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location: id3v2-00
Informal standard M. Nilsson
Document: id3v2-00.txt 26th March 1998


 ID3 tag version 2

Status of this document

 This document is an Informal standard and is released so that
 implementors could have a set standard before the formal standard is
 set. The formal standard will use another version number if not
 identical to what is described in this document. The contents in this
 document may change for clarifications but never for added or altered
 functionallity.

 Distribution of this document is unlimited.


Abstract

 The recent gain of popularity for MPEG layer III audio files on the
 internet forced a standardised way of storing information about an
 audio file within itself to determinate its origin and contents.

 Today the most accepted way to do this is with the so called ID3 tag,
 which is simple but very limited and in some cases very unsuitable.
 The ID3 tag has very limited space in every field, very limited
 numbers of fields, not expandable or upgradeable and is placed at the
 end of a the file, which is unsuitable for streaming audio. This draft
 is an attempt to answer these issues with a new version of the ID3
 tag.


1. Table of contents

 2. Conventions in this document
 3. ID3v2 overview
 3.1. ID3v2 header
 3.2. ID3v2 frames overview
 4. Declared ID3v2 frames
 4.1. Unique file identifier
 4.2. Text information frames
 4.2.1. Text information frames - details
 4.2.2. User defined text information frame
 4.3. URL link frames
 4.3.1. URL link frames - details
 4.3.2. User defined URL link frame
 4.4. Involved people list
 4.5. Music CD Identifier
 4.6. Event timing codes
 4.7. MPEG location lookup table
 4.8. Synced tempo codes
 4.9. Unsychronised lyrics/text transcription
 4.10. Synchronised lyrics/text
 4.11. Comments
 4.12. Relative volume adjustment
 4.13. Equalisation
 4.14. Reverb
 4.15. Attached picture
 4.16. General encapsulated object
 4.17. Play counter
 4.18. Popularimeter
 4.19. Recommended buffer size
 4.20. Encrypted meta frame
 4.21. Audio encryption
 4.22. Linked information
 5. The 'unsynchronisation scheme'
 6. Copyright
 7. References
 8. Appendix
 A. Appendix A - ID3-Tag Specification V1.1
 A.1. Overview
 A.2. ID3v1 Implementation
 A.3. Genre List
 A.4. Track addition - ID3v1.1
 9. Author's Address


2. Conventions in this document

 In the examples, text within "" is a text string exactly as it appears
 in a file. Numbers preceded with $ are hexadecimal and numbers
 preceded with % are binary. $xx is used to indicate a byte with
 unknown content. %x is used to indicate a bit with unknown content.
 The most significant bit (MSB) of a byte is called 'bit 7' and the
 least significant bit (LSB) is called 'bit 0'.

 A tag is the whole tag described in this document. A frame is a block
 of information in the tag. The tag consists of a header, frames and
 optional padding. A field is a piece of information; one value, a
 string etc. A numeric string is a string that consists of the
 characters 0-9 only.


3. ID3v2 overview

 The two biggest design goals were to be able to implement ID3v2
 without disturbing old software too much and that ID3v2 should be
 expandable.

 The first criterion is met by the simple fact that the MPEG [MPEG]
 decoding software uses a syncsignal, embedded in the audiostream, to
 'lock on to' the audio. Since the ID3v2 tag doesn't contain a valid
 syncsignal, no software will attempt to play the tag. If, for any
 reason, coincidence make a syncsignal appear within the tag it will be
 taken care of by the 'unsynchronisation scheme' described in section
 5.

 The second criterion has made a more noticeable impact on the design
 of the ID3v2 tag. It is constructed as a container for several
 information blocks, called frames, whose format need not be known to
 the software that encounters them. At the start of every frame there
 is an identifier that explains the frames's format and content, and a
 size descriptor that allows software to skip unknown frames.

 If a total revision of the ID3v2 tag should be needed, there is a
 version number and a size descriptor in the ID3v2 header.

 The ID3 tag described in this document is mainly targeted to files
 encoded with MPEG-2 layer I, MPEG-2 layer II, MPEG-2 layer III and
 MPEG-2.5, but may work with other types of encoded audio.

 The bitorder in ID3v2 is most significant bit first (MSB). The
 byteorder in multibyte numbers is most significant byte first (e.g.
 $12345678 would be encoded $12 34 56 78).

 It is permitted to include padding after all the final frame (at the
 end of the ID3 tag), making the size of all the frames together
 smaller than the size given in the head of the tag. A possible purpose
 of this padding is to allow for adding a few additional frames or
 enlarge existing frames within the tag without having to rewrite the
 entire file. The value of the padding bytes must be $00.


3.1. ID3v2 header

 The ID3v2 tag header, which should be the first information in the
 file, is 10 bytes as follows:

 ID3/file identifier "ID3"
 ID3 version $02 00
 ID3 flags %xx000000
 ID3 size 4 * %0xxxxxxx

 The first three bytes of the tag are always "ID3" to indicate that
 this is an ID3 tag, directly followed by the two version bytes. The
 first byte of ID3 version is it's major version, while the second byte
 is its revision number. All revisions are backwards compatible while
 major versions are not. If software with ID3v2 and below support
 should encounter version three or higher it should simply ignore the
 whole tag. Version and revision will never be $FF.

 The first bit (bit 7) in the 'ID3 flags' is indicating whether or not
 unsynchronisation is used (see section 5 for details); a set bit
 indicates usage.

 The second bit (bit 6) is indicating whether or not compression is
 used; a set bit indicates usage. Since no compression scheme has been
 decided yet, the ID3 decoder (for now) should just ignore the entire
 tag if the compression bit is set.

 The ID3 tag size is encoded with four bytes where the first bit (bit
 7) is set to zero in every byte, making a total of 28 bits. The zeroed
 bits are ignored, so a 257 bytes long tag is represented as $00 00 02
 01.

 The ID3 tag size is the size of the complete tag after
 unsychronisation, including padding, excluding the header (total tag
 size - 10). The reason to use 28 bits (representing up to 256MB) for
 size description is that we don't want to run out of space here.

 A ID3v2 tag can be detected with the following pattern:
 $49 44 33 yy yy xx zz zz zz zz
 Where yy is less than $FF, xx is the 'flags' byte and zz is less than
 $80.


3.2. ID3v2 frames overview

 The headers of the frames are similar in their construction. They
 consist of one three character identifier (capital A-Z and 0-9) and
 one three byte size field, making a total of six bytes. The header is
 excluded from the size. Identifiers beginning with "X", "Y" and "Z"
 are for experimental use and free for everyone to use. Have in mind
 that someone else might have used the same identifier as you. All
 other identifiers are either used or reserved for future use.

