DisplayArtistRoles

As discussed here, here and here, the DisplayArtist tag supports signalling under whose name a release, sound recording or video has been released. This is typically the name emblazoned in big letters on an album cover.

Collaborations have become more and more common so that it is necessary to differentiate different types of display artists using the DisplayArtistRole tag:

  • MainArtists are the primary artist(s) under whose name a release, sound recording or video has been released.
    If there is only one display artist, they are, by default, the MainArtist. It may also be the case that multiple artists are all considered by the releasing record company, to be MainArtists.

  • FeaturedArtists are artists who are prominently featured on a release, sound recording or video but who are not the main artist.

  • Artist is an allowed value that is recommended to not be used any longer. Instead MainArtist should be used; and

  • Brands are technically not “artists” but brands function in a similar way: A brand is a name denoting a product, franchise or similar, that is closely linked to a release, sound recording or video, and is therefore typically also mentioned on an album cover. One such example is the “Fast & Furious” media franchise.

In ERN 4.3.0 (and earlier) the brand itself needs to be communicated in a Party composite whereas a separate Brand composite was introduced in version 4.3.1. Regardless of where the name of the brand is communicated, the link to the branded release or resource is the DisplayArtist composite with a DisplayArtistRole tag of Brand.

The difference between whether a display artist is a MainArtist or FeaturedArtist may a trigger different display behaviours at a DSP. Such behaviours are, however, not defined by DDEX.

This classification is in addition to the sequencing of DisplayArtists, which can be signalled by using the SequenceNumber attribute of the DisplayArtist composite.

Below are XML snippets for a recording with just a main artist (Taylor Swift: Cruel Summer), a recording with a main and a featured artist (Taylor Swift, featuring Keith Urban: That’s When) and a recording that is part of a franchise (Ludacris’ Act a Fool from Fast & Furious). The third example uses the syntax of ERN 4.3.0. The examples only show the Party and DisplayArtist composites.

<!-- Cruel Summer -->
<Party>
  <PartyReference>P1</PartyReference>
  <PartyName>
    <FullName>Taylor Swift</FullName>
  </PartyName>
</Party>
…
<DisplayArtist>
  <ArtistPartyReference>P1</ArtistPartyReference>
  <DisplayArtistRole>MainArtist</DisplayArtistRole>
</DisplayArtist>
<!-- That's When -->
<Party>
  <PartyReference>P1</PartyReference>
  <PartyName>
    <FullName>Taylor Swift</FullName>
  </PartyName>
</Party>
<Party>
  <PartyReference>P2</PartyReference>
  <PartyName>
    <FullName>Keith Urban</FullName>
  </PartyName>
</Party>
…
<DisplayArtist>
  <ArtistPartyReference>P1</ArtistPartyReference>
  <DisplayArtistRole>MainArtist</DisplayArtistRole>
</DisplayArtist>
<DisplayArtist>
  <ArtistPartyReference>P2</ArtistPartyReference>
  <DisplayArtistRole>FeaturedArtist</DisplayArtistRole>
</DisplayArtist>
<!-- Act a Fool -->
<Party>
  <PartyReference>P1</PartyReference>
  <PartyName>
    <FullName>Ludacris</FullName>
  </PartyName>
</Party>
<Party>
  <PartyReference>P2</PartyReference>
  <PartyName>
    <FullName>Fast &amp; Furious</FullName>
  </PartyName>
</Party>
…
<DisplayArtist>
  <ArtistPartyReference>P1</ArtistPartyReference>
  <DisplayArtistRole>MainArtist</DisplayArtistRole>
</DisplayArtist>
<DisplayArtist>
  <ArtistPartyReference>P2</ArtistPartyReference>
  <DisplayArtistRole>Brand</DisplayArtistRole>
</DisplayArtist>

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