. Therefore there will be a user account system with different roles and a backend to log in to for moderators where they can review change requests. User accounts have to be created with a valid e-mail address via double opt-in.

There will also be new rules regarding self-made "remasters" or downmixes of albums. They don't serve any real purpose because they're not generally available to the public, which is also why there have been provided links to private downloads in the past. This kind of stuff is no longer allowed. The database is there to represent the official album market. And the only means to get those albums is to legally buy or stream them.

Vinyl rips are kind of a mixed bag. They have the characteristics of a lossy source and each rip is different because it depends on the recording equipment. Often they just use the same digital master that CDs, downloads and streams share but seem more dynamic because of the analog ripping process. I will still allow this kind of source because there is no other way to handle vinyl but there will be some kind of notice. As the vast majority of people doesn't use vinyl other sources are of much more relevance to most users. The best sources would be CD rips and lossless downloads.