CrateCore — Third-Party Data Sources & Attribution

1. Purpose

CrateCore uses external sources of music facts, release metadata, and images. This document explains where the data comes from, what restrictions apply, and how attribution is displayed.

2. Core principle

CrateCore does not resell external data as a dataset, does not provide mass public access to its release reference store, does not use external catalog data for model training, and does not circumvent the sources' terms.

3. Discogs

CrateCore uses Discogs data through two separate channels with different rules: the Discogs API (live requests) and the monthly Discogs data dumps published under CC0.

3.1. Discogs API (live lookups)

- release search and resolution (by barcode, title, catalog number, release identifier) runs only through CrateCore's server functions;
- only permitted fields are used: title, artist, year, format, label, catalog number, barcode, country, matrix numbers, tracklist, release identifier;
- the Discogs API token is stored only on the server.

3.2. Monthly Discogs data dumps (CC0)

Discogs publishes monthly dumps of its catalog at https://data.discogs.com/ with the notice: "This data is made available under the CC0 No Rights Reserved license". CC0 is a public domain dedication, so this data may be stored, indexed, and used commercially. CrateCore keeps its own offline copy of that catalog so that collection imports and release lookups are resolved locally instead of calling the Discogs API for every record. This ingest is being introduced; the rules below apply from its first run.
- only the permitted fields listed in 3.1 are ingested, and nothing else;
- personal data is deliberately left out: artists' real names, biographies, and personal links, label contact details (postal addresses, phone numbers, e-mail), free-text notes and profiles, and images are not downloaded into our database, not stored, and not displayed;
- our copy of the catalog stays internal: no public access to it, no export, no resale;
- CC0 does not transfer trademark rights: "Discogs" remains a trademark of Zink Media, LLC and is used only to name the source.

Not used and prohibited (both channels):
- Discogs images (never requested, stored, or displayed);
- Discogs genres/styles and community data;
- passing Discogs data to third parties as a dataset;
- using Discogs data for model training;
- circumventing rate limits and security restrictions.

Mandatory public notice:
"This application uses Discogs' API but is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Discogs. 'Discogs' is a trademark of Zink Media, LLC."

Attribution next to the data:
Where data is shown as coming from the Discogs API, "Data provided by Discogs" is displayed next to it with a link to the release page on Discogs. Data taken from the CC0 dumps needs no attribution under that license; CrateCore still names Discogs as its source.

Catalog metadata and people:
If you are named in catalog metadata (as an artist, a label, or a contributor) and want that data removed from CrateCore, write to legal@cratecore.app. Such requests are handled like rights-holder complaints: review and removal on our side within 72 hours of confirmation.

4. MusicBrainz

The planned core source of catalog metadata is the MusicBrainz CC0 dumps via our own offline ingest. The live public MusicBrainz API is not used in the production path and will not be. MusicBrainz data under non-commercial terms (genres/tags/ratings from the supplementary set) is not used.

5. Cover Art Archive

Release covers may be displayed via the Cover Art Archive (by MusicBrainz release identifier): next to a release entry in the user's collection/wishlist, and as the illustration of an editorial article dedicated to that specific release or album (for example, an album release anniversary feature).
When the exact edition has no image in the archive, the cover of another edition of the same album (for example, a reissue) may be displayed; covers are illustrative and may not match your specific copy.

Restrictions:
- covers remain the property of their rights holders; CAA does not automatically make them free;
- a cover is used only to identify and illustrate the release/album the material is about; covers are not used as decoration for materials on other topics;
- CrateCore stores only the cover URL and metadata, not a server copy of the file; the user's device loads the image directly from the Cover Art Archive;
- attribution is shown next to the cover: the source (Cover Art Archive) and a notice that the cover art is copyrighted by its owner;
- a missing cover is a normal case and shows a placeholder or another illustration;
- on a rights-holder complaint, the cover is marked taken down and clients show a placeholder;
- disputed images are taken down within 72 hours of the complaint being confirmed (contact: legal@cratecore.app).

