Since we’re in winter, with spring not quite here, I have a little project that music collectors can work on during this slow time of the year.
Looking back to a few decades ago, I used to keep all of my record and CD collection cataloged on spreadsheets. They were not much to speak of – artist, album title, and catalog number were the only data I collected. I kept separate spreadsheets for vinyl and CDs, but as life got in the way, updating the lists took a back seat and they became outdated to the point where catching up would have been a monumental task.
In the years following, I had looked at getting a software package to help me catalog my collection, but never found anything I cared for, as I wanted every shortcut possible to minimize my data entry task. I was not about to tediously re-enter data from those long-lost spreadsheets. Some packages used existing databases or maintained their own. More recent software could access online databases to fill in some of the data but, with much of it being crowdsourced, I did not trust the quality or accuracy of the incoming data.
Enter Discogs. They are perhaps as well known as a music marketplace as they are a comprehensive database of recordings on almost any format. The data is still crowd-sourced but is verified and checked by others who use the data, allowing anyone to add or correct any of it as needed. Where Discogs can really shine is at the granular level of identifying an exact Release of a particular music title, including whether it’s an original or a reissue pressing, from a specific pressing plant, mastered by a particular studio or engineer, or with a label or vinyl color variation.
To clarify the terminology Discogs uses, the numerous versions of recordings listed on the site are called Releases, and all of those are grouped together under a Master Release. I will refer to both throughout this guide.
The attractive part of Discogs, and the part I’m focusing on in this article, is the ability to add items you own to your “collection” on Discogs. I was at first worried about privacy and safety, but we have the ability make our collections public or private. Also, Discogs has millions of collection submissions per month, so other than aggregate data compiled for statistics, it’s not like anyone at Discogs would snoop in anyone’s collection, or be able to do anything with it. As for safety of the data, you can export your collection in a CSV file, which can be read by numerous programs including Excel and other spreadsheets.
Why Use Discogs for Cataloging Your Collection?
First of all, the data is verified and in many cases reasonably accurate. Entering my collection thus far, I’ve only had to edit a few Releases , and had to add a couple of Releases of my own where none existed. Otherwise, I found the data plenty good enough for my purposes.
Second, their database search feature is flexible and easy to use, so I can usually jump right to the title I need with minimal effort. If listing all Releases of a title, I can use filters to narrow down the results as needed, which makes finding a single Release among of hundreds of other Releases an easy process. If I find I am looking at an incorrect Release, I can use the “See all releases” link to navigate back to the Master Release. From the Master Release page, I can scroll down and enter filters to narrow down to what I’m looking for.
Using filters on Discogs.
Third, to make entry even easier, Discogs has an app for your phone or tablet, and you can use your device’s camera to read barcodes. In nearly all instances, the scanned barcode will bring up the proper Release, or perhaps two or three Releases from which you can then choose the correct one. It makes data entry a speedy process.
Fourth, viewing your collection is an interactive process, with the ability to view your collection online and sort it as you wish. If you wish to view it elsewhere, you can download your collection as a text-format CSV (comma-separated value) file and use it in your program of choice.
One of a handful of different views of a collection.
Fifth, having your collection available in a phone or tablet app is a huge help if you are shopping for records or CDs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked through bins at record stores, trying to remember if I owned a specific title or not. It’s also helpful when meeting with friends or attending audio club gatherings, as you can refer to your collection quickly and easily.
Sixth, if you ever need to sell anything in your collection, a lot of the work is already done. It’s an easy process to list something for sale once you’ve uploaded your collection.
The final reason was one that wasn’t apparent to me until I entered a good portion of my vinyl collection. (I have not yet begun entering my CDs, SACDs, and DVD-Audio discs yet.) For each Release, Discogs offers lowest, average, and historical price statistics (based on a moving window of time in the past). I had guessed that my music collection may have been worth a certain amount, but the numbers surprised me when I saw the totals grow as I worked through my collection. I realized that for insurance purposes, I was grossly underinsured, as the value of my collection (and I’m nowhere near halfway done yet – I still have my entire digital collection to go through) is several times more than I imagined it ever would be.
For that reason alone, I would urge anyone with a music collection (on vinyl or digital) to either enter their collection on Discogs, or at the very least, use their lowest/average/highest values in their own spreadsheets to at least get a ballpark figure as to what their collection is worth. I found that even my best guess was way off the mark.
