iTunes sorting. I can't be the only one on the planet with this issue...

I have over 500 GB of mp3's. My master folder is on a windows 7 box and I've copied all the files to an external hard drive. My files are all organized by artist name with sub folders for each "album/CD/release." I've added all of the tracks to iTunes. Many songs do not have tags. They only have the file name. I know where they are because I've set up all the folders.

My problem is that many songs show up in iTunes with lot's and lots of blank spaces. Another problem is that I have multiple issues (for example, I have about 10 different mixes/versions of Dark Side of the Moon). I'd like to be able to discern versions/mastering but in iTunes all I can "see" is multiple listings of songs (10 versions of Money). They all show up as simply "Money." I can't discern the mix.

Is there any way to show file location in iTunes? Any suggestions with out having to manually add tags (I'm 50 and it'd probably take the rest of my life to manipulate my collection).

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

There are third party utilities like TuneUp and scripts by Doug Adams that could help, but the real problem here is that your music (apparently) mostly comes from pirating (I say this due to the lack of proper tagging -- imported and purchased songs don't have this problem).

The second issue is that you are still doing all the management work instead of letting iTunes do it. Isn't that why you bought a computer, so you didn't have to do all that?

TuneUp (et al) will help to some extent, but there will still be a LOT of manual work ahead of you for the versioning (like your example of Pink Floyd's "Money") and tagging for songs that don't come from commercial CDs. Read on for a possible solution, though ...

I can only suggest that you prioritize the music collection a bit and get the legal copies of the songs you really need -- which will of course already by properly tagged, with artwork etc, not to mention being of higher quality -- and use TuneUp and manual methods to handle the rest -- at least as far as shifting the artist/title info in the filenames (if present) into the tags (there's a script that can do this for you, check my link above).

You might also want to check out the $25/year "iTunes Match" service, which should be going online very soon. It basically examines your library and backs most of it* up to the cloud ... plus it can optionally replace your inferior copies with 256kbit AAC copies (fully tagged) at no additional cost. Sound like it would be right up your alley.

My music doesn't come from pirating. I have hundreds of radio shows (Westwood One, King Biscuit Flower Hour, Etc.). I also have hundreds of Japanese CD's and European CD's that don't have tags in any data bases. Thanks. I'll give Tune up a try.

Or save yourself some hassle and download Songbird. It should sort your music in the same way the songs are listed.

Doug

afriqueart said:

My music doesn't come from pirating. I have hundreds of radio shows (Westwood One, King Biscuit Flower Hour, Etc.). I also have hundreds of Japanese CD's and European CD's that don't have tags in any data bases. Thanks. I'll give Tune up a try.

Click to expand...

My apologies, when you said "MP3s" I was of course thinking "songs" rather than "radio shows."

I know a number of collectors who also have Euro/Japan CDs that aren't always available in the sources iTunes draws from, but I find that Discogs often has the info (though there is not -- yet -- any way for iTunes to pull from Discogs automatically).

Found a good site (long winded process) but very detailed on how to 'manage' your library over various platforms albeit another computer or an external hard drive.

having scanned through i will now attempt to do it myself. happy to share though.
Transferring your iTunes Library | iLounge Article

if this deletes all of your music, remember this. All messages posted become the property of Mac-Forums.com...and therefore all liability with it;D

good luck and if it helps, please advise

J

EDIT: i have just done gone through this and it is whirring away...please note: connect your hard drive direct to the computer and not as i did, via airspace through WiFi...it looks like it will take a week to complete...