 The three character frame identifier is followed by a three byte size
 descriptor, making a total header size of six bytes in every frame.
 The size is calculated as framesize excluding frame identifier and
 size descriptor (frame size - 6).

 There is no fixed order of the frames' appearance in the tag, although
 it is desired that the frames are arranged in order of significance
 concerning the recognition of the file. An example of such order:
 UFI, MCI, TT2 ...

 A tag must contain at least one frame. A frame must be at least 1 byte
 big, excluding the 6-byte header.

 If nothing else is said a string is represented as ISO-8859-1
 [ISO-8859-1] characters in the range $20 - $FF. All unicode strings
 [UNICODE] use 16-bit unicode 2.0 (ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993, UCS-2). All
 numeric strings are always encoded as ISO-8859-1. Terminated strings
 are terminated with $00 if encoded with ISO-8859-1 and $00 00 if
 encoded as unicode. If nothing else is said newline character is
 forbidden. In ISO-8859-1 a new line is represented, when allowed, with
 $0A only. Frames that allow different types of text encoding have a
 text encoding description byte directly after the frame size. If
 ISO-8859-1 is used this byte should be $00, if unicode is used it
 should be $01.

 The three byte language field is used to describe the language of the
 frame's content, according to ISO-639-2 [ISO-639-2].

 All URLs [URL] may be relative, e.g. "picture.png", "../doc.txt".

 If a frame is longer than it should be, e.g. having more fields than
 specified in this document, that indicates that additions to the
 frame have been made in a later version of the ID3 standard. This
 is reflected by the revision number in the header of the tag.


4. Declared ID3v2 frames

 The following frames are declared in this draft.

 4.19 BUF Recommended buffer size

 4.17 CNT Play counter
 4.11 COM Comments
 4.21 CRA Audio encryption
 4.20 CRM Encrypted meta frame

 4.6 ETC Event timing codes
 4.13 EQU Equalization

 4.16 GEO General encapsulated object

 4.4 IPL Involved people list

 4.22 LNK Linked information

 4.5 MCI Music CD Identifier
 4.7 MLL MPEG location lookup table

 4.15 PIC Attached picture
 4.18 POP Popularimeter

 4.14 REV Reverb
 4.12 RVA Relative volume adjustment

 4.10 SLT Synchronized lyric/text
 4.8 STC Synced tempo codes

 4.2.1 TAL Album/Movie/Show title
 4.2.1 TBP BPM (Beats Per Minute)
 4.2.1 TCM Composer
 4.2.1 TCO Content type
 4.2.1 TCR Copyright message
 4.2.1 TDA Date
 4.2.1 TDY Playlist delay
 4.2.1 TEN Encoded by
 4.2.1 TFT File type
 4.2.1 TIM Time
 4.2.1 TKE Initial key
 4.2.1 TLA Language(s)
 4.2.1 TLE Length
 4.2.1 TMT Media type
 4.2.1 TOA Original artist(s)/performer(s)
 4.2.1 TOF Original filename
 4.2.1 TOL Original Lyricist(s)/text writer(s)
 4.2.1 TOR Original release year
 4.2.1 TOT Original album/Movie/Show title
 4.2.1 TP1 Lead artist(s)/Lead performer(s)/Soloist(s)/Performing group
 4.2.1 TP2 Band/Orchestra/Accompaniment
 4.2.1 TP3 Conductor/Performer refinement
 4.2.1 TP4 Interpreted, remixed, or otherwise modified by
 4.2.1 TPA Part of a set
 4.2.1 TPB Publisher
 4.2.1 TRC ISRC (International Standard Recording Code)
 4.2.1 TRD Recording dates
 4.2.1 TRK Track number/Position in set
 4.2.1 TSI Size
 4.2.1 TSS Software/hardware and settings used for encoding
 4.2.1 TT1 Content group description
 4.2.1 TT2 Title/Songname/Content description
 4.2.1 TT3 Subtitle/Description refinement
 4.2.1 TXT Lyricist/text writer
 4.2.2 TXX User defined text information frame
 4.2.1 TYE Year

 4.1 UFI Unique file identifier
 4.9 ULT Unsychronized lyric/text transcription

 4.3.1 WAF Official audio file webpage
 4.3.1 WAR Official artist/performer webpage
 4.3.1 WAS Official audio source webpage
 4.3.1 WCM Commercial information
 4.3.1 WCP Copyright/Legal information
 4.3.1 WPB Publishers official webpage
 4.3.2 WXX User defined URL link frame


4.1. Unique file identifier

 This frame's purpose is to be able to identify the audio file in a
 database that may contain more information relevant to the content.
 Since standardisation of such a database is beyond this document, all
 frames begin with a null-terminated string with a URL [URL] containing
 an email address, or a link to a location where an email address can
 be found, that belongs to the organisation responsible for this
 specific database implementation. Questions regarding the database
 should be sent to the indicated email address. The URL should not be
 used for the actual database queries. If a $00 is found directly after
 the 'Frame size' the whole frame should be ignored, and preferably be
 removed. The 'Owner identifier' is then followed by the actual
 identifier, which may be up to 64 bytes. There may be more than one
 "UFI" frame in a tag, but only one with the same 'Owner identifier'.

 Unique file identifier "UFI"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Owner identifier <textstring> $00
 Identifier <up to 64 bytes binary data>


4.2. Text information frames

 The text information frames are the most important frames, containing
 information like artist, album and more. There may only be one text
 information frame of its kind in an tag. If the textstring is followed
 by a termination ($00 (00)) all the following information should be
 ignored and not be displayed. All the text information frames have the
 following format:

 Text information identifier "T00" - "TZZ" , excluding "TXX",
 described in 4.2.2.
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Information <textstring>


4.2.1. Text information frames - details

 TT1
 The 'Content group description' frame is used if the sound belongs to
 a larger category of sounds/music. For example, classical music is
 often sorted in different musical sections (e.g. "Piano Concerto",
 "Weather - Hurricane").

 TT2
 The 'Title/Songname/Content description' frame is the actual name of
 the piece (e.g. "Adagio", "Hurricane Donna").

 TT3
 The 'Subtitle/Description refinement' frame is used for information
 directly related to the contents title (e.g. "Op. 16" or "Performed
 live at wembley").

 TP1
 The 'Lead artist(s)/Lead performer(s)/Soloist(s)/Performing group' is
 used for the main artist(s). They are seperated with the "/"
 character.

 TP2
 The 'Band/Orchestra/Accompaniment' frame is used for additional
 information about the performers in the recording.

 TP3
 The 'Conductor' frame is used for the name of the conductor.
 
 TP4
 The 'Interpreted, remixed, or otherwise modified by' frame contains
 more information about the people behind a remix and similar
 interpretations of another existing piece.

