VocaDB - Editing FAQ

wikipage editing guidelines documentation vocadb
On this page

This page documents the most fequently asked questions and edit mistakes regarding VocaDB entries.

Songs

Are instrumental/human-sung songs allowed on VocaDB?

Rule 12: No out-of-scope song entries

Songs without voice-synth vocals (vocaloid/utau/cevio/etc.) should not be added, unless:

  • The song is part of an album entry.
  • The song has at least 5 voice-synth covers (these can be added as cover unifier entries).

Should the original artist be added to covers/remixes?

Rule 132: Skip original artist credits for derived songs

If the original artist is not directly involved with the derived version, the artist credit should not be duplicated from the original entry.

If a Vocaloid song was released simultaneously with a human vocals version, which one is the original?

Rule 127: Simultaneous uploads

Voice synth songs that include both an official voice synth version and an official human-sung version (out-of-scope) should be tagged with simultaneous upload if the publish dates are less than a week apart.

  • In this case the entry should be marked as Original song.

  • Specify the human-sung version in the song description or external links with its publish date.

  • If the human-sung version is published more than a week before the voice synth version, mark the song as “cover” with the self-cover tag instead.

  • These rules do not apply if both songs have entries on VocaDB.

I think that a song is using an append, or another version than indicated, but can’t confirm. Which voicebank should I use?

See the page for Choosing the correct voicebank credit

Are work in progress (WIP) versions of songs allowed on VocaDB?

Rule 10: No WIPs

Demo and work in progress (WIP) songs/albums should not be added, unless:

  • The song is part of a valid album entry
  • The song is a voicebank demo

Teasers that are different from the actual songs that they promote are allowed (example).

What is the publish date of a song?

Rule 100: Publish date required

Song entries should include the earliest public publish date:

  • 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..

Private distribution does not count. Work in progress versions also do not count.

If the song is deleted and then reuploaded, the publish date does not change. It’s still the date when the song was first made public.

If the field is empty, the publish date is automatically suggested based on the album and PV links.

Other common edit mistakes

Rule 101: Clean title

The title section should only contain the name of the song, except for Remix and Remaster entries: https://wiki.vocadb.net/rules/keep-remix-titles

  • Vocalists, song type, producers, etc. should all be removed.

Rule 30: No machine translations

Do not add machine translated/romanized titles or lyrics.

Official translations are accepted in any case.

Rule 36: No macrons for long vowels

Do not use macrons for long vowels.

  • こおり is romanized as ‘koori’, not ‘kōri’.

Rule 138: Source lyrics

Always leave a source for the lyrics. If transcribed/translated by yourself, mention that instead.

If the lyric source is missing, locate it before modifying the lyrics. See a list of websites where to look for lyrics. If the source can’t be found, create an entry report for the missing source and use a credit like “Unknown (fixed by user2)“.

Rule 43: Loanword romanization

Loanwords are romanized into their original language.

  • コーヒー would be romanized as ‘coffee’.

Rule 17: No download links

Direct download links (on any field) to media files (such as .mp3 or .flac) and links to file-hosting services (such as Google Drive or Dropbox) are not allowed, even if they’re legal. If the content is officially distributed, link the artist’s page (e.g., on Piapro or a blog) instead.

File sharing website links are only allowed if the website supports user profile pages, and the user (uploader) page is directly navigable from the download link page (https://piapro.jp/ links for example). In other cases the download link location should be mentioned in the entry description instead.

Rule 104: No video descriptions

Video descriptions should not be added in the description field.

Rule 69: No entryless artists

Each artist entry (including voicebanks) should be included in at least one song or album.

Exceptions:

  1. Base (“Unknown”) voicebank entries.
  2. People who play a large role in a vocal synth event (e.g. DJ).
  3. Associated artists for voicebanks.

Albums

If an album was released as multiple editions (such as regular/limited), is there need to create separate entries?

Rule 54: Multiple album versions

If the album has multiple versions/editions (different tracklist, additional discs, different cover art or a catalog number), create new entries where appropriate and mention these in album descriptions OR in the external links.

Also append the album version the the album name if appropriate: “(Regular Edition)” or “(Kagamine Rin version)“

Also include the multiple editions tag.

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.

Voicebanks

Should voice synth characters with multiple voicebanks be split into multiple entries?

As a general guideline, voice synth entries should correspond to the voicebanks available in the corresponding editor.

If the voicebanks were distributed separately, that’s also a strong reason for splitting the voicebanks into different entries.

Appends/variations such as Miku V4X Dark and Miku V4X Solid are separate entries. However, EVEC voice colors such as Miku V4X Soft EVEC are not separate entries, because they’re not considered separate voicebanks. Instead, voice colors are tracked by tags when necessary.

Sometimes a voice synth might have multiple voicebanks, but they’re almost always credited as a single entity. For example, ONE has both talking and singing voicebanks. In such cases, to simplify the crediting process, only one entry on VocaDB is necessary. If needed, that single voicebank entry can be split later.

When in doubt, the safest approach is to start with a single entry and split it later if required. This helps avoid creating multiple unused Vocaloid entries.

Reasons for splitting voicebank entries

  • Voicebanks are commonly credited as separate by the artists
  • Voicebanks appear separate in the editor
  • Voicebanks sound distinctly different, or are made for different languages
  • Voicebanks have separate brand names / box art
  • Voicebanks were released at different times
  • Voicebanks can be purchased separately (they are not always bundled together)

Rationale: Artist entries don’t generally interfere with each other, but having an excessive amount of them makes finding and managing each individual entry difficult. We want the voicebank credits to be as accurate as possible, but without needlessly complicating editing. Helping users find relevant information is key, so we try to strike a balance.

About VocaDB Staff Contact