Freedb

freedb is a Database including/understanding information on the tracks of the audio Compact-Disc. Its contents are under GNU General Public License. It was in the beginning based on the contents of the commercial base from now on CDDB (Compact DataBase Disc). In the month of March 2006 the database contained more than 1,995,974 CDs.

To find information on CD by Internet, software customers calculate a single identifier disc named DiscId and send the request to the database. This one then returns to the customer the artist, the title of the album, the tracks of CD like some additional details.

Motivation

The original software using CDDB was under GNU General Public License, much of people then sent information on of CDs, thinking that this service would remain free. The license changed, later. However, certain programmers complained that the new license included/understood certain terms which threatened them of such a manner that they could not accept them: If one decided to reach CDDB, another could not reach the other bases of the same kind (Like freedb), and each program which used the base of CDDB was to show logo CDDB during the search for information.

In the month of March 2001, CDDB, now called Gracenote, banished the access to its database with all the applications which were not under license. The new licenses for CDDB 1 (the original version of CDDB) were not available any more, in order to force the programmers to pass on CDDB2 (a new version incompatible with CDDB1 and consequently freedb).

The change of license justified the freedb project, created to remain free and free.

A commercial alternative called All Media Guides 'S LASSO is a related service at the base of data of All Music Guide.

freedb is mainly used by the readers multi-media, the " catalogueurs" , " taggeurs audio" as well as the software of Ripping of CD.

External bonds

freedb.org

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