 TCM
 The 'Composer(s)' frame is intended for the name of the composer(s).
 They are seperated with the "/" character.

 TXT
 The 'Lyricist(s)/text writer(s)' frame is intended for the writer(s)
 of the text or lyrics in the recording. They are seperated with the
 "/" character.

 TLA
 The 'Language(s)' frame should contain the languages of the text or
 lyrics in the audio file. The language is represented with three
 characters according to ISO-639-2. If more than one language is used
 in the text their language codes should follow according to their
 usage.

 TCO
 The content type, which previously (in ID3v1.1, see appendix A) was
 stored as a one byte numeric value only, is now a numeric string. You
 may use one or several of the types as ID3v1.1 did or, since the
 category list would be impossible to maintain with accurate and up to
 date categories, define your own.
 References to the ID3v1 genres can be made by, as first byte, enter
 "(" followed by a number from the genres list (section A.3.) and
 ended with a ")" character. This is optionally followed by a
 refinement, e.g. "(21)" or "(4)Eurodisco". Several references can be
 made in the same frame, e.g. "(51)(39)". If the refinement should
 begin with a "(" character it should be replaced with "((", e.g. "((I
 can figure out any genre)" or "(55)((I think...)". The following new
 content types is defined in ID3v2 and is implemented in the same way
 as the numerig content types, e.g. "(RX)".
 
 RX Remix
 CR Cover

 TAL
 The 'Album/Movie/Show title' frame is intended for the title of the
 recording(/source of sound) which the audio in the file is taken from.
 
 TPA
 The 'Part of a set' frame is a numeric string that describes which
 part of a set the audio came from. This frame is used if the source
 described in the "TAL" frame is divided into several mediums, e.g. a
 double CD. The value may be extended with a "/" character and a
 numeric string containing the total number of parts in the set. E.g.
 "1/2".

 TRK
 The 'Track number/Position in set' frame is a numeric string
 containing the order number of the audio-file on its original
 recording. This may be extended with a "/" character and a numeric
 string containing the total numer of tracks/elements on the original
 recording. E.g. "4/9".

 TRC
 The 'ISRC' frame should contian the International Standard Recording
 Code [ISRC].

 TYE
 The 'Year' frame is a numeric string with a year of the recording.
 This frames is always four characters long (until the year 10000).

 TDA
 The 'Date' frame is a numeric string in the DDMM format containing
 the date for the recording. This field is always four characters
 long.

 TIM
 The 'Time' frame is a numeric string in the HHMM format containing
 the time for the recording. This field is always four characters
 long.
 
 TRD
 The 'Recording dates' frame is a intended to be used as complement to
 the "TYE", "TDA" and "TIM" frames. E.g. "4th-7th June, 12th June" in
 combination with the "TYE" frame.

 TMT
 The 'Media type' frame describes from which media the sound
 originated. This may be a textstring or a reference to the predefined
 media types found in the list below. References are made within "("
 and ")" and are optionally followed by a text refinement, e.g. "(MC)
 with four channels". If a text refinement should begin with a "("
 character it should be replaced with "((" in the same way as in the
 "TCO" frame. Predefined refinements is appended after the media type,
 e.g. "(CD/S)" or "(VID/PAL/VHS)".

 DIG Other digital media
 /A Analog transfer from media

 ANA Other analog media
 /WAC Wax cylinder
 /8CA 8-track tape cassette

 CD CD
 /A Analog transfer from media
 /DD DDD
 /AD ADD
 /AA AAD

 LD Laserdisc
 /A Analog transfer from media

 TT Turntable records
 /33 33.33 rpm
 /45 45 rpm
 /71 71.29 rpm
 /76 76.59 rpm
 /78 78.26 rpm
 /80 80 rpm
 
 MD MiniDisc
 /A Analog transfer from media
 
 DAT DAT
 /A Analog transfer from media
 /1 standard, 48 kHz/16 bits, linear
 /2 mode 2, 32 kHz/16 bits, linear
 /3 mode 3, 32 kHz/12 bits, nonlinear, low speed
 /4 mode 4, 32 kHz/12 bits, 4 channels
 /5 mode 5, 44.1 kHz/16 bits, linear
 /6 mode 6, 44.1 kHz/16 bits, 'wide track' play
 
 DCC DCC
 /A Analog transfer from media
 
 DVD DVD
 /A Analog transfer from media
 
 TV Television
 /PAL PAL
 /NTSC NTSC
 /SECAM SECAM
 
 VID Video
 /PAL PAL
 /NTSC NTSC
 /SECAM SECAM
 /VHS VHS
 /SVHS S-VHS
 /BETA BETAMAX
 
 RAD Radio
 /FM FM
 /AM AM
 /LW LW
 /MW MW
 
 TEL Telephone
 /I ISDN
 
 MC MC (normal cassette)
 /4 4.75 cm/s (normal speed for a two sided cassette)
 /9 9.5 cm/s
 /I Type I cassette (ferric/normal)
 /II Type II cassette (chrome)
 /III Type III cassette (ferric chrome)
 /IV Type IV cassette (metal)
 
 REE Reel
 /9 9.5 cm/s
 /19 19 cm/s
 /38 38 cm/s
 /76 76 cm/s
 /I Type I cassette (ferric/normal)
 /II Type II cassette (chrome)
 /III Type III cassette (ferric chrome)
 /IV Type IV cassette (metal)

 TFT
 The 'File type' frame indicates which type of audio this tag defines.
 The following type and refinements are defined:
 
 MPG MPEG Audio
 /1 MPEG 2 layer I
 /2 MPEG 2 layer II
 /3 MPEG 2 layer III
 /2.5 MPEG 2.5
 /AAC Advanced audio compression
 
 but other types may be used, not for these types though. This is used
 in a similar way to the predefined types in the "TMT" frame, but
 without parenthesis. If this frame is not present audio type is
 assumed to be "MPG".

 TBP
 BPM is short for beats per minute, and is easily computed by
 dividing the number of beats in a musical piece with its length. To
 get a more accurate result, do the BPM calculation on the main-part
 only. To acquire best result measure the time between each beat and
 calculate individual BPM for each beat and use the median value as
 result. BPM is an integer and represented as a numerical string.

 TCR
 The 'Copyright message' frame, which must begin with a year and a
 space character (making five characters), is intended for the
 copyright holder of the original sound, not the audio file itself. The
 absence of this frame means only that the copyright information is
 unavailable or has been removed, and must not be interpreted to mean
 that the sound is public domain. Every time this field is displayed
 the field must be preceded with "Copyright " (C) " ", where (C) is one
 character showing a C in a circle.

 TPB
 The 'Publisher' frame simply contains the name of the label or
 publisher.