6. Wikidata

Wikidata is used as a source of structured facts (the main structured-data namespace of Wikidata is available under CC0). CrateCore stores fact sources for audit and verification.

7. Wikipedia

Wikipedia is used only as a source of facts. Verbatim text and close paraphrase are prohibited: CrateCore stories are original prose based on verifiable facts.

8. Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons images are used only under a free license:
- Public Domain / "no restrictions" mark;
- CC0;
- CC BY;
- CC BY-SA.

Licenses with NC (non-commercial) or ND (no derivatives) restrictions, and images without an author, source, or license, are rejected automatically.

8a. Stock photo libraries and open-access collections

Some illustrations in CrateCore guides and articles come from free stock photo libraries and from the open-access collections of museums and libraries:
- Unsplash (Unsplash License: https://unsplash.com/license), Pexels (Pexels License: https://www.pexels.com/license/) and Pixabay (Pixabay Content License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/). These photos remain the work of their photographers; the licenses allow editorial use without a fee. We credit the photographer and the library even where the license does not require it;
- images that museums and libraries have released under CC0 or marked as public domain (for example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rijksmuseum, the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, Europeana). Where an institution states "no known copyright restrictions", we use the image only when its age makes it public domain. Naming an institution does not mean it endorses CrateCore;
- photos under CC BY or CC BY-SA from other sources are credited as described in section 9.

When we have no suitable photo of the person or release an article is about, we may illustrate it with a photo of a related object or place, such as an instrument, a gramophone or a concert hall. Such images are captioned as illustrative and do not show the people, instruments or places the article is about.

These licenses cover the photograph itself, not the people, trademarks or artworks that may appear in it. We avoid images in which people are recognizable or album artwork is shown, and we do not use such images as cover pictures or in social previews. Third-party products and trademarks, such as a record label or a manufacturer's logo on equipment, may appear in illustrations incidentally; this does not mean that their owners are affiliated with or endorse CrateCore. Copies of these images may be stored on our servers and resized; the credit and the link to the original page are kept. If you are the author or a person shown in an image and want it removed, write to legal@cratecore.app — we handle such requests within 72 hours, whether or not the license requires it.

9. Image attribution

For every displayed editorial image, the following is stored and shown on the same screen:
- the image source;
- the license;
- the attribution line (author, license, link to the source page).

For images from stock libraries and open-access collections, the license line names the library's license or the public-domain status, and the source link points to the image's page at that library or institution.

When our materials are distributed through RSS aggregators, the image attribution is passed along with the image; Cover Art Archive covers are not distributed through aggregators.

If attribution cannot be completed, the image is not published.

10. AI illustrations

Some illustrations are AI-generated (Cloudflare Workers AI) and are always labeled "AI-generated illustration". AI images imitating photographs of real people are prohibited.

11. Rights-holder complaints

A rights holder can send a complaint to legal@cratecore.app. CrateCore reviews the complaint and takes down the disputed image or material within 72 hours of confirmation. Procedure: https://cratecore.app/copyright/en/.

12. Fonts

The site and the app use the Golos Text, Playfair Display, and IBM Plex Mono typefaces under the SIL Open Font License 1.1; the license files with their original copyright notices ship next to the fonts (web/fonts/ on the site, bundled as resources in the app).

13. Reference sources

- Discogs API Terms: https://support.discogs.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009334593-API-Terms-of-Use
- Discogs monthly data dumps (CC0): https://data.discogs.com/
- CC0 1.0 legal code: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode
- MusicBrainz Data License: https://musicbrainz.org/doc/About/Data_License
- Wikidata Licensing: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Licensing
- Wikimedia Commons Licensing: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing
- Cover Art Archive: https://coverartarchive.org/
- Unsplash License: https://unsplash.com/license
- Pexels License: https://www.pexels.com/license/
- Pixabay Content License: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/