Wrong release years usually come from remasters, re-releases and compilations: your music service shows the date of that version, not the year the song first came out. Yearify, built into Bopster, fixes this by looking up the earliest release year of every song in your playlist and letting you review each change before it is saved.
Why song release years are often wrong
When you import a playlist, each song comes in with the date of the exact recording or album it links to. For many songs that is not the original. A classic from the 70s can link to a 2011 remaster, a "greatest hits" album from 2004 or a holiday compilation from last year.
In everyday listening that doesn't matter. In a music guessing game it does: the year is what everyone is trying to guess, and one wrong card can decide who wins.
What Yearify does
Yearify checks each song against Bopster's own music database, built on Discogs data, and looks for the earliest release year of that song. When it finds an earlier year than the one in your playlist, it suggests a correction. You see the old and the new year side by side and decide what to keep.
How to fix wrong release years with Yearify
- Open your playlist in the Studio.
- Under Tools, choose Check release years with Yearify.
- Pick what to check: Check all songs, or search, sort and select only the songs you doubt.
- Choose your options (see below) and press Start Analysis.
- Watch the live preview: release years appear as each song is checked.
- When the scan is complete, use Analyze results to go through the old and new years, then Apply & return to save them to your playlist.
Enhanced Check and AI fallback
- Enhanced Check also looks at other sources for songs that aren't in the main database. It takes longer, so it's worth it for rare tracks, local hits and very new releases.
- Generative AI fallback tries to correct songs Yearify can't find in the Discogs database at all. Accuracy is not guaranteed, so check those results before you print.
Check a single song
Not sure about one song? Yearify has a Single Song Check: type the song name and, optionally, the artist, and it looks up the year for you. Handy when someone at the table insists they know better.
When to double-check by hand
Yearify gets most songs right, but a few cases are tricky by nature:
- Cover versions and re-recordings: make sure the year belongs to the version you actually play.
- Live versions: decide whether you want the year of the live recording or the original song.
- Songs that became hits later: the release year can be years before the song was popular. That's correct, but it can surprise players.
After Yearify, it's time to design your cards in the Designer. The full process is in how to create your own music cards.
Yearify and the Library
Want to share your playlist with everyone? Before a playlist goes public in the Library, the Studio's checklist asks you to run Yearify first. Playlists whose years were checked carry the Yearified label, and you can filter the Library on it to find decks you can trust.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my playlist show a remaster year instead of the original?
Imported songs carry the date of the version they link to, such as a remaster or compilation. Yearify looks up the earliest release year of the song so you can replace it.
Can I check the release year of just one song?
Yes. Use the Single Song Check in Yearify: enter the song name and optionally the artist. You can also select only a few songs from your playlist before starting a full check.
Does Yearify change my playlist automatically?
No. Yearify shows the old and new year for each song, and the changes are only saved when you choose Apply & return.
Where does Yearify get its release years?
From Bopster's own music database, built on Discogs data. Enhanced Check adds other sources, and the optional AI fallback tries songs that can't be found anywhere else.
