About The Discography Machine

Lazlo's Discography Machine (LDM) is an application that offers a searchable web interface to the thirty or so artist and label discographies I maintain, and which also offers links to related web resources.

On Linking To LDM

Anyone is welcome to link their pages to LDM. There are two recommended entry points:

http://www.studio-nibble.com/lazlo-bin/discogs
The main LDM entry page, with a list of links to individual LDM pages.

http://www.studio-nibble.com/lazlo-bin/discogs/<discography name>
An individual discography page, with an edit box for search queries and a list of links to related resources on the net. If you don't know the formal discography name for a given artist, feel free to email me and I'll be happy to help you out.

I do ask that you let me know when you establish a link, so I can reciprocate if appropriate.

Special Information For Artist-Specific Sites

If you run an artist-specific site that links to the Discography Machine, we can set things up so that the "look and feel" of the Discography Machine matches that of your site when people come to LDM through your link. This gives the impression that the Discography Machine is an integrated part of your site, with no additional work required on your part. If you are interested in taking advantage of this feature, please email me at lazlo@swcp.com.

Format Codes

These are the most commonly-used format codes in the Discography Machine:

 
 
   LP  full-length record
   7"  7-inch single/ep
  10"  10-inch single/ep
  12"  12-inch single/ep
   PD  picture disc
  SPD  shaped picture disc
Flexi  stamped sound sheet

   CD  full-length compact disc
  CD3  3-inch compact disc single/ep
  CD5  5-inch compact disc single/ep
  CDS  compact disc single, unknown size  
 CD-R  one-time-recordable compact disc
CDROM  data-only CD-ROM
   MD  MiniDisc

  Box  Boxed set

   CS  audiocassette
  CSS  audiocassette single or ep
  CMS  audiocassette maxi-single
  DAT  digital audio tape
  DCC  digital compact cassette
   8T  8-track cartridge

  VHS  VHS-format videocassette
 Beta  Beta-format videocassette
 8"LD  8-inch LaserDisc
12"LD  12-inch LaserDisc
  CDV  5-inch CD-Video disc
       (LaserDisc video + CD-format audio)
  VCD  VideoCD disc
       (data only, MPEG-encoded video content)
  VHD  Defunct Japanese video disc format
 

Country Codes

In mid-1997 I started converting the country codes used in the discographies to the standard two-letter ISO codes used on the net and elsewhere. Not all the discographies have been converted over yet so if you have any questions please email me. (The discogs that abbreviate Australia as "OZ" are not yet changed over, the ones that use "AU" are.)

A list of most of the codes used in the discographies follows. A more complete list of ISO codes is available at http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~jspath/isocodes.html.

 
 
AR   Argentina
AT   Austria
AU   Australia
BE   Belgium
BO   Bolivia
BR   Brazil
CA   Canada
CH   Switzerland
CL   Chile
CN   China
CO   Colombia
CZ   Czech Republic
DE   Germany
DK   Denmark
ES   Spain
FI   Finland
FR   France
GR   Greece
HK   Hong Kong
HU   Hungary
ID   Indonesia
IL   Israel

IN   India
IT   Italy
JP   Japan
LU   Luxembourg
MX   Mexico
MY   Malaysia
NL   Netherlands
NO   Norway
NZ   New Zealand
PE   Peru
PH   Philippines
PL   Poland
PT   Portugal
RU   Russian Federation
SA   Saudi Arabia
SE   Sweden
SG   Singapore
UK   United Kingdom
US   United States
YU   Yugoslavia
ZA   South Africa
 

Determining Country of Release

There has been some controversy over how to determine the actual country of release for a given issue. This can be difficult given the way many labels manufacture releases in one country for sale in another, as in EMI's use of its plant in Holland to manufacture discs for Germany, and so forth. As of mid-1997, whenever there is any ambiguity about country of a release, please look at the the performance rights society listed on that release. Some commonly-seen societies include GEMA (Germany), STEMRA (The Netherlands), SABAM (Belgium), SACEM (France), and SIAE (Italy); the also-commonly-seen BIEM is an international association of these societies and its presence does not imply any particular country of release. A more detailed list is available at http://host.mpa.org/mir.html.

When attempting to determine the country of release for an item you are submitting for inclusion in a discography:

  • Items are assumed to be intended for release in country whose copyright control organization is noted on sleeve (see above).
  • If item is labeled as being manufactured in a country other than that determined by the above method, please note that as well.
  • If no copyright control organization is noted, assume country of release is country of manufacture as noted.
  • Please note any otherwise-ambiguous releases in detail.
  • If you find entries in any of my discographies that do not follow this format, please email and explain. Thanks!

Copyright Notice

Unless otherwise noted, all discographies and discography selections generated by Lazlo's Discography Machine are Copyright 1998 by Ernie Longmire (Lazlo Nibble).

  • You need not ask for permission to download a complete discography or selection thereof, print out a complete discography or selection thereof, and/or redistribute (at no charge) a complete discography or selection thereof, provided you leave the credits and the copyright notice intact.
  • You must ask for permission to add html tagging to a copy and publish that copy over the Web.
  • You must ask for permission to publish these discographies in print and/or for profit.

Return to Lazlo's Discography Machine (LDM)