TouhouDB editing FAQ
Songs
What songs are allowed on TouhouDB?
- Songs from the Touhou (and Seihou) series;
- Songs created by ZUN (including those from ZUN’s music collection and ZUN’s strange works);
- Songs from Touhou fanworks or Touhou-inspired works (such as Len’en Project);
- Touhou-style songs;
- Image songs related to Touhou;
- Derivative works (arrangements, covers, etc.) of any of the above.
Are songs that don’t fall into any of those categories allowed on TouhouDB?
Generally no, unless the song was published together on an album with in-scope songs (see the section on albums below).
Should the original artist be added to covers/remixes?
Generally no, unless the original artist directly worked on the derived version (cover/arrangement/rearrangement).
Rationale: if the original song is on TouhouDB, repeating the original artists for derivatives is redundant, and redundant information should be avoided.
Documented on Song entry editing.
How should songs with multiple originals be handled?
- All originals should be specified (with links) in the description or external links field. Links are not necessary, but appreciated, for out-of-scope songs.
- One of the originals should be specified in the “Original version” field.
- If the originals include theme songs for multiple characters, please add those characters to the artists tab. For instance, a song with U.N. Owen Was Her? and Septette for a Dead Princess should have both Flandre and Remilia added to the list of artists. This is not needed for songs that use many (e.g. 6 or more) characters’ themes, as those will generally fall into the medley category.
- Tag the song with multiple originals (or medley if applicable).
Rationale: A significant percentage (around 8%) of songs in the database have multiple originals, but there is no dedicated way to link a song to multiple parent versions. Adding the relevant characters somewhat mitigates this issue by giving users an alternate way to find songs with multiple originals. For instance, if you want to find arrangements that use both U.N. Owen Was Her? and Hartmann’s Youkai Girl, you could search for songs with both Flandre and Koishi as artists. Of course, not all songs are associated with a character, and sometimes users may just want to search for any song with multiple originals, which is why the tag is important as well.
What’s the difference between an arrangement, rearrangement, and remaster?
An arrangement is based on an original song. A rearrangement is based on an arrangement. A remaster can be based on any song type, but will typically be described by the artist as a remaster. Arrangements and rearrangements can be dramatically different from the parent version, while remasters should have minimal differences from the parent version.
A pratical example of the different song types:
- Flowering Night is an original song by ZUN.
- Night of Nights is an arrangement of Flowering Night (and Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial) by BeatMARIO.
- Night of Nights Girl’s Logic Observatory ver. is a rearrangement of Night of Nights by TERRA ft. Sakiko.
- Night of Nights Girl’s Logic Observatory ver. (SC ver.) is a remaster of Night of Nights Girl’s Logic Observatory ver., also by TERRA ft. Sakiko.
- Night Of Nights (from the Danmaku Kagura OST) is a short version of Night of Nights by BeatMARIO.
What should I do if I don’t know what a song’s type should be?
If you don’t know whether a song is original or not, please leave the type unspecified and save the entry as a draft. If you don’t know whether a song is a rearrangement or a remaster, use the rearrangement song type.
Are work in progress (WIP) versions of songs allowed on TouhouDB?
Generally, no. Work in progress (WIP) songs should not be added on TouhouDB, except in special cases. All songs on TouhouDB should either be publicly available for streaming, or published on an album.
Documented on Content policy/Songs.
What is the publish date of a song?
The publish date (release date) is the date when the song was first made public. This includes:
- Video streaming services such as NicoNicoDouga and YouTube.
- Distributing the song on a physical album at a record store or event.
- Digital album on a marketplace such as iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, etc..
Documented on Song entry editing.
Albums
If an album was released as multiple editions (such as regular/limited), is there need to create separate entries?
Generally no, unless the tracklists are different or the editions were released at different times. Additional discs, different cover and catalog number are allowed without the need to create separate entry, and can be added as additional pictures.
However, the differences between different editions (especially additional discs) should be clearly explained in the album description.
Reasons for splitting the album into multiple entries
(applies if one of these is true)
- Changing the order of tracks (this prevents automatic tagging)
- Adding or removing tracks from the middle (not just end)
- Significantly changing the contents of the tracks (remix/cover/different lengths). Small changes do not require splitting.
Reasons for not splitting the album
- Appending something to the name (such as “Limited Edition”)
- Different covers (additional covers can be added on the “Additional pictures” tab)
- Adding or removing discs (usually DVD/video)
- Adding or removing tracks from the end
- Different catalog numbers (additional catalog numbers can be mentioned in the catalog number field)
Rationale: albums with multiple editions are more of a rule than exception, and splitting the editions into multiple entries provides little additional value.
Should I create an album entry for a single song?
If there is clear indication that the song was released as a single, then yes, you can use the “Single” album type.
What should I do if an album contains out-of-scope songs?
Generally, all tracks on an album should have entries, even if they’re out of scope. However, for albums with primarily out-of-scope songs, it is permissible to create custom entries for the out-of-scope tracks.
Any out-of-scope song entry should be tagged with either other originals (for original songs) or other arrangements (for non-original songs). For other arrangements, please also include one of the following tags if applicable: anime, other video game music, TV series, visual novel arrangement, or Vocaloid arrangement. Tags may also be added for specific copyrights or sources, but are not required.
Artists
Should fan characters be added to TouhouDB?
No, with extremely limited exceptions.
What if an artist isn’t specified for a song/album?
This is a complicated question, and the answer depends on the situation.
Some circles act as a unit, in which case its fine to just add the circle to their songs without adding individual members.
If the producer of a song isn’t specified and the song isn’t credited to the circle as a whole, please add unknown producer to the entry.
If the vocalist of a song isn’t specified and the song isn’t credited to the circle as a whole, or is credited to a circle that doesn’t typically make songs with vocals, please add unknown vocalist to the entry.
If the illustrator of a song or album isn’t specified, please add unknown illustrator to the entry.
If the lyricist, designer, or anyone else is not specified, no special entry is needed.
When should custom artists be used?
If an artist only appears on one or two songs or albums, or only has out-of-scope songs, it’s perfectly acceptable to use a custom artist for them without creating an entry. If an artist is credited on more than two in-scope works, it’s probably worth it to create an entry for them.
If a custom artist is used, please add the applicable tag:
Rationale: Having an entry makes it easier to search for an artist’s work. Additionally, adding a custom entry to more than a couple songs is tedious for editors, so creating an entry will generally save time in the long run. The tags make it easy to identify artists who may warrant entries.