Gracenote

Gracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB (Compact Disc Data Base), is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search digital media. Gracenote provides its media management technology and global media database of digital entertainment information to the mobile, automobile, portable, home, and PC markets. Several computer software applications that are capable of playing CDs, such as http://alternativeto.net/software/winamp/, http://alternativeto.net/software/sony-media-go/, and http://alternativeto.net/software/itunes/, use Gracenote's CDDB technology. Gracenote’s database was originally created from and continues to receive voluntary contributions from users. This led to a licensing controversy when Gracenote became commercialized.