Site Map | Acknowledgements

First of all, you might ask, why should I care about catalog information?  Catalog numbers are important in determining what release of an album or single you have.  Often when buying from Internet stores, or on eBay, only a catalog number of other bit of information will be available.  It then becomes important that you can determine if that item is something you need for your collection. If you desire to have a complete collection of Deep Forest, then you will need to make sure that you have copies of items with each catalog number that you find in our discography.

Below we'll examine each bit of catalog information that you will need to keep track of your collection.

A typical discography entry

Title

This should be a simple one.  Just look on the front cover.  It usually follows the words "Deep Forest." ;-)

Track List

Again, an easy one.  Track lists and times are almost always found on the back cover.  Track times usually follow the title.  However, on promotional singles and many 12" (record) singles, track times are omitted.

Media Type

This is just what kind of item you have.  It's divided by the type (album, single, or compilation) and by media (CD, cassette, 12", etc.)

Year of Release

The year of release can be found on the back cover.  Look for a block of small print, usually at the bottom.  In that block you should see the copyright date, which is also the release date.

The release date highlighted from the Bohemian Ballet single

Record Label

This refers to the name of the record company who released the item.  For most CD's and singles, you can look on the spine of the CD case.  Listed there, you should see the title of the CD, the catalog number, and the record label.  If you don't see it there, then check on the front of the CD itself.  For 12" singles, you should see the record label on the stickers on the center of the record.

Common record labels include Columbia, St. George, Epic, and Sony for Europe, while 550 Music, Sony, and Epic are common in the United States and Canada.

The record label for this single is 550 Music / Epic

Area of Release

This can sometimes be difficult to determine.  If you don't see 'Made in Germany' (or any other country) written anywhere,  then you have to look at your item and logically figure out where it's from.  If the liner notes, or back cover notes are written in French, then it's obviously a French release.  Same goes for Japanese.  Australian releases usually state 'Made in Australia' (or something similar) on the CD itself, or the back cover.

Another way to determine the area of release is by looking at who put the CD out (check above to determine the record label).  If it's put out by 550 Music, then it's definitely a US or Canadian release (Canadian releases usually state so).  Columbia is a common record label for Europe.  

If the record label is one of the common European companies (like Sony or Columbia), oftentimes they will print the address of the local distributor on the back cover, in the block of small text.  If you see an address in London, then you know your item is a U.K. release.

If you still have no info about the release besides the record company, and it's either Columbia, St. George, Epic, or Sony, then just say it's a European release.  Note, however, that not all Sony Music (France) releases are French.

The address of the local distributor is highlighted.  Since the address is in New York, we know that this is a U.S. release

Catalog Number

This is a number used by the record companies in keeping track of their own releases.  This is often the most important piece of catalog info that you can have for a given release.

The format for catalog numbers varies from record company, but most of Sony Music's (and its affiliates like Columbia) use a standard format.  It will consist of 6 digits.  Oftentimes a 7th digit will follow, separated by either a space or dash (ex. 661170-5).  Note that this format only applies to European, American, and Australian releases.  Japanese releases vary in format.

The catalog number is usually found on the spine of the CD or single, next to the title and record label.  On 12" singles, the number can be found on either the back cover or the stickers in the center of the record.

Promotional items will have catalog numbers that are much shorter, often only 3 numbers long.

Sometimes you will see numbers that are preceded by a series of letters.  These letters should be included in the catalog number (for example SAN and DAN are common, as in SAN 661170).

The catalog number is on the left.  Note that the BSK is part of the number.

Promotional Status

Promotional items are those which are given to radio stations, local distributors, dance clubs or music stores which are not meant to be sold to the general public.  These are often advance copies of albums or singles, or are singles with remixes for the dance floor.

Generally, the easiest way to determine if your item is promotional is to check the back cover.  If there isn't a barcode, then it's a promo.  Also, they will always have a notice printed on them saying something like 'Not for resale.'  It is not uncommon for promotional items to be lacking a front cover (for CD's) or any cover at all (for records).

You can tell that the Bohemian Ballet single is a promotional CD because it says "Demonstration -- Not for resale"