Tips for Entering Your Collection on Discogs:
1) Install the app on your phone or tablet. Scanning barcodes is a tremendous time saver. Be sure to scan in good lighting. If you have issues reading the barcode, try removing any plastic sleeve or covering to give the camera a clearer shot. If it’s blurry, you can try typing in the full UPC number from the barcode, with no spaces, including the tiny numbers to the left and right of the barcode itself. Keep in mind that the barcodes can be incorrect in rare instances. (Although we could update the Release with the digits deciphered from the scanned barcode if we wanted to.)
2) For faster searching, you can type in your artist and album title in the search bar and it will instantly populate with choices. To see the Master Release, choose the result saying “(all results).” If you’re daring, you can try typing in part of the description, such as a label name (“Analogue Productions”), format (“SACD”), release type (“half” for half-speed mastered), or even the color of the vinyl (“green”). For example, searching “Steely Dan Aja SACD” will list all the SACD Releases of the title, whereas “Charlie Brown Christmas green” will show the green vinyl variations of the title.
Finding green vinyl pressings of a Release.
3) Discogs tags the search results with a green indicator if you have the item in your collection already (and how many), as well as a red indicator for showing items on your wantlist. This can help if you can’t remember entering a title into your collection.
The green indicators show in many places, including when using the search bar. The “2” for “all versions” shows this is the Master Release, and I own two versions of the LP, one of which is listed below. The other version I own is not visible from the quick results in the search bar, but appears in a list of Releases.
While viewing a Release, you can see if you already have it in your collection, or add another using “Add to Collection.”
4) If you can’t find an item in the database, you will need to enter your own. If it’s simply a Release of an existing title, adding a new Release version is as simple as copying an existing Release that is closest to yours, editing it as needed, uploading photos (optional, but highly recommended), and submitting it. Your submission will be posted and visible immediately but it will be in a “pending” status for verification. Don’t let that worry you, though.
5) Adding a new item as a Master Release requires more work, as you need to diligently enter the data correctly before submitting it. And photos are strongly urged, even if they are not the highest quality. You can always return with better photos at a later time, or another user may replace your photos in the future. If you miss something and make a minor error, no worries – someone in the future may catch that and correct it for you.
6) Finding the correct Release of a title can often be a frustrating process, especially with vinyl. Decide how accurate you want to be when entering your items. In my case, if it’s a garden-variety record I picked up years ago, or if it’s a used copy I only paid a few dollars for, I will pick what looks to be the closest and go with that. You can fall down a rabbit hole examining the matrix codes in the run-out area of a record, or the stamped matrix codes around the hub of CDs and SACDs, if that’s your thing. For vinyl, too, pressing plants often used different typefaces, so in my case a label that is visually similar for the run-of-the-mill titles is a match that is plenty good enough for my purposes. My overall advice? Don’t overthink this…unless you really want (or need) to!
7) And by all means, if it’s a known valuable Release, document it properly. Discogs lets you enter notes for the item you are entering – make use of this if you need to, especially if you’ve verified it’s the Release you own.
8) Back up your data regularly. If you’ve entered dozens of Releases in an evening, export your data when you are finished. Otherwise, make it a regular habit if you purchase new items frequently. The text files generated are small and easily stored.
Choose the Export tab in your dashboard to begin the export process.
9) Pull up a chair and a TV table – you’re going to be here a while! Park yourself next to your collection and start pulling out titles. That is much easier than carrying sections of the collection over to a computer. In my case, I run a computer attached to my TV, with a wireless keyboard and mouse; I magnified the browser so I could see it from across the room, and used that in tandem with one of my phones to enter the items. Make sure you also have good lighting, and a magnifying glass.
10) Plan on devoting a lot of time to cataloging your collection. Your results will vary, but I find it can take anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes to enter each item. Barcodes are the easiest – it probably takes more time to pull an item from the shelf than it does to scan and verify your addition. Items without barcodes may take a minute or two each, or a few more minutes if you need to find the correct Release among dozens or hundreds. If you plan on cataloging exact pressings, you will take up time comparing the matrix codes around the hubs of CDs or scribed in the run-out area of a vinyl record, and this could take a while poking around Discogs Releases to find a match.
11) If you ever want to refer directly to a Release in Discogs, make note of (or copy and paste) the Release number in brackets in the upper right corner of the page. Releases start with an “r” and Master Releases start with an “m.”
The highlighted letter/numeral set is the Release number.
I can’t provide you with all the motivation (or caffeine) to start you on your cataloging journey, but I feel that once you’ve gotten used to the way Discogs functions, you can start making your way through your collection efficiently. It is a daunting task to think of, but I feel as though I have a better knowledge of my collection after having researched and cataloged all of the titles, as well as having accumulated an estimate of the value of the entire collection.
