What sources are used in compiling a discography?
There are many sources of information, each of which will yield a different set of data. There are the records themselves, assuming you are lucky enough to have sight of them; old record company catalogues, advertisements in newspapers, magazines and trade journals; record reviews in old newspapers and the sales catalogues of current record dealers. In addition, the archives of record companies may contain detailed information regarding recording sessions and, very importantly, the key to understanding the company’s matrix number system. The advent of the Internet has provided an additional and very important source of information, particularly auction sites such as eBay which as a matter of course nowadays provide label scans of the records for sale (unfortunately, usually only of one side of the disc). Record dealers, many of whom have carefully compiled data from decades of experience in the trade, can sometimes be helpful in providing information, even if they know you are not a pr
