Frequently Asked Questions

Here's a list of questions we often (read: more than once) receive, so please be sure to check them out before writing to one of our support e-mail addresses. Also note that there's a Support Forum where you'll find help and a feedback forum on uservoice for feature requests.

Please note that we enhance this list from time to time (as we don't invent questions just to have a lot of them answered), so have a look at the questions and answers before each mail you write to our support e-mail addresses.


General

A: All of setlist.fm's features are free for you to use. If there are ever features that aren't free to use, we promise not to charge you anything without getting your explicit agreement first.


Report a problem

A: Please don't do that, you can add or edit the setlist yourself. Check Editing setlists on this page for more information.

A: Same story as above, please edit it yourself.

A: To report a duplicate setlist e.g. a setlist that was created for a wrong date and now there's already one present for the correct date, please use the "Report setlist" link below the bottom-right edge of the setlist (be sure to be signed in).

A To report a fake or spam setlist (or a setlist for a canceled concert), please use the "Report setlist" link below the bottom-right edge of the setlist (be sure to be signed in).

A: Yes, you can report the song for review. Just click on the song on the setlist and use the report "Duplicate Song" link right below the facts table (be sure to be signed in). You'll have to paste the full URL of the correct song in the next step of the report.

A: Yes, please click on the song on the setlist and use the report "Wrong album assigned" link right below the facts table (be sure to be signed in).

A: First, please be sure that it's not a former/future name of a venue. We're keeping them apart for now, check the venue guidelines for details. If it's really a duplicate venue, then please use the link on the venue page (click the venue link on the setlist) that says "Duplicate venue" - be sure to be signed in to see it.

A: Yes, please use the "Report Festival" link on the festival page to report. If your issue can't be solved by reporting it using the link, then please post it to the Problems With Festivals topic. Please don't create new topics for festival problems, they really do mess up the forum.

A: If a venue's address, open/close dates, website, wiki page or notes are wrong or missing, then please use the "Add/edit details" link below the venue's info box (be sure to be signed in). The venue's city, name or aliases currently can't be reported in the described way however. Use the Problems with venues topic instead.

A: Check one of the topics with a light bulb in the Website Support Forum. In 99 out of 100 cases there's an existing topic that fits your needs. If there isn't, then please start a new topic, also in the Website Support Forum. Here's a list of forum topics for the most common cases:


Setlists

Adding setlists

A: First check if the setlist is missing using the searchbox. If it is missing, then this is how you can create a setlist:

  1. Get yourself a free account
  2. Have a look at the Guidelines and the Tutorial
  3. Click Add setlist on any page
  4. Add the setlist

A: You can add the event and even mark yourself as attendee for future concerts, but you won't be able to add songs. This is only possible (and allowed) after the concert has taken place. As a friendly reminder, only songs that were actually played can be added and assumed setlists are not allowed.

A: Please create a new setlist and report the other one as a duplicate.

A: Simply to avoid clutter. Since setlist.fm is still about what was actually played during a concert, the search currently doesn't include most future setlists. We're saying most as some of the results might actually be in the future. This is because they're given some leeway due to time zones and the like. An option to include future setlists in the search results might be added in the future. Until then you can see a list of future setlists on the respective artist pages.

Editing setlists

A: If you know of a concert that isn't listed on setlist.fm but should be, just go ahead and add it yourself (but be sure to check the Guidelines and the Tutorial first).

A: If you're sure there's an error in a setlist, just go ahead and edit it yourself. Be sure to add a source for your edit though. An online source or a link to a ticket stub should be enough in most cases.

A:  setlist.fm is a collaborative community effort. That means that anybody is free to edit setlists if they are missing, incomplete or wrong.

A: If you're really sure that the auto correction is incorrect, then there's an option in your user settings that allows you to display an enable/disable auto correction checkbox on the edit form.

A: We use your current location to give you results relevant to where you are. Thus search results might prefer venues and setlists near you to others. We don't store your location, we just use it while you're surfing on setlist.fm.