 TEN
 The 'Encoded by' frame contains the name of the person or
 organisation that encoded the audio file. This field may contain a
 copyright message, if the audio file also is copyrighted by the
 encoder.

 TSS
 The 'Software/hardware and settings used for encoding' frame
 includes the used audio encoder and its settings when the file was
 encoded. Hardware refers to hardware encoders, not the computer on
 which a program was run.

 TOF
 The 'Original filename' frame contains the preferred filename for the
 file, since some media doesn't allow the desired length of the
 filename. The filename is case sensitive and includes its suffix.

 TLE
 The 'Length' frame contains the length of the audiofile in
 milliseconds, represented as a numeric string.

 TSI
 The 'Size' frame contains the size of the audiofile in bytes
 excluding the tag, represented as a numeric string.

 TDY
 The 'Playlist delay' defines the numbers of milliseconds of silence
 between every song in a playlist. The player should use the "ETC"
 frame, if present, to skip initial silence and silence at the end of
 the audio to match the 'Playlist delay' time. The time is represented
 as a numeric string.

 TKE
 The 'Initial key' frame contains the musical key in which the sound
 starts. It is represented as a string with a maximum length of three
 characters. The ground keys are represented with "A","B","C","D","E",
 "F" and "G" and halfkeys represented with "b" and "#". Minor is
 represented as "m". Example "Cbm". Off key is represented with an "o"
 only.

 TOT
 The 'Original album/Movie/Show title' frame is intended for the title
 of the original recording(/source of sound), if for example the music
 in the file should be a cover of a previously released song.
 
 TOA
 The 'Original artist(s)/performer(s)' frame is intended for the
 performer(s) of the original recording, if for example the music in
 the file should be a cover of a previously released song. The
 performers are seperated with the "/" character.

 TOL
 The 'Original Lyricist(s)/text writer(s)' frame is intended for the
 text writer(s) of the original recording, if for example the music in
 the file should be a cover of a previously released song. The text
 writers are seperated with the "/" character.

 TOR
 The 'Original release year' frame is intended for the year when the
 original recording, if for example the music in the file should be a
 cover of a previously released song, was released. The field is
 formatted as in the "TDY" frame.


4.2.2. User defined text information frame

 This frame is intended for one-string text information concerning the
 audiofile in a similar way to the other "T"xx frames. The frame body
 consists of a description of the string, represented as a terminated
 string, followed by the actual string. There may be more than one
 "TXX" frame in each tag, but only one with the same description.

 User defined... "TXX"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Description <textstring> $00 (00)
 Value <textstring>


4.3. URL link frames

 With these frames dynamic data such as webpages with touring
 information, price information or plain ordinary news can be added to
 the tag. There may only be one URL [URL] link frame of its kind in an
 tag, except when stated otherwise in the frame description. If the
 textstring is followed by a termination ($00 (00)) all the following
 information should be ignored and not be displayed. All URL link
 frames have the following format:

 URL link frame "W00" - "WZZ" , excluding "WXX" 
 (described in 4.3.2.)
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 URL <textstring>


4.3.1. URL link frames - details

 WAF
 The 'Official audio file webpage' frame is a URL pointing at a file
 specific webpage.
 
 WAR
 The 'Official artist/performer webpage' frame is a URL pointing at
 the artists official webpage. There may be more than one "WAR" frame
 in a tag if the audio contains more than one performer.
 
 WAS
 The 'Official audio source webpage' frame is a URL pointing at the
 official webpage for the source of the audio file, e.g. a movie.
 
 WCM
 The 'Commercial information' frame is a URL pointing at a webpage
 with information such as where the album can be bought. There may be
 more than one "WCM" frame in a tag.
 
 WCP
 The 'Copyright/Legal information' frame is a URL pointing at a
 webpage where the terms of use and ownership of the file is described.
 
 WPB
 The 'Publishers official webpage' frame is a URL pointing at the
 official wepage for the publisher.


4.3.2. User defined URL link frame

 This frame is intended for URL [URL] links concerning the audiofile in
 a similar way to the other "W"xx frames. The frame body consists of a
 description of the string, represented as a terminated string,
 followed by the actual URL. The URL is always encoded with ISO-8859-1
 [ISO-8859-1]. There may be more than one "WXX" frame in each tag, but
 only one with the same description.

 User defined... "WXX"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Description <textstring> $00 (00)
 URL <textstring>


4.4. Involved people list

 Since there might be a lot of people contributing to an audio file in
 various ways, such as musicians and technicians, the 'Text
 information frames' are often insufficient to list everyone involved
 in a project. The 'Involved people list' is a frame containing the
 names of those involved, and how they were involved. The body simply
 contains a terminated string with the involvement directly followed by
 a terminated string with the involvee followed by a new involvement
 and so on. There may only be one "IPL" frame in each tag.

 Involved people list "IPL"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 People list strings <textstrings>


4.5. Music CD Identifier

 This frame is intended for music that comes from a CD, so that the CD
 can be identified in databases such as the CDDB [CDDB]. The frame
 consists of a binary dump of the Table Of Contents, TOC, from the CD,
 which is a header of 4 bytes and then 8 bytes/track on the CD making a
 maximum of 804 bytes. This frame requires a present and valid "TRK"
 frame. There may only be one "MCI" frame in each tag.

 Music CD identifier "MCI"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 CD TOC <binary data>


4.6. Event timing codes

 This frame allows synchronisation with key events in a song or sound.
 The head is:

 Event timing codes "ETC"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Time stamp format $xx
 
 Where time stamp format is:
 
 $01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG [MPEG] frames as unit
 $02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit

 Abolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
 beginning of the file.

 Followed by a list of key events in the following format:

 Type of event $xx
 Time stamp $xx (xx ...)

 The 'Time stamp' is set to zero if directly at the beginning of the
 sound or after the previous event. All events should be sorted in
 chronological order. The type of event is as follows:

 $00 padding (has no meaning)
 $01 end of initial silence
 $02 intro start
 $03 mainpart start
 $04 outro start
 $05 outro end
 $06 verse begins
 $07 refrain begins
 $08 interlude
 $09 theme start
 $0A variation
 $0B key change
 $0C time change
 $0D unwanted noise (Snap, Crackle & Pop)

 $0E-$DF reserved for future use

 $E0-$EF not predefined sync 0-F

 $F0-$FC reserved for future use

 $FD audio end (start of silence)
 $FE audio file ends
 $FF one more byte of events follows (all the following bytes with
 the value $FF have the same function)

 The 'Not predefined sync's ($E0-EF) are for user events. You might
 want to synchronise your music to something, like setting of an
 explosion on-stage, turning on your screensaver etc.

 There may only be one "ETC" frame in each tag.


