At one time, it was not required. There was an option to create your own database from scratch. But, why reinvent the wheel? I removed that option to encourage the use of the starter database.
With over 9,000 personnel names, nearly 19,000 songs with composers, over 600 labels, the starter database for Beyond Category that is available for download is a huge timesaver for catalogers. This makes it easier to get down to the real business of adding the albums to your database. Inevitably every cataloger will need to create these elements at some point, but using the carefully researched starter data aids in consistency and helps new users avoid potential confusion.
The starter database includes one album – the Kind Of Blue album by Miles Davis. As it is the best selling jazz album, chances are you already have it. I include it as an demonstration of what each album will look like.
Download the starter database and place it where you store your user data on your computer. Instead of using New in the Beyond Category File menu, use Open to open the starter database and start entering your album data.
Of course, you will run into songs, names, and labels that are not on the database, but you can add those as you need them. What you won’t need to bother with are most of the popular jazz tunes and names.
If, for some reason this is a problem for you, then contact me. I will resolve your problem and, if needed, I can customize the starter database to work for you.