The publisher’s album/record number? For instance, Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” is Columbia 88697680571. And, to continue the example, this information which is availabe on DISCOGS:
Liner notes from original album, if only as jpg graphics
Other art from the original album, likewise if only in jpg or other graphic format.’
I’m sure all this has been asked here before, and if so please refer me to the answer. It just seems obvious that a software program which purports to manage music for users ought to catalog all the information users want.
What do you see when you select the “Credits” tab in the “Kind of Blue” album view? I see a long and bewildering list of credits for this album.
Whether or not you see the album’s original catalog number may depend on the version you have in your library. For example, I have the 24/192 hi-res release of “Kind of Blue” (from HD Tracks, as I recall) and it does not show the Columbia catalog number for the CD, as expected, I think, because it is not the same release of the album. In other cases, my Miles Davis CD rips do show the Columbia catalog number (for example, Miles Davis and John Coltrane Complete Columbia Recordings:1955-1961).
Yes, you are right, it would be great if album liner notes could be provided with every album in Roon. But Roon can only display the metadata provided by the labels/distributors. See this thread for more: Complete Album Art - Sleeve Notes - Booklets
I don’t have Kind of Blue in my library, but when I search the Qobuz version and click on the credits link, it lists all of the information requested above. The catalogue number provided by Qobuz is 5099749522428, which is according to the internet a Limited Millenium Edition whatever that is. There are over 16K entries for Kind of Blue in Discogs. If you have a ripped version of Kind of Blue in your library, Roon has no way to tell which of the 16K versions you have. However, all the metadata is the same regardless of version and should be provided by Roon by clicking on the credits link.
As to liner notes, I believe there is some issue with copyrights. That’s what I’ve heard. Having said that, the version from Qobuz has a PDF with all available graphics including front and back cover which has the liner notes. I don’t know if all this information is in the public domain. I suspect not and I suspect Qobuz has paid for the rights to this information. Roon also pays for their metadata, But their data provider(s) may not have all the available data for any given album.
“Kind of Blue” is probably a bad example. I have quite a few recordings that present absolutely no data when you bring them up, others that have plenty, including song lyrics you can view as a page and song lyrics that “play along” karaoke-style. The quantity of data seems, on an unscientific basis, to be inversely proportional to the obscurity of the record.
I’m a huge Roon and Tidal fan, and feel like they are both a terrific bargain. I do understand that Roon and Tidal are in a sense at the mercy of the entities from whom they buy or lease the rights. But it does seem that at least the catalog numbers, which surely aren’t copyrighted, could be included.