4.7. MPEG location lookup table

 To increase performance and accuracy of jumps within a MPEG [MPEG]
 audio file, frames with timecodes in different locations in the file
 might be useful. The ID3 frame includes references that the software
 can use to calculate positions in the file. After the frame header is
 a descriptor of how much the 'frame counter' should increase for every
 reference. If this value is two then the first reference points out
 the second frame, the 2nd reference the 4th frame, the 3rd reference
 the 6th frame etc. In a similar way the 'bytes between reference' and
 'milliseconds between reference' points out bytes and milliseconds
 respectively.
 
 Each reference consists of two parts; a certain number of bits, as
 defined in 'bits for bytes deviation', that describes the difference
 between what is said in 'bytes between reference' and the reality and
 a certain number of bits, as defined in 'bits for milliseconds
 deviation', that describes the difference between what is said in
 'milliseconds between reference' and the reality. The number of bits
 in every reference, i.e. 'bits for bytes deviation'+'bits for
 milliseconds deviation', must be a multiple of four. There may only be
 one "MLL" frame in each tag.
 
 Location lookup table "MLL"
 ID3 frame size $xx xx xx
 MPEG frames between reference $xx xx
 Bytes between reference $xx xx xx
 Milliseconds between reference $xx xx xx
 Bits for bytes deviation $xx
 Bits for milliseconds dev. $xx

 Then for every reference the following data is included;

 Deviation in bytes %xxx....
 Deviation in milliseconds %xxx....


4.8. Synced tempo codes

 For a more accurate description of the tempo of a musical piece this
 frame might be used. After the header follows one byte describing
 which time stamp format should be used. Then follows one or more tempo
 codes. Each tempo code consists of one tempo part and one time part.
 The tempo is in BPM described with one or two bytes. If the first byte
 has the value $FF, one more byte follows, which is added to the first
 giving a range from 2 - 510 BPM, since $00 and $01 is reserved. $00 is
 used to describe a beat-free time period, which is not the same as a
 music-free time period. $01 is used to indicate one single beat-stroke
 followed by a beat-free period.

 The tempo descriptor is followed by a time stamp. Every time the tempo
 in the music changes, a tempo descriptor may indicate this for the
 player. All tempo descriptors should be sorted in chronological order.
 The first beat-stroke in a time-period is at the same time as the beat
 description occurs. There may only be one "STC" frame in each tag.

 Synced tempo codes "STC"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Time stamp format $xx
 Tempo data <binary data>

 Where time stamp format is:
 
 $01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG [MPEG] frames as unit
 $02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit

 Abolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
 beginning of the file.


4.9. Unsychronised lyrics/text transcription

 This frame contains the lyrics of the song or a text transcription of
 other vocal activities. The head includes an encoding descriptor and
 a content descriptor. The body consists of the actual text. The
 'Content descriptor' is a terminated string. If no descriptor is
 entered, 'Content descriptor' is $00 (00) only. Newline characters
 are allowed in the text. Maximum length for the descriptor is 64
 bytes. There may be more than one lyrics/text frame in each tag, but
 only one with the same language and content descriptor.

 Unsynced lyrics/text "ULT"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Language $xx xx xx
 Content descriptor <textstring> $00 (00)
 Lyrics/text <textstring>


4.10. Synchronised lyrics/text

 This is another way of incorporating the words, said or sung lyrics,
 in the audio file as text, this time, however, in sync with the audio.
 It might also be used to describing events e.g. occurring on a stage
 or on the screen in sync with the audio. The header includes a content
 descriptor, represented with as terminated textstring. If no
 descriptor is entered, 'Content descriptor' is $00 (00) only.

 Synced lyrics/text "SLT"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Language $xx xx xx
 Time stamp format $xx
 Content type $xx
 Content descriptor <textstring> $00 (00)


 Encoding: $00 ISO-8859-1 [ISO-8859-1] character set is used => $00
 is sync identifier.
 $01 Unicode [UNICODE] character set is used => $00 00 is
 sync identifier.

 Content type: $00 is other
 $01 is lyrics
 $02 is text transcription
 $03 is movement/part name (e.g. "Adagio")
 $04 is events (e.g. "Don Quijote enters the stage")
 $05 is chord (e.g. "Bb F Fsus")

 Time stamp format is:
 
 $01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG [MPEG] frames as unit
 $02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit

 Abolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
 beginning of the file.

 The text that follows the frame header differs from that of the
 unsynchronised lyrics/text transcription in one major way. Each
 syllable (or whatever size of text is considered to be convenient by
 the encoder) is a null terminated string followed by a time stamp
 denoting where in the sound file it belongs. Each sync thus has the
 following structure:

 Terminated text to be synced (typically a syllable)
 Sync identifier (terminator to above string) $00 (00)
 Time stamp $xx (xx ...)

 The 'time stamp' is set to zero or the whole sync is omitted if
 located directly at the beginning of the sound. All time stamps should
 be sorted in chronological order. The sync can be considered as a
 validator of the subsequent string.

 Newline characters are allowed in all "SLT" frames and should be used
 after every entry (name, event etc.) in a frame with the content type
 $03 - $04.

 A few considerations regarding whitespace characters: Whitespace
 separating words should mark the beginning of a new word, thus
 occurring in front of the first syllable of a new word. This is also
 valid for new line characters. A syllable followed by a comma should
 not be broken apart with a sync (both the syllable and the comma
 should be before the sync).

 An example: The "ULT" passage

 "Strangers in the night" $0A "Exchanging glances"

 would be "SLT" encoded as:

 "Strang" $00 xx xx "ers" $00 xx xx " in" $00 xx xx " the" $00 xx xx
 " night" $00 xx xx 0A "Ex" $00 xx xx "chang" $00 xx xx "ing" $00 xx
 xx "glan" $00 xx xx "ces" $00 xx xx

 There may be more than one "SLT" frame in each tag, but only one with
 the same language and content descriptor.


4.11. Comments

 This frame replaces the old 30-character comment field in ID3v1. It
 consists of a frame head followed by encoding, language and content
 descriptors and is ended with the actual comment as a text string.
 Newline characters are allowed in the comment text string. There may
 be more than one comment frame in each tag, but only one with the same
 language and content descriptor.

 Comment "COM"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Language $xx xx xx
 Short content description <textstring> $00 (00)
 The actual text <textstring>


4.12. Relative volume adjustment

 This is a more subjective function than the previous ones. It allows
 the user to say how much he wants to increase/decrease the volume on
 each channel while the file is played. The purpose is to be able to
 align all files to a reference volume, so that you don't have to
 change the volume constantly. This frame may also be used to balance
 adjust the audio. If the volume peak levels are known then this could
 be described with the 'Peak volume right' and 'Peak volume left'
 field. If Peakvolume is not known these fields could be left zeroed
 or completely omitted. There may only be one "RVA" frame in each
 tag.

