[API Request] Description tag not working correctly

[fattom23]

Type of change

API tweak

Proposal description

I'm seeing on the tags list that COMMENT aliases to DESCRIPTION (making the two tags synonymous), which I don't think is correct. Comment is a tag that applies to a track, while Description should apply to a whole album.

Many clients (Symphonium is the one that I'm using) display COMMENT only for tracks and DESCRIPTION only for albums. Navidrome is currently collapsing both tags into one, so Symfonium can only display DESCRIPTION on tracks

Backward compatibility impact

I don't think there would be much.

Backward compatibility

• No backward compatibility impact.

API details

Update the API such that it's capable of displaying DESCRIPTION as separate from COMMENT.

Security impacts

No response

Potential issues

No response

Alternative solutions

No response

[lachlan-00]

I use picard for tag mapping, i don't see anything for a description tag, just comment tags

https://picard-docs.musicbrainz.org/downloads/MusicBrainz_Picard_Tag_Map.html

I'm assuming description is a user defined text frame?

[fattom23]

I do have to define it in Picard (because I actually use it to store a link to the album booklet), but it's in the Vorbis spec:

https://www.xiph.org/vorbis/doc/v-comment.html

I'm operating based on feedback from the Symphonium developer. They advised me that they display Comment tags on tracks and Description on albums because the standard dictates that; I'm currently trying to get a reference to that in the standards to substantiate that.

[lachlan-00]

Ah, interesting, it's not a tag i've set up i'm using discsubtitle

That would explain why i haven't seen it there doesn't seem to be an equivalent for ID3 tags but it does have a tag in MP4 with separate comment as well.
https://docs.mp3tag.de/mapping/

[kgarner7]

I know that Navidrome aliases description to comment. Despite Picard using comment for description, I see xiph using description. instead. And of course, it does use description for ASF files.