itunes store/gracenote/artist listings/song information

Apple won't respond to such questions here. I'd suggest you contact the iTunes Store marketing group through the contacts that you were given when you signed up with the Store as a label. You'll probably want to read their FAQ page first.

Regards.

I would assume that it comes from the TAGs that the artist or label put on the songs when giving them to iTunes. I don't think iTunes does much in the way of manipulating data on the tracks.

The info in the iTunes store comes directly from the music publisher.
The owner encodes it and adds all the info using the iTunes Publisher application, then sends it to Apple. Apple does not, repeat DOES NOT change the info.
If it's wrong, send an email to Apple here -> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Apple will contact the publisher and it is up to the publisher to change any incorrect info and resend the files back to Apple.

Gracenote gets it's info directly from me and you and the kid down the block.
If it's wrong there, it's wrong.

Sorry, but you're not going to get help here, I'm afraid. The Discussions Hosts do monitor these forums (as best they can with thousands of posts), but they're not in any position to assist with iTunes Store issues such as yours. Only your distributor, working with the iTunes Store, will be able to correct any errors.

So you really need to get with whichever distributor (bozos or not) you used to get your tracks onto the iTunes Store and get them to fix the problem. It's their responsiblity; Apple cannot make corrections based solely on a post here in the Discussions, since (if for no other reason) they have no way of verifying that you are indeed the owner of the rights. So posting here will not help. You must work through your release agent, since, as Chris said, they're the ones who provided the information to the iTunes Store.

Regards.

Let me help you understand how this works.

Gracenote is a database that folks like us can submit CD track info to - So once someone enters the track info from a CD and submits it to Gracenote, other people will be able to access it and not have to type it again.

If you don't like what Gracenote gives you, you can make changes to "special guests" or mis-spelling or capitalization or whatever. But, once you convert your CD to MP3 or ACC, it creates TAGs in the file that contains that data.

Gracenote has nothing to do with iTunes...so I don't think they would know "more then we do"...especially since they gave you wrong information. These are user-to-user message boards.

Now back to iTunes. iTunes host the files that an artist, record label, distributor, publisher, etc. provides TO iTunes. iTunes doesn't create the files or add any of the TAGs that you are inquiring about. That is all done BEFORE iTunes gets the files.

This article from Wikipedia might help you to better understand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_editor

Gotta keep three things straight.
iTunes is an application.
iTunes Store is a web site, viewable thru iTunes application.
Gracenote is a database, provided by Gracenote but the info comes from Joe Street guy.

Chris seems to misunderstand the question,
I didn't misunderstand. I gave you what you asked for.
You didn't/don't understand what you were asking for.

What database does itunes store use? I repeat, what database does the itunes store use to get this information
You asked about the iTunes store.
The info in the store is provided by the music publisher. Apple does not add/edit this info. If it's wrong, the publisher typed it wrong. It's up to the publishers to change it. This doesn't mean they tell Apple it's wrong and let Apple change it.

When you insert a CD, the info retrieved has absolutely nothing to do with the iTunes store. This info is provided by other users via Gracenote.
If it's wrong, don't bother contacting Apple. The info didn't come from Apple.

If the info in the store is wrong, you can contact Apple. They in turn, will contact the publisher. But Apple themselves will not change it (anymore than Amazon.com will reprint a cover on a CD and change it in the CD case).

The problem is, as an indie, with no direct access to itunes store, once these bozo's upload your songs, you surely cant be guaranteed the appropriate information will go, and it might take forever to get it corrected.
As an indie, if the info is wrong then the indie is the bozo that provided the incorrect info to Apple.

As a new indie label, i need to know how i may setup my songs exactly as THAT, all one artist, but some songs have "featuring". The cd uploading, digital distributors such as cdbaby,, and tunecore, have no clue, and their upload windows, don't offer a different artist for every tune.
If you are an indie (or anyone else) provifding songs to Apple, you need to use iTunes Publisher application (it's free).
YOU format the songs & add info for all songs uploaded to iTunes.
Then you get exactly what you want.

Go here -> www.apple.com/itunes/musicmarketing/
to see what you need to do.

Chris seems to misunderstand the question,

Chris misunderstood nothing. He told you exactly what the process is. It is the responsible for the entity that's signed up with the iTunes Store to provide the appropriate tagging.

I'll try the feeback link.

Chris's suggestion was a bit off there; that link will do nothing for you. The Feedback link is useful for submitting suggestions to Apple, but you will not get a reponse of any kind from using that link.

GRACENOTE told me apple monitors this group and replys, i think they know more then we do....no?

No, Gracenote does not know more than we do (I've been posting in Apple's Discussions, in their various incarnation, longer than there's been a Gracenote as a commercial entity). Again, the Discussions Hosts monitor the sites, but except on rare occasions, Apple employees do not reply here, and never for your sort of issue.

I'll say this once more, and then I'm done: you need to work through whatever entity is getting your tracks onto the iTunes Store to make sure that your tracks are tagged the way you want them to be before they're submitted to the iTunes Store. That's the only way you're going to what you want. The only responses you're going to get here are from users. And if there are any corrections you wish to make afterwards, again, you'll have to work through your publisher (CD Baby or whoever) since only they will have the channels into the iTunes Store to get corrections made. That's the way things work, and nothing anyone else says, particularly Gracenote, is going to be valid.

I hope that will be sufficient this time. There's nothing more anyone else here can give in the way of advice.