 Relative volume adjustment "RVA"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Increment/decrement %000000xx
 Bits used for volume descr. $xx
 Relative volume change, right $xx xx (xx ...)
 Relative volume change, left $xx xx (xx ...)
 Peak volume right $xx xx (xx ...)
 Peak volume left $xx xx (xx ...)

 In the increment/decrement field bit 0 is used to indicate the right
 channel and bit 1 is used to indicate the left channel. 1 is
 increment and 0 is decrement.

 The 'bits used for volume description' field is normally $10 (16 bits)
 for MPEG 2 layer I, II and III [MPEG] and MPEG 2.5. This value may not
 be $00. The volume is always represented with whole bytes, padded in
 the beginning (highest bits) when 'bits used for volume description'
 is not a multiple of eight.


4.13. Equalisation

 This is another subjective, alignment frame. It allows the user to
 predefine an equalisation curve within the audio file. There may only
 be one "EQU" frame in each tag.

 Equalisation "EQU"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Adjustment bits $xx

 The 'adjustment bits' field defines the number of bits used for
 representation of the adjustment. This is normally $10 (16 bits) for
 MPEG 2 layer I, II and III [MPEG] and MPEG 2.5. This value may not be
 $00.

 This is followed by 2 bytes + ('adjustment bits' rounded up to the
 nearest byte) for every equalisation band in the following format,
 giving a frequency range of 0 - 32767Hz:

 Increment/decrement %x (MSB of the Frequency)
 Frequency (lower 15 bits)
 Adjustment $xx (xx ...)

 The increment/decrement bit is 1 for increment and 0 for decrement.
 The equalisation bands should be ordered increasingly with reference
 to frequency. All frequencies don't have to be declared. Adjustments
 with the value $00 should be omitted. A frequency should only be
 described once in the frame.


4.14. Reverb

 Yet another subjective one. You may here adjust echoes of different
 kinds. Reverb left/right is the delay between every bounce in ms.
 Reverb bounces left/right is the number of bounces that should be
 made. $FF equals an infinite number of bounces. Feedback is the amount
 of volume that should be returned to the next echo bounce. $00 is 0%,
 $FF is 100%. If this value were $7F, there would be 50% volume
 reduction on the first bounce, yet 50% on the second and so on. Left
 to left means the sound from the left bounce to be played in the left
 speaker, while left to right means sound from the left bounce to be
 played in the right speaker.

 'Premix left to right' is the amount of left sound to be mixed in the
 right before any reverb is applied, where $00 id 0% and $FF is 100%.
 'Premix right to left' does the same thing, but right to left. Setting
 both premix to $FF would result in a mono output (if the reverb is
 applied symmetric). There may only be one "REV" frame in each tag.

 Reverb settings "REV"
 Frame size $00 00 0C
 Reverb left (ms) $xx xx
 Reverb right (ms) $xx xx
 Reverb bounces, left $xx
 Reverb bounces, right $xx
 Reverb feedback, left to left $xx
 Reverb feedback, left to right $xx
 Reverb feedback, right to right $xx
 Reverb feedback, right to left $xx
 Premix left to right $xx
 Premix right to left $xx


4.15. Attached picture

 This frame contains a picture directly related to the audio file.
 Image format is preferably "PNG" [PNG] or "JPG" [JFIF]. Description
 is a short description of the picture, represented as a terminated
 textstring. The description has a maximum length of 64 characters,
 but may be empty. There may be several pictures attached to one file,
 each in their individual "PIC" frame, but only one with the same
 content descriptor. There may only be one picture with the picture
 type declared as picture type $01 and $02 respectively. There is a
 possibility to put only a link to the image file by using the 'image
 format' "-->" and having a complete URL [URL] instead of picture data.
 The use of linked files should however be used restrictively since
 there is the risk of separation of files.

 Attached picture "PIC"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 Image format $xx xx xx
 Picture type $xx
 Description <textstring> $00 (00)
 Picture data <binary data>


 Picture type: $00 Other
 $01 32x32 pixels 'file icon' (PNG only)
 $02 Other file icon
 $03 Cover (front)
 $04 Cover (back)
 $05 Leaflet page
 $06 Media (e.g. lable side of CD)
 $07 Lead artist/lead performer/soloist
 $08 Artist/performer
 $09 Conductor
 $0A Band/Orchestra
 $0B Composer
 $0C Lyricist/text writer
 $0D Recording Location
 $0E During recording
 $0F During performance
 $10 Movie/video screen capture
 $11 A bright coloured fish
 $12 Illustration
 $13 Band/artist logotype
 $14 Publisher/Studio logotype


4.16. General encapsulated object

 In this frame any type of file can be encapsulated. After the header,
 'Frame size' and 'Encoding' follows 'MIME type' [MIME] and 'Filename'
 for the encapsulated object, both represented as terminated strings
 encoded with ISO 8859-1 [ISO-8859-1]. The filename is case sensitive.
 Then follows a content description as terminated string, encoded as
 'Encoding'. The last thing in the frame is the actual object. The
 first two strings may be omitted, leaving only their terminations.
 MIME type is always an ISO-8859-1 text string. There may be more than
 one "GEO" frame in each tag, but only one with the same content
 descriptor.

 General encapsulated object "GEO"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Text encoding $xx
 MIME type <textstring> $00
 Filename <textstring> $00 (00)
 Content description <textstring> $00 (00)
 Encapsulated object <binary data>


4.17. Play counter

 This is simply a counter of the number of times a file has been
 played. The value is increased by one every time the file begins to
 play. There may only be one "CNT" frame in each tag. When the counter
 reaches all one's, one byte is inserted in front of the counter thus
 making the counter eight bits bigger. The counter must be at least
 32-bits long to begin with.

 Play counter "CNT"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Counter $xx xx xx xx (xx ...)


4.18. Popularimeter

 The purpose of this frame is to specify how good an audio file is.
 Many interesting applications could be found to this frame such as a
 playlist that features better audiofiles more often than others or it
 could be used to profile a persons taste and find other 'good' files
 by comparing people's profiles. The frame is very simple. It contains
 the email address to the user, one rating byte and a four byte play
 counter, intended to be increased with one for every time the file is
 played. The email is a terminated string. The rating is 1-255 where
 1 is worst and 255 is best. 0 is unknown. If no personal counter is
 wanted it may be omitted. When the counter reaches all one's, one
 byte is inserted in front of the counter thus making the counter
 eight bits bigger in the same away as the play counter ("CNT").
 There may be more than one "POP" frame in each tag, but only one with
 the same email address.
 
