Original album/track artwork keeps getting replaced by compilation artwork

Original album/track artwork keeps getting replaced by compilation artwork

I have been using stats.fm since 2022, and I am still experiencing the same issue that I have reported many times over the years (both in this Discord server and through the in-app reporting system).

The issue: Original album/track artwork is repeatedly being replaced by artwork from newer compilation albums, as shown in the image below.

For example, a track that originally belongs to an artist's own album may initially display the correct album artwork, but eventually stats.fm replaces it with artwork from a newer compilation that happens to contain the same track.

This is incredibly frustrating. It misrepresents the artist's original release and makes the stats.fm library look inaccurate, especially when browsing listening history, top tracks, or albums.

Ideally, stats.fm should prioritize the original/earliest official release associated with the artist and its artwork. A later compilation containing the same recording should never overwrite the artwork or album association of the original release.

I understand that catalog matching can be complicated, but this has been happening for years. I have personally reported incorrect artwork many times, only for the same problem to return later.

This is also why fixing individual reports does not really solve the underlying problem. Even when an incorrect cover is fixed on a case-by-case basis, several months later another seemingly random compilation cover can replace the correct artwork again. At that point, repeatedly submitting individual reports feels useless because the underlying catalog/matching behavior remains unchanged.

Could this please be addressed at the catalog/matching level rather than only correcting individual tracks after users report them? Also, this issue is widely reported in both the feedback.stats.fm AS WELL AS the discord channel