Hey Guys,

I'm fairly new to the forum (as far as registering goes). However, I've been lurking for a couple of years as well as recently searching through the database of previous postings.

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this (if not, please move it to another forum), but I would like to know (if possible) where to find the production disc number of my albums. Whether it be on the cd or the album casing. Or at least what type of number I should be looking for (as there are generally a couple of different values on both the disc and the case.

I'm mainly searching for this information because I'm beginning to rip all of my albums to single file flacs/cuesheets and would like to be able to document this information as I'm doing so.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
-Diz

Generally you'd be looking for the number engraved in the inner ring of the cd.

Most commercial cd's have a catalog number, issued by the record company. That number identifies the cd (or other medium) and is a reliable way for tracing purposes.
On most cd's there also is the UPC/EAN (barcode) information. Very often it contains the catalog number and a unique number for the record company.
On a track by track basis the ISRC code can be very handy. Unfortunately many cd's don't use them. It uniquely identifies every single track on the cd. If your ripping application allows to include ISRC codes, it wouldn't harm to use them. They probably don't help much for finding info on the web. The code contains a country code, company code, year code and a serial number.

The information on the inner ring of the cd is engraved during the glassmastering and isn't necessarily related to the final product, so I wouldn't rely on that.

My advice would be to use the cat.no. and the UPC/EAN.

Thank you both for the quick replies! I now have reviewed my collection, found the various values required, and am ready to begin ripping, tagging, and storing.

Kees de Visser, a special thanks for such fine grained information! I really enjoyed learning the meanings behind each of the codes.

The number that can be seen at the sides of the CD case (i.e. left and right flaps of the tray card) is usually used for identifying a release. Because it's what can be seen of the CD case when the its is in a shelf.

This number is either the labels own catalog number or the UPC/EAN code. Some major labels use the UPC/EAN number instead of a catalog number while most indie or smaller labels don't.