I’m currently working on an updated discography, partly on Discogs, partly on another database – it’ll all end up on Discogs eventually though.
And I have a knotty problem, which is that the Steve McQueen CD Issue 466336-2 on CBS or Columbia (depending on the date it was issued) has a load of variants I’m trying to figure out. It’s not practical to try to buy them all, it’d be futile and expensive now that CD prices are going up a bit, but I wanted to figure out the range of variance, so I thought the best way would be to crowdsource that.
Basically I need information in the form below. This is ONLY for CDs marked on the spine as 466336-2. A few explanatory notes first:
From the rear cover, the text ringed A (e.g. COL 466336 2 in this example). And B (“CB701 CDM 02 466336-10” in this example.
On the CD itself, “F” (will be BIEM or BIEM/STEMRA) and the label code “E” (LC0162 here).
Lastly the most tricky part, the matrix code, which is in the centre of the CD disk, on the silver part. This is difficult to see, you may need a magnifying glass, patience, and a strong light. An example of this is indicated above (it may be on either side of the disk)
The main matrix number in this example is the long number starting with “S02” and ending with 55. Note also the small and faint “A3” (“C”) in this example which is sometimes but not always there, I need that.
Don’t forget the text of the manufacturer if present (“Sony Music” here, “D”), and also the IFPI if present, which is L555 in this instance. There is also sometimes a second IFPI, often on the transparent part of the disk in the centre, and if you can note that down too it will be helpful.
It’s voluntary to give an email address, it may be helpful if I have any follow on questions. Will not be used for any other purpose.
Also note down if it has a red CD tray or any other interesting features.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Discogs might have the info you need.
I’ve used Discogs for the first cut analysis. The problem Discogs has though is that it’s not very good at dealing with variance on one catalogue number as it tends to create multiple entries, and has 6 or 7 listings for this particular CD. And worse still, the photos which sometimes show the matrix numbers, are sometimes not consistent with the record.
Then every time I look at a CD I find a new variant. Not in the small details such as stamper number or mould code, but differences in packaging and manufacturing logo. Not that I’m trying to collect absolutely everything, but it’s interesting to track the progression of manufacturing and branding.