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Modify iTunes ID3 tags and fileds for better organization
Authored by: pub3abn on Aug 26, '05 10:46:54AM

I guess this hits on a pet peeve of mine: when people put data into MP3 fields that does not match the field content (putting artist in the song name field, putting the conductor in the album name field, or what has been suggested here), and then submitting that to online music databases (such as the one iTunes accesses).

I also listen to lots of classical music, and like to group by composer. Here are two easy options: (1) Add the composer field to the displayed columns in your iTunes music lists, then you can click that column to group composers together. (2) Make a Smart Playlist for only songs that contain composers, and/or songs with a specific composer (Bach, etc.).



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Modify iTunes ID3 tags and fileds for better organization
Authored by: tjarrett on Aug 26, '05 11:23:41AM

Agree with pub3abn, and would go further:

If you are entering the performers in the composer field and the composers in the Artist field, and then uploading track data to the CDDB, there is a special place in Hell for you.

(Not saying you're doing that, fractacular, just seizing on an opportunity to vent. I'm in the middle of ripping my entire CD collection, and my 180 classical CDs are giving me huge headaches because of inconsistent CDDB data.)

My own workaround for the craziness that is mixing classical and non-classical tags is to define a smart playlist (Genre is Classical), then define a custom view for that playlist that shows the Composer and Grouping fields. (Like the iTunes Music Store, I use the Grouping field for the name of the work and Title for the name of the movement.) This resolves most of the problems: all the data is in the right place, and you can use all of it within iTunes.

The drawback, of course, is on the iPod. There is as yet no way that I know to display Grouping or Composer on the iPod screen (though at least you can browse by composer).



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