 Popularimeter "POP"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Email to user <textstring> $00
 Rating $xx
 Counter $xx xx xx xx (xx ...)


4.19. Recommended buffer size

 Sometimes the server from which a audio file is streamed is aware of
 transmission or coding problems resulting in interruptions in the
 audio stream. In these cases, the size of the buffer can be
 recommended by the server using this frame. If the 'embedded info
 flag' is true (1) then this indicates that an ID3 tag with the
 maximum size described in 'Buffer size' may occur in the audiostream.
 In such case the tag should reside between two MPEG [MPEG] frames, if
 the audio is MPEG encoded. If the position of the next tag is known,
 'offset to next tag' may be used. The offset is calculated from the
 end of tag in which this frame resides to the first byte of the header
 in the next. This field may be omitted. Embedded tags is currently not
 recommended since this could render unpredictable behaviour from
 present software/hardware. The 'Buffer size' should be kept to a
 minimum. There may only be one "BUF" frame in each tag.

 Recommended buffer size "BUF"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Buffer size $xx xx xx
 Embedded info flag %0000000x
 Offset to next tag $xx xx xx xx


4.20. Encrypted meta frame

 This frame contains one or more encrypted frames. This enables
 protection of copyrighted information such as pictures and text, that
 people might want to pay extra for. Since standardisation of such an
 encryption scheme is beyond this document, all "CRM" frames begin with
 a terminated string with a URL [URL] containing an email address, or a
 link to a location where an email adress can be found, that belongs to
 the organisation responsible for this specific encrypted meta frame.

 Questions regarding the encrypted frame should be sent to the
 indicated email address. If a $00 is found directly after the 'Frame
 size', the whole frame should be ignored, and preferably be removed.
 The 'Owner identifier' is then followed by a short content description
 and explanation as to why it's encrypted. After the
 'content/explanation' description, the actual encrypted block follows.

 When an ID3v2 decoder encounters a "CRM" frame, it should send the
 datablock to the 'plugin' with the corresponding 'owner identifier'
 and expect to receive either a datablock with one or several ID3v2
 frames after each other or an error. There may be more than one "CRM"
 frames in a tag, but only one with the same 'owner identifier'.

 Encrypted meta frame "CRM"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Owner identifier <textstring> $00 (00)
 Content/explanation <textstring> $00 (00)
 Encrypted datablock <binary data>


4.21. Audio encryption

 This frame indicates if the actual audio stream is encrypted, and by
 whom. Since standardisation of such encrypion scheme is beyond this
 document, all "CRA" frames begin with a terminated string with a
 URL containing an email address, or a link to a location where an
 email address can be found, that belongs to the organisation
 responsible for this specific encrypted audio file. Questions
 regarding the encrypted audio should be sent to the email address
 specified. If a $00 is found directly after the 'Frame size' and the
 audiofile indeed is encrypted, the whole file may be considered
 useless.

 After the 'Owner identifier', a pointer to an unencrypted part of the
 audio can be specified. The 'Preview start' and 'Preview length' is
 described in frames. If no part is unencrypted, these fields should be
 left zeroed. After the 'preview length' field follows optionally a
 datablock required for decryption of the audio. There may be more than
 one "CRA" frames in a tag, but only one with the same 'Owner
 identifier'.

 Audio encryption "CRA"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Owner identifier <textstring> $00 (00)
 Preview start $xx xx
 Preview length $xx xx
 Encryption info <binary data>


4.22. Linked information

 To keep space waste as low as possible this frame may be used to link
 information from another ID3v2 tag that might reside in another audio
 file or alone in a binary file. It is recommended that this method is
 only used when the files are stored on a CD-ROM or other circumstances
 when the risk of file seperation is low. The frame contains a frame
 identifier, which is the frame that should be linked into this tag, a
 URL [URL] field, where a reference to the file where the frame is
 given, and additional ID data, if needed. Data should be retrieved
 from the first tag found in the file to which this link points. There
 may be more than one "LNK" frame in a tag, but only one with the same
 contents. A linked frame is to be considered as part of the tag and
 has the same restrictions as if it was a physical part of the tag
 (i.e. only one "REV" frame allowed, whether it's linked or not).
 
 Linked information "LNK"
 Frame size $xx xx xx
 Frame identifier $xx xx xx
 URL <textstring> $00 (00)
 Additional ID data <textstring(s)>
 
 Frames that may be linked and need no additional data are "IPL",
 "MCI", "ETC", "LLT", "STC", "RVA", "EQU", "REV", "BUF", the text
 information frames and the URL link frames.
 
 The "TXX", "PIC", "GEO", "CRM" and "CRA" frames may be linked with the
 content descriptor as additional ID data.
 
 The "COM", "SLT" and "ULT" frames may be linked with three bytes of
 language descriptor directly followed by a content descriptor as
 additional ID data.


5. The 'unsynchronisation scheme'

 The only purpose of the 'unsychronisation scheme' is to make the ID3v2
 tag as compatible as possible with existing software. There is no use
 in 'unsynchronising' tags if the file is only to be processed by new
 software. Unsynchronisation may only be made with MPEG 2 layer I, II
 and III and MPEG 2.5 files.

 Whenever a false synchronisation is found within the tag, one zeroed
 byte is inserted after the first false synchronisation byte. The
 format of a correct sync that should be altered by ID3 encoders is as
 follows:

 %11111111 111xxxxx

 And should be replaced with:

 %11111111 00000000 111xxxxx

 This has the side effect that all $FF 00 combinations have to be
 altered, so they won't be affected by the decoding process. Therefore
 all the $FF 00 combinations have to be replaced with the $FF 00 00
 combination during the unsynchonisation.

 To indicate usage of the unsynchronisation, the first bit in 'ID3
 flags' should be set. This bit should only be set if the tag
 contained a, now corrected, false synchronisation. The bit should
 only be clear if the tag does not contain any false synchronisations.
 
 Do bear in mind, that if a compression scheme is used by the encoder,
 the unsyncronisation scheme should be applied *afterwards*. When
 decoding a compressed, 'unsyncronised' file, the 'unsyncronisation
 scheme' should be parsed first, compression afterwards.


6. Copyright

 Copyright (C) Martin Nilsson 1998. All Rights Reserved.

 This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
 others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
 or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
 and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
 kind, provided that a reference to this document is included on all
 such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may
 not be modified in any way and reissued as the original document.

 The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
 revoked.

