Metadata

Recently StarShipSofa has been delivering podcast files to me that contain 3rd party ads. It is their hosting provider that is inserting the ads, but both times I have been aksed if this my client is to blame.

I am certain PocketCasts would never do this.

Maybe there is something in the file that would indicate who did the encoding?

play (from the sox package)

$ play starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3:

starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3:

File Size: 33.7M     Bit Rate: 64.0k
  Encoding: MPEG audio    
  Channels: 1 @ 16-bit   
Samplerate: 44100Hz      Album: StarShipSofa
Replaygain: off         Artist: StarShipSofa
  Duration: 01:10:10.78  Title: StarShipSofa No 454 Alex Shvartsman and Stephen S. Power

In:0.05% 00:00:02.04 [01:10:08.74] Out:90.1k [  -===|===-  ]        Clip:0

Just the file name and year, lets try ffprobe from the ffmpeg tools:

ffprobe

$ ffprobe starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3:

[mp3 @ 0x809691000] Skipping 0 bytes of junk at 159.
[mp3 @ 0x809691000] Estimating duration from bitrate, this may be inaccurate
Input #0, mp3, from 'starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3':
  Metadata:
    title           : StarShipSofa No 454 Alex Shvartsman and Stephen S. Power
    album           : StarShipSofa
    artist          : StarShipSofa
    date            : 2016
  Duration: 01:10:10.39, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 64 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Audio: mp3, 44100 Hz, mono, s16p, 64 kb/s

Nothing more there, a google says there is something called mp3info:

mp3info

$ mp3info starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3:

starshipsofa-454-ads.mp3 does not have an ID3 1.x tag.

Well that was no good at all.

I don't have a ton of time to find the mp3 metadata might be, none of these tools show anything. I guess that means I can be happy I am not leaking info when I encode an mp3, or I can't find it with normal tools.

Reading: Little Brother