# Are there digital music stores with detailed release information? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593 "2016-04-08T20:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/1 "2016-04-08T20:11:51Z")
I want to buy an album on itunes, but I’m not sure if it comes from a remastered version or not, and I actually want the original release. Itunes doesn’t seem to indicate very clearly which is the release version of the album, so is there any digital music store that provides information to know what release version you’re getting? ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/2 "2016-04-08T23:38:50Z")
Does anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/3 "2016-04-09T21:51:30Z")
I think it’s a good bet that if the title of the album isn’t appended with “(Remastered)” and the album home page doesn’t have the blue “Mastered for iTunes” box in the upper right, then it’s probably the original (or at least not a remaster). If you’re still not sure, you could always stream the song previews and listen for differences. Also, Apple has a refund policy for music, so if the album is a remaster but it is not labeled as such, that seems to be a valid reason for a refund. I mean, I’m guessing on that score, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/4 "2016-04-09T22:19:24Z")
The album I’m looking for doesn’t have a “Remastered” indication on iTunes, but it seems to me that it’s a remastered version (noticed it on the sound, plus it has two more tracks not featured in the original release version). I don’t really complain about the quality of the music in iTunes, but it’s a shame I can’t know which is the version it comes from. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/5 "2016-04-10T00:58:06Z")
> [@Zernein](#): > > The album I’m looking for doesn’t have a “Remastered” indication on iTunes, but it seems to me that it’s a remastered version (noticed it on the sound, plus it has two more tracks not featured in the original release version). > > I don’t really complain about the quality of the music in iTunes, but it’s a shame I can’t know which is the version it comes from. Maybe search the CD section at Amazon, see if they have the same album version available with the extra 2 tracks and see if there is more info listed there? What’s the album? ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/6 "2016-04-10T13:28:34Z")
There’s some more precise info in the CD section of Amazon, but what I’m looking for is in digital music format. The album is “Tackhead Tape Time” ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/7 "2016-04-10T21:23:30Z")
The iTunes version appears to be the [2004 remastered CD reissue](https://www.discogs.com/Gary-Clails-Tackhead-Sound-System-Tackhead-Tape-Time/release/1639199) for the Japanese market. ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/8 "2016-04-10T21:31:22Z")
Yes, exactly. That’s what I found out. But the only date itunes indicates is 1987, so there’s no way to easily know which release version it is. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/9 "2016-04-10T22:45:40Z")
In this case, yes, the label fucked up and there is no easy way to tell, but are you still wondering if it’s possible the iTunes version is the original issue? Because all signs point to no. ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/10 "2016-04-11T13:53:09Z")
No, I already know that iTunes doesn’t have the original release. Same for Amazon Music and other other digital music stores I checked out. So there isn’t any digital store of this kind that tells you exactly what version you’re downloading? You know, specifying the label and the catalog number the way Discogs does…? ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/11 "2016-04-12T04:26:04Z")
> [@Zernein](#): > > So there isn’t any digital store of this kind that tells you exactly what version you’re downloading? You know, specifying the label and the catalog number the way Discogs does…? As you’ve found, I don’t think any of the major digital stores care that much. I’d never heard of Tackhead before, so I don’t really know where they fit, but there are digital stores, such as eMusic, that cater to indie labels, and they might have more information. I just checked eMusic and while they have other Tackhead albums, they don’t have Tape Time. So maybe search for other indie digital stores. ---
**Author:** ![Zernein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ce7236/32.png) [@Zernein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zernein)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-digital-music-stores-with-detailed-release-information/751593/12 "2016-04-12T19:36:58Z")
I’ll do that, see If I find a way to get the original release version in a digital store, but it doesn’t seem that way. Thanks for the help! (btw sorry for the english mistakes, I’m not a native speaker)