Contribute to ar://playdead

About ar://playdead

ar://playdead is a community-driven platform that celebrates and preserves music forever. Albums uploaded here are saved on Arweave, a decentralized network that ensures permanent, uncensorable storage. Whether you're sharing audience recordings or public domain music, your contributions will live on as part of this timeless archive.

Contribution Guidelines

We accept audience recordings and music that is explicitly open-source or in the public domain. Please ensure that any music you upload respects these guidelines to honor the artists and their communities.

Preparing Your Album

You may setup your album folder manually - or - use the Album Setup Tool to help you prepare your albums correctly:

1. Download the Album Setup Tool from setup_album.py
2. Run the tool (python setup_album.py) and choose from four modes:
   • Create complete album structure (start fresh)
   • Create blank album.json template
   • Generate album.json from files
   • Rename files based on album.json

Album Specification

Each album requires the following structure, which can be automatically created using our setup tool:

1. album.json

The metadata file describing the album. Examples:

Audio Album:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "type": "audio",
    "band": "Band Name",
    "title": "Album Title",
    "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
    "source": "Source information (e.g., Audience recording by...)",
    "cover": "TXID_OF_COVER_IMAGE",
    "info": "TXID_OF_INFO_FILE",
    "tracks": [
        {"number": 1, "title": "Example Track 1", "id": "TXID_OF_TRACK_1"},
        {"number": 2, "title": "Example Track 2", "id": "TXID_OF_TRACK_2"}
    ]
}
        

Video Album:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "type": "video",
    "band": "Band Name",
    "title": "Album Title",
    "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
    "source": "Source information (e.g., Audience recording by...)",
    "cover": "TXID_OF_COVER_IMAGE",
    "info": "TXID_OF_INFO_FILE",
    "reels": [
        {"number": 1, "title": "Complete Show Part 1", "id": "TXID_OF_VIDEO_1"},
        {"number": 2, "title": "Complete Show Part 2", "id": "TXID_OF_VIDEO_2"}
    ]
}
        

2. Media Files

Place media files in the appropriate folder:

• Audio: Place all track files in a Tracks/ folder.
• Video: Place all video files in a Reels/ folder.

Naming Format: The Album Setup Tool will handle file naming automatically, but the format is:

• Audio: 01 - Track Name.mp3
• Video: 01 - Show Part 1.mp4

Supported Formats:

• Audio: .mp3, .flac, .wav
• Video: .mp4, .webm

Folder Structure

The Album Setup Tool can create this structure automatically with Mode 4:

/Album Directory
├── album.json
├── album_cover.png
├── more_info.txt
├── Tracks/                      # For audio albums
│   └── 01 - Track Name.mp3
└── Reels/                       # For video albums
    └── 01 - Complete Show.mp4
        

How to Submit

1. Prepare Your Album:
   • Use the Album Setup Tool to create and validate your album structure
   • Add your media files to the appropriate directory
   • Add album artwork as album_cover.png
   • Add additional information to more_info.txt
2. Upload to Arweave:
   • Upload each file individually to Arweave using your preferred client (e.g., ArDrive)
   • Make note of the TXID for each uploaded file:
     • Consider using ArDrive's export feature to manage your uploads efficiently
     • Or create a manifest file to keep track of all TXIDs
   • Update your album.json with the TXIDs for:
     • Album cover image
     • Info file
     • Each track/reel file
     • Leverage AI tools to automate the process of recording TXIDs
3. Share Your Album:
   • Upload your final album.json to Arweave
   • Share the TXID of your album.json for inclusion in the catalog