A: If there are two setlists of the same event, or a setlist of an event that never happened (such as Elvis Presley playing in Atlantis on the 32nd of December), please report the problem.

A: Go to your settings page and scroll down to "Setlist Edit Settings". Change the value in the dropdown choice with the label "Preferred Edit Format" back to one of the options under "Old Editor".
Since we're constantly trying to improve the new way of editing, you could do us a huge favor by telling us why you want to switch back in the New Editor Forum Topic. Thanks!

A: Your edits didn't follow the Guidelines and/or you didn't provide adequate sources for your edits. Stop editing for now and check the edit history of the setlists that got reverted and read the comments, they explain what you did wrong and often include a link to the applicable section of the guidelines. You can either ask for further information by posting a comment to the setlist or by posting your dispute to the Website Support Forum. In some cases you might have had exchanges with users with badges, then your best shot might be to get in touch with them and try to solve the issue amicably.

Sources and edit comments

A: It's important to know where you got your information from to check if it's correct. Different sources can have different information for the same concert, thus it's a lot easier for other users to retrace your edit and check the sources before editing themselves - or asking you for a source. It simply avoids arguments and prevents revert wars. Take a look at the Guidelines for sources for examples of valid sources.

A: Something that seems obvious to you or other experienced users can be pretty confusing for people who have only recently started to edit setlists. If you're applying simple fixes, then adding a link to the section in the guidelines that explains your edit in detail actually helps them a lot.

A: Sorry, but no. It's just that the same rules apply to everybody and experienced users, roadies, moderators, admins should all lead by example to make it easier for new users. Also it often helps to be able to explain edits years after you did them to people inquiring.

A: Yes there is. You don't need to write the same source/comment over and over again. Just use the "new" (as of August 2020, change it in your settings under "Preferred Edit Format") edit form and your most recent sources will always be displayed before submitting. So it's just a single click that takes 2 seconds, but only if you're a slow clicker, which you aren't.

A: Nobody's trying to harass you. The likeliest case is that your comments and sources either lack validity or don't add much information. You should focus on explaining why you edited the setlist, not what you did. For example "changed cover artist" isn't a very good comment. It's obvious by having a look at the change. Better try something like "Changed cover artist for 'Gloria' from 'Van Morrison' to 'Them' as it's been first released by 'Them' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_(Them_song)), see The Guidelines for cover songs.

Deleting setlists

A: Use a one of the report links and one of our skilled moderators will look into it. Don't post it to the forum.
If you are logged in, you can report it by clicking one of the "Report a problem" links on the bottom right below the setlist. Please also take a look at the "Report a problem" section below.


Artists

Adding new artists

A: Short version: Follow the instructions on the Import Artist Page. Long version: In order to keep our database clean we strongly rely on the musicbrainz.org database. Each artist that got accepted by the Musicbrainz community will eventually get to our database as well. So if you'd like to add an artist to our database, head over to Musicbrainz and add the artist there. Note that it might take several days until the artist gets to the setlist.fm database... but most of the time it should be imported straight away if you use the form on the aforementioned page. We know that's a bit tedious, but it's in the interests of all users to have a clean database, or would you like to see setlists for NIN, N.I.N. and Nine Inch Nails as three separate bands?

A: There can be several reasons why an artist couldn't be imported, starting with the most common:

  1. The artist is a new addition to Musicbrainz: you just have to give it some more time (days) to appear on setlist.fm
  2. The artist doesn't have a primary English alias: This affects artists that have a non-Latin name on Musicbrainz. In this case an artist can't be imported without a primary English alias. Be sure that the alias looks similar to this example .
  3. The artist is intentionally filtered due to legal or ethical restrictions.

Lesser known artists and bands

A: Certainly! Just be sure to add them on musicbrainz.org (see this question: Add a new artists) in order to appear in our database.


Albums

Adding new albums

A:  In order to keep our database clean we strongly rely on the musicbrainz.org database. Each album that got accepted by the Musicbrainz community will eventually get to our database as well. So if you'd like to add an album to our database, head over to Musicbrainz and add the album there. Note that only official albums are imported and that it might take several days until the album gets to the setlist.fm database. Also be sure to abide by Musicbrainz's guidelines at all times!

