Discogs ( ; short for "
discographies") is a
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
of information about
audio recordings, including
commercial releases, promotional releases, and
bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as "
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
-like".
While the site was originally created with the goal of becoming the largest online database of
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
,
it now includes releases in all
genres and on all
formats.
By 2015, it had a new goal: that of "cataloging every single piece of physical music ever created." As of 2025, its database contains over 18 million user-submitted album listings.
History
Discogs was started in 2000 by Kevin Lewandowski who worked as a programmer at
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
.
It was originally started from a computer in Lewandowski's closet and was limited to electronic music. By 2015, Discogs had 37 employees, 3 million users, and a monthly traffic of 20 million visits.
In 2005, Discogs launched a marketplace where users can buy and sell albums. The Discogs Marketplace is modeled similar to
Amazon and
eBay, where sellers offer items for sale and a fee is charged on the sold item.
Its album listings are filterable by the country they ship from, format, currency, genre, style, format description, media condition, year released, seller name, and whether the buyer is invited to "make an offer."
In July 2007, a new
subscription-based system for sellers was introduced on the site, called ''Market Price History''. It gave premium users access to the past price items that were sold for up to 12 months ago by previous sellers who had sold exactly the same release (though 60 days of information was free). At the same time, the US$12 per year charge for advanced subscriptions was abolished, as it was felt that the extra features should be made available to all subscribers, now that a different
revenue stream had been found from sellers and purchasers. Later that year, all paid access features were discarded and full use of the site became free of charge, allowing all users to view the full 12-month Market Price History of each item.
See also
*
List of online music databases
*
Global Electronic Music Marketplace
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American music websites
Companies based in Portland, Oregon
Internet properties established in 2000
Online music and lyrics databases
Social cataloging applications