How does your CD player know what the track title is? Or more importantly, how to ensure that song titles are displayed correctly. There is confusion as to where this track information is stored. For CD players found in cars, the track information is actually read from the disc itself. In the mastering process there is the opportunity to add ‘CD Text’ which is then encoded within the disc.
But iTunes and Windows Media Player do not read ‘CD Text’ so displaying ‘Unknown Album’ is a frequent response for independent musicians. iTunes, Windows Media Player and other software players actually get the track information from online databases kept by Gracenote, AMG and others. When you insert a new CD, it sends a request over the internet for the track information. If the CD is not found, no track information can be sent.