[Enhancement] Artist names as credited

[simonbun]

I'm pulling together the pertinent points from our previous discussion so they're not lost.

LMS currently uses the most recently credited name (in terms of LMS loads) for each artist (per musicbrainz_artistid) in indexes, and also when building the album and track listings; when this name is no longer part of the artist_display_name the artist list is recreated, losing the types of collaboration e.g. feat., with, vs.

Example: The first album added to LMS was credited to 'Norah' whilst a second added via a subsequent scan was to Norah Jones.

Artist index after first scan:

Artist index after second scan:

Album listing after first scan:

Album listing after second scan:

Discussed changes:

• Use track_artist_link.artist_name when transforming artist_display_name in album and track listings so the original credits are retained.
• Retain the first encountered value in artist.name to prevent the artist index changing. We did discuss using originalreleasedate/date but this would still result in changes to the artist index (as in example above).
• Allow the user to provide a preferred name through ArtistInfo for use in Indexes e.g. preferred_name and preferred_sortname.
• Enable search to operate across all credited names e.g. 'Jacksons' or 'Jackson 5' would return 'e5257dc5-1edd-4fca-b7e6-1158e00522c8' (nice to have)

[epoupon]

Retain the first encountered value in artist.name to prevent the artist index changing. We did discuss using originalreleasedate/date but this would still result in changes to the artist index (as in example above).

This has the drawback to make it impossible to update the artist name afterwards (if the user made a typo for example)?

Allow the user to provide a preferred name through ArtistInfo for use in Indexes e.g. preferred_name and preferred_sortname.

Would it be acceptable that the name set in the artist info file is the primary name?

[simonbun]

This has the drawback to make it impossible to update the artist name afterwards (if the user made a typo for example)?

Good point I hadn't considered typos. To be honest, I thought it was the easiest option that would maintain state in the artist index, but if we can override it with ArtistInfo then any solution is fine by me including the current. If you really wanted to change the current logic then I'd go for the earliest name by originalreleasedate/date, just because then it's not dependent upon the order in which the albums were added.

Would it be acceptable that the name set in the artist info file is the primary name?

That's how I'd prefer it but don't you currently use it as part of the matching process, or is that only when there isn't a mb_artistid?

The kodi nfo documentation states that :

Overwrites artist name in artist table, when "prefer online info" is "enabled". Does not change that name anywhere else

Whilst I have no idea exactly what that means, it seems there is precedent for having it be an override.

[cquike]

* Retain the first encountered value in artist.name to prevent the artist index changing. We did discuss using originalreleasedate/date but this would still result in changes to the artist index (as in example above).

You probably have thought more about it than me, but my naive approach would be that the the artist name is the "canonical one" in musibrainz.

So in your example, after the first scan the Artist index would show "Norah Jones" because this is the name that appears in musicbrainz for that artist MBID (https://musicbrainz.org/artist/985c709c-7771-4de3-9024-7bda29ebe3f9). I think that has the advantage of not depending on the order in which the albums are added.

A possible issue would be to know when to update the name in the Artist index if musicbrainz updates the name. I update a my ~1500 artists collection with a cron job daily, so making so many musicbrainz queries every day would be probably too much. Maybe a parameter could be added to set how often to check musicbrainz for updates in the names.

Or do you know if picard can store a tag with the artist name as it appears in the artist name rather than the name credited in the album? If so, then lms could just use that (non-standard) tag.

[simonbun]

Hi @cquike

* Retain the first encountered value in artist.name to prevent the artist index changing. We did discuss using originalreleasedate/date but this would still result in changes to the artist index (as in example above).

You probably have thought more about it than me, but my naive approach would be that the the artist name is the "canonical one" in musibrainz.

I believe LMS relies wholly on local metadata so the development and additional processing of such a solution (musicbrainz lookup for each artist every scan), for a somewhat limited problem, doesn't seem warranted to me, though that's for @epoupon to decide.
The problem I'd have with this solution is that the mb canonical name is unrelated to my collection; for example, whilst I do have a couple of Kanye West's early releases I'm unlikely to obtain any more, yet if we were to use the mb logic he'd be indexed under 'Ye'.

So in your example, after the first scan the Artist index would show "Norah Jones" because this is the name that appears in musicbrainz for that artist MBID (https://musicbrainz.org/artist/985c709c-7771-4de3-9024-7bda29ebe3f9). I think that has the advantage of not depending on the order in which the albums are added.

I suggested first encountered mainly to keep the index consistent (and because it's simpler to implement) but it does have its drawbacks, which is why I also suggested originalreleasedate/date.

I update a my ~1500 artists collection with a cron job daily, so making so many musicbrainz queries every day would be probably too much.

What exactly are you updating? One of the problems with credited names in MusicBrainz is that there isn't an associated sortname, so refreshing tags can be troublesome.

Or do you know if picard can store a tag with the artist name as it appears in the artist name rather than the name credited in the album? If so, then lms could just use that (non-standard) tag.

I don't see how that would help unless you're constantly refreshing your tags; for example, when Kanye West released 'The College Dropout' his credited and canonical name was Kanye West, but it's now Ye for new releases.

[Bigmack3000]

Hey, just curious if there's been any movement on this one?

I just added a new John Lennon boxset where he is credited as "John" so now that's how he's displayed for every album.

[simonbun]

Hey, just curious if there's been any movement on this one?

I don't believe so.

I just added a new John Lennon boxset where he is credited as "John" so now that's how he's displayed for every album.

I think it's safe to change the artist back to "John Lennon" in the database so it's mostly correct (except for the boxset):

sqlite> update artist set name = 'John Lennon', sort_name = 'Lennon, John' where mbid = '4d5447d7-c61c-4120-ba1b-d7f471d385b9';

Probably best to shut the server down before making the change (and make a backup).

[epoupon]

@simonbun Unfortunately, this may only be a temporary solution, as the next full rescan could roll back the change.
I’ll try to find a fix for this specific issue in v3.72.0 by making the name specified in the artist info file the highest priority.

[simonbun]

@simonbun Unfortunately, this may only be a temporary solution, as the next full rescan could roll back the change.

I performed a couple of rescans and it seemed quite stable but it was far from an exhaustive test.

I’ll try to find a fix for this specific issue in v3.72.0 by making the name specified in the artist info file the highest priority.

If name and sortname from ArtistInfo were used as priority that would be great!

[epoupon]

@simonbun Unfortunately, this may only be a temporary solution, as the next full rescan could roll back the change.

I performed a couple of rescans and it seemed quite stable but it was far from an exhaustive test.

I’ll try to find a fix for this specific issue in v3.72.0 by making the name specified in the artist info file the highest priority.

If name and sortname from ArtistInfo were used as priority that would be great!

I have pushed the image df344448, It prioritizes the artist info file and falls back to the name in the latest release.
Any feedback is welcome!

[simonbun]

I have pushed the image df344448, It prioritizes the artist info file and falls back to the name in the latest release. Any feedback is welcome!

I've tested both scenarios (with and without Artist,info) and I can't see any issues.

I'm not sure track artist should override album artist (thinking specifically about compilations here), but given we can now supply an override I'm happy.

Great job!

[epoupon]

Thanks for the feedback!

Indeed a recent compilation with an old artist name should not be taken into account. Will also prioritize album artists to track artist then!