A:  Here's a checklist what to do, please be sure to complete each item in the list before posting anything to the forum:

  1. Check if it's an official album.
    1. For reference, open the musicbrainz.org Release Group page of an album that you know that has been imported to setlist.fm. For example Out of Time by R.E.M.
    2. Open the Release Group page of the album that you'd like to import
    3. On your reference page, see where it says Official? It's right between the table headers and the link to the first release.
    4. Check on the page of the album you'd like to import whether it says Official there too. If it says (Unknown) then you need to edit the release group on musicbrainz.org. But only set it to Official if it's indeed an official album. Providing wrong data on musicbrainz.org to get around the setlist.fm import restrictions is not allowed. It'll work too if it's a previously official album that now has the status Withdrawn.
  2. Check if there are non-Latin characters in the album's name
    1. Stay on the Release Group page you opened in the last step.
    2. Have a look at the Release Group's name at the very top and the list of release names in the table. If neither the Release Group's name nor any of the listed releases have a name that consists only of Latin characters, then you need to add an alias for the Release Group on musicbrainz.org.
  3. Wait at least two weeks for your edits on musicbrainz.org to be approved and imported to setlist.fm.

If you don't want to edit stuff on musicbrainz.org, then that's fine too. Just go ahead and report the issue in the forum topic mentioned below. It would help a lot if you identified the problem before posting though (official album and/or non-Latin characters).

A: Report it in the Albums Missing Despite Being on Musicbrainz forum topic. Be sure to mention that you've completed the checklist above (or at least that you tried to), otherwise chances are that you'll just get sent back to the FAQ.


Concerts & festivals

Festivals

A: Yes, there could be some festivals missing. If you care to help, either learn how to add festivals or post it to the forum.

A: Go to the setlists of the concerts you attended at the festival and add yourself there by clicking I was there. Note that you have to be logged in for that.

A: No! For the sake of rock and roll, no! Please report the existing festival instead.

A: Have a look at the festival guidelines first. If you're still stuck, then post it to the forum.

Support acts

A: We'll take care of that. Just be sure that the venues match and that the dates are right - then you'll see the concerts neatly grouped together on the setlist page.


My account & settings

Attended concerts and personal statistics

A: Easy, click the "I Was There" button on any setlist - just be sure to be signed in!

Profile Image

A: Either connect your setlist.fm account to your Facebook account on your settings page or head over to Gravatar.com and add a pic there. Just be sure that the email addresses match.

Badges

A: Users with badges next to their names have special powers, currently there are three different types of badges:

  • Red badge: Admins – They know what's under the hood. Responsible for bugs, errors but also for new features.
  • Blue badge: Moderators – Experts. They know everything about setlist.fm, so their decisions are not made at random but are based on knowledge and experience. Furthermore, they have special powers for setlists, songs and artists.
  • Purple badge: Roadies – Experts in their niche. They're mostly taking care of their favourite artists and venues, but also possess special rights for advanced features.

Friends

A: The list of friends are the users' Facebook friends. Just connect your setlist.fm account with your facebook account and all of your friends who did the same will appear on your userpage. If no friends appear, be sure to tell them about setlist.fm and to connect their accounts ;-).

Importing attended concerts from other sites

A: Unfortunately this feature is no longer available as last.fm removed this feature from their public API. Sorry.

Connecting with other services

A: The main benefit is that you don't need to worry about usernames and passwords anymore. Once connected, you will be able to sign into your setlist.fm account with the credentials of your Facebook, Twitter etc. account. Connecting will also make it easier for you to share things. 'Is it secure?' you might ask? See the next question.

A: No need to worry, setlist.fm will never see any of your passwords from the connected websites. It'll never even come near to our servers.

A: Go to your settings page and change it there.

