Property:Catalog Number

From Discoogle.com

When you buy a release (cd, vinyl etc) you can find an identification number on it. This identification is assigned to every release by its recording label for tracking purposes for both the label and the distributor but also for you. Although most people don’t pay attention to it, collectors, music junkies and professionals like radio producers can find interesting information with it and so can you.

Catalog numbers are usually found on the spine of a CD case and on the back of record sleeves, but you can also find them in other places on the artwork, and sometimes on the CD and the info label on the record itself. There are no actual rules on how catalog numbers are set. Each label has its own way of using it but someone who is used to it can really understand a lot just by reading one.

Catalog numbers typically include numbers and letters. Usually the letters are part of the record label name. Numbers signify the number of the release for that label and some other information. For example if the release is vinyl of 12 ot 7 inches or a cd. In older vinyl records you can find numbers indicating the speed this record is played on, helping people to buy the correct record especially the time when there were three different types. Another usefull type of information sometimes encrypted in a catalog number it’s the year of its release. Very important since a lot of popular records are often released again after some years. Usually that means that the new release includes bonus tracks, a bigger booklet and other interesting stuff thus making it a completely different release.

For instance, label BFZ Records might assign their first release the catalog number "BFZrec-01," their second release "BFZrec - 02" and so on. You can often trace a label's history by looking at their catalogue numbers. Sometimes, labels opt for starting out with higher numbers so they look more experienced - ie, "BFZrec-125" for their first release - and sometimes labels choose letters that have nothing to do with their label name. Again, their are no rules. As long as the numbers help the label and distributor track releases, anything goes.

Labels usually release music in different formats, so it is very important that they use their catalogue numbers in a way so that it also indicates if the release is CD, 7", 12" and so on. This is not something that is done by all labels though. One example of a record label that used catalog numbers in a creative way is Factory Records, who assigned a number to just about everything they did, including gig posters and even a lawsuit (FAC61 is a lawsuit between Factory and Martin Hannett). When Factory Records boss Tony Wilson passed away, his casket was given the number FAC501.

The most important information you can get by a catalogue number is to find out from which country this release was, or if its an authentic release or a re-release. Especially in vinyl records actual date release and country of origin can mean a lot of difference in value. In different countries, releases also include different tracklists and/or bonus tracks, so if you are searching for a specific release the only way to be sure what you are buying/advertising/speak of is to know its actual catalogue number.

The only website right now that contains mostly actual catalog numbers for every release and every format is Discoogle - Discography Info. Try for example searching 7BTD-2003. You will find it is the catalogue number for the 7” single “All you need is love” by the Beatles, released in Brazil. While here http://www.discoogle.com/wiki/Beatles%2C_The_-_All_You_Need_Is_Love_(Uk%2C1967%2CR_5620%2CSINGLE_7) you can see all the different releases of the same single in different countries and with different catalog number.

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