 This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
 "AS IS" basis and THE AUTHORS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
 IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
 INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
 WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


7. References

 [CDDB] Compact Disc Data Base

 <url:http://www.cddb.com>

 [ISO-639-2] ISO/FDIS 639-2.
 Codes for the representation of names of languages, Part 2: Alpha-3
 code. Technical committee / subcommittee: TC 37 / SC 2

 [ISO-8859-1] ISO/IEC DIS 8859-1.
 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets, Part 1: Latin
 alphabet No. 1. Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 2

 [ISRC] ISO 3901:1986
 International Standard Recording Code (ISRC).
 Technical committee / subcommittee: TC 46 / SC 9

 [JFIF] JPEG File Interchange Format, version 1.02

 <url:http://www.w3.org/Graphics/JPEG/jfif.txt>
 
 [MIME] Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet Mail
 Extensions (MIME) Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies",
 RFC 2045, November 1996.
 
 <url:ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2045.txt>
 
 [MPEG] ISO/IEC 11172-3:1993.
 Coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage
 media at up to about 1,5 Mbit/s, Part 3: Audio.
 Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 29
 and 
 ISO/IEC 13818-3:1995
 Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information,
 Part 3: Audio.
 Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 29
 and 
 ISO/IEC DIS 13818-3
 Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information,
 Part 3: Audio (Revision of ISO/IEC 13818-3:1995)


 [PNG] Portable Network Graphics, version 1.0

 <url:http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-png-multi.html>

 [UNICODE] ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993.
 Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS), Part 1:
 Architecture and Basic Multilingual Plane. Technical committee
 / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 2

 <url:http://www.unicode.org>

 [URL] T. Berners-Lee, L. Masinter & M. McCahill, "Uniform Resource
 Locators (URL).", RFC 1738, December 1994.

 <url:ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1738.txt>


8. Appendix


A. Appendix A - ID3-Tag Specification V1.1

 ID3-Tag Specification V1.1 (12 dec 1997) by Michael Mutschler
 <amiga2@info2.rus.uni-stuttgart.de>, edited for space and clarity
 reasons.


A.1. Overview


 The ID3-Tag is an information field for MPEG Layer 3 audio files.
 Since a standalone MP3 doesn't provide a method of storing other
 information than those directly needed for replay reasons, the
 ID3-tag was invented by Eric Kemp in 1996.

 A revision from ID3v1 to ID3v1.1 was made by Michael Mutschler to
 support track number information is described in A.4.


A.2. ID3v1 Implementation

 The Information is stored in the last 128 bytes of an MP3. The Tag
 has got the following fields, and the offsets given here, are from
 0-127.

 Field Length Offsets
 Tag 3 0-2
 Songname 30 3-32
 Artist 30 33-62
 Album 30 63-92
 Year 4 93-96
 Comment 30 97-126
 Genre 1 127


 The string-fields contain ASCII-data, coded in ISO-Latin 1 codepage.
 Strings which are smaller than the field length are padded with zero-
 bytes.

 Tag: The tag is valid if this field contains the string "TAG". This
 has to be uppercase!

 Songname: This field contains the title of the MP3 (string as
 above).

 Artist: This field contains the artist of the MP3 (string as above).

 Album: this field contains the album where the MP3 comes from
 (string as above).

 Year: this field contains the year when this song has originally
 been released (string as above).

 Comment: this field contains a comment for the MP3 (string as
 above). Revision to this field has been made in ID3v1.1. See
 A.4.

 Genre: this byte contains the offset of a genre in a predefined
 list the byte is treated as an unsigned byte. The offset is
 starting from 0. See A.3.


A.3. Genre List

 The following genres is defined in ID3v1 

 0.Blues
 1.Classic Rock
 2.Country
 3.Dance
 4.Disco
 5.Funk
 6.Grunge
 7.Hip-Hop
 8.Jazz
 9.Metal
 10.New Age
 11.Oldies
 12.Other
 13.Pop
 14.R&B
 15.Rap
 16.Reggae
 17.Rock
 18.Techno
 19.Industrial
 20.Alternative
 21.Ska
 22.Death Metal
 23.Pranks
 24.Soundtrack
 25.Euro-Techno
 26.Ambient
 27.Trip-Hop
 28.Vocal
 29.Jazz+Funk
 30.Fusion
 31.Trance
 32.Classical
 33.Instrumental
 34.Acid
 35.House
 36.Game
 37.Sound Clip
 38.Gospel
 39.Noise
 40.AlternRock
 41.Bass
 42.Soul
 43.Punk
 44.Space
 45.Meditative
 46.Instrumental Pop
 47.Instrumental Rock
 48.Ethnic
 49.Gothic
 50.Darkwave
 51.Techno-Industrial
 52.Electronic
 53.Pop-Folk
 54.Eurodance
 55.Dream
 56.Southern Rock
 57.Comedy
 58.Cult
 59.Gangsta
 60.Top 40
 61.Christian Rap
 62.Pop/Funk
 63.Jungle
 64.Native American
 65.Cabaret
 66.New Wave
 67.Psychadelic
 68.Rave
 69.Showtunes
 70.Trailer
 71.Lo-Fi
 72.Tribal
 73.Acid Punk
 74.Acid Jazz
 75.Polka
 76.Retro
 77.Musical
 78.Rock & Roll
 79.Hard Rock
 
 The following genres are Winamp extensions
 
 80.Folk
 81.Folk-Rock
 82.National Folk
 83.Swing
 84.Fast Fusion
 85.Bebob
 86.Latin
 87.Revival
 88.Celtic
 89.Bluegrass
 90.Avantgarde
 91.Gothic Rock
 92.Progressive Rock
 93.Psychedelic Rock
 94.Symphonic Rock
 95.Slow Rock
 96.Big Band
 97.Chorus
 98.Easy Listening
 99.Acoustic
 100.Humour
 101.Speech
 102.Chanson
 103.Opera
 104.Chamber Music
 105.Sonata
 106.Symphony
 107.Booty Bass
 108.Primus
 109.Porn Groove
 110.Satire
 111.Slow Jam
 112.Club
 113.Tango
 114.Samba
 115.Folklore
 116.Ballad
 117.Power Ballad
 118.Rhythmic Soul
 119.Freestyle
 120.Duet
 121.Punk Rock
 122.Drum Solo
 123.A capella
 124.Euro-House
 125.Dance Hall


A.4. Track addition - ID3v1.1

 In ID3v1.1, Michael Mutschler revised the specification of the
 comment field in order to implement the track number. The new format
 of the comment field is a 28 character string followed by a mandatory
 null ($00) character and the original album tracknumber stored as an
 unsigned byte-size integer. In such cases where the 29th byte is not
 the null character or when the 30th is a null character, the
 tracknumber is to be considered undefined.


9. Author's Address

 Martin Nilsson
 Rydsv�gen 246 C. 30
 S-584 34 Link�ping
 Sweden

 Email: nilsson at id3.org

 Co-authors:

 Johan Sundstr�m Email: johan at id3.org

id3v2-00 (last edited 2012-10-08 22:15:41 by localhost)