Cancel/delete my account

A: Although the setlist.fm team generally considers this a bad decision, there's a section on your settings page where you can do your dirty deed. No seriously, before you cancel your account, you can always tell us what's wrong and we'll try to sort it out without having to cancel your account.


Forum

A: Sorry for that, please contact us immediately.


Musicbrainz

What is musicbrainz.org?

A: No, musicbrainz.org isn't part of setlist.fm. It's an amazing open data service with a structured open online database for music. The people there do a brilliant job in adding, editing and checking (among other things) artist and release data. setlist.fm uses this checked data for e.g. artists and albums.

A: No, please don't do this. Please stick to the musicbrainz.org guidelines at all times. There are a lot of websites depending on Musicbrainz's data to be correct. If there's a problem with data from Musicbrainz on setlist.fm, please rather post it to the forum.

Editing Albums

A: Album information can only be edited on Musicbrainz. Usually it will be the earliest release in the release group that gets imported; you can't force a later release to take precedence.

A: Yes. On Musicbrainz, for artists who have multiple albums with the same title, you may notice a grey disambiguation note in parentheses after the album title on Musicbrainz (e.g. "(first album)", "(2002)", etc.).

A: You may have some experience adding primary English aliases for artists whose name is written in an exotic script. Getting albums to import is a similar process, just a bit more complicated.

  1. First, open up the release group in question. Open the release you'd like to import in a new tab, then click Edit to see its Release Information. In your original tab (still looking at the release group), click Add release in the editing panel on the right.
  2. Copy-and-paste all the Release Information from the existing release into your new release. (Language, script, release date, country, record label, cat. no., barcode, packaging, and annotation/disambiguation/external links if you wish.) Then, close the existing release to prevent yourself from accidentally changing anything.
  3. In your new release, for the release Status, choose Pseudo-Release in the drop-down menu. Click Next at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Find your existing release in the list of similar releases, select it, and click Next.
  5. Replace every song with non-Latin characters in the tracklist with its Latin equivalent. This can be either its transliteration or translation, depending on what information is available on the Internet/what the artist prefers. Check Wikipedia and the artist's website. Try to use official translations rather than your own translations whenever possible and be sure to comply with Musicbrainz's Transliterations Guidelines. Click Next.
  6. Now you need to link each track title you changed with its original title. Go through the list, clicking each angry red Edit button and selecting the original title in the list (almost always the first one suggested). When all tracks have been linked, click Next.
  7. Add an edit note providing your source for the translation/transliteration, and then Enter your edit!
  8. Wait for up to a week for the data to be transferred to setlist.fm's servers.

A: If your album title includes non-Latin characters in the title only (and not in its tracks), then see below. If both album title and tracks contain non-Latin characters then you have a few extra steps:

  1. Create a Pseudo-Release (as explained above).
  2. Open the release group in question. You should see a list of the official release(s) and your pseudo-release. Open your official release and pseudo-release in two separate tabs.
  3. On the pseudo-release page, click Edit relationships in the editing panel on the right.
  4. Scroll down to Release Relationships, then click Add relationship. Where it says Artist, click that menu and select Release.
  5. Copy-and-paste the Musicbrainz ID from the URL of the official release (in your other tab) into the paste an MBID field of this window. Ensure that transliterated/translated track listings is selected in the Type menu, click Change direction (it should now read transliterated/translated track listing of), and then click Done.
  6. Enter your edit. Your pseudo-release is now linked with the official release, and the title of the pseudo-release can be used in lieu of the official release's title on setlist.fm. Again, wait for up to a week for your update to be transferred.

A: If only the album title includes non-Latin characters, then you can just add an alias to the release group:

  1. Open the release group in question an click on Aliases in the tabbed navigation.
  2. Click Add a new alias.
  3. Add an alias name that contains only Latin characters in the field that says Alias name
  4. Optionally provide a Locale in the Locale field.
  5. In the Type field, choose the value Release group name
  6. Provide an edit note in the very last field and enter your edit.

More questions?

A: Nope, first check out the forum, then have a look at the guidelines ... or as a last resort contact us.