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I don't have Itunes. Only CD and vinyl.
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Posted: |
Nov 13, 2021 - 10:53 AM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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iTunes still exists! I have an older iMac but the newer ones have iTunes though maybe its called something else now? I dunno. You can add artwork very easily.
My iTunes library is massive!
I have playlist folders for each genre. Animation, Anime, Classical, Composer Compilations, Documentary, Game , Holiday, Movie , Television, etc.
I make playlist folders under each genre for franchise soundtracks or titles with more than one album. (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.) I have individual playlists for each album, usually OST, Expanded, Fan- Edit.
I also make Smart Playists by composer. So under composers I can see all the soundtracks I have from a particular composer.
I have approximately 4100 albums in my iTunes library.
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I have approximately 4100 albums in my iTunes library.
And I thought I had a lot at 2500!
Those smart playlists are just too much fun though. Combining franchise scores, genres and composers with rotating data such as number of plays or tracks last played just can't be beat. So many variations and combinations to keep it fresh and interesting.
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My count is at 4350 but a lot of duplicate files. Some are also CD box sets and iTunes counts each CD as an album. I need to, one day, prune the library. But man that's a boring job.
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I made the mistake of joining Apple Music and syncing my libraries, which changed a lot of my album covers. When I cancelled the paid service, it never restored all of my covers. Even though they show up on iTunes, they don't show up on my phone. So random tracks are coverless. F'n annoying.
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Apple Music has a feature that allows users to add metadata into the tracks themselves, such as:
grouping
genre
year
track _ of _
disc number _ of _
So my question to you is this. Should I get rid of the (Disc 1) identifier for each CD and have the entire multi-disc release in one folder with the Metadata doing the work in separating the actual CDs they were ripped from, or should would it be better to keep each CD in it's own album folder?
I suppose it depends on what you prefer. I try to keep my collection very well organized, and avoid superfluous entries. That means I generally use ONE album for ONE actual release, even if it contains multiple discs. (There are some exceptions though.)
So in case of say Intrada's ALIEN, it's ALIEN.
I actually did write entries for groupings (i.e. Goldsmith: Alien (Film Score); Goldsmith: Alien (OST Album); Goldsmith: Alien (Alternates. etc.), but I don't really need or use them for anything.
In any case, I even keep stuff like Bernstein: Mahler Symphonies as ONE album, even though it's 16 CDs.
So it's:
Name of album: Mahler: Symphonies & Orchestral Songs / Bernstein (DGG)
Album Artist: Gustav Mahler
Artist: Leonard Bernstein: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (this entry varies from CD to CD)
Composer: Gustav Mahler
Year: (varies from recording to recording)
I have the cover of CD 1, Track 1 and CD 16, Track 2 (last track on that CD) the "complete" cover, as some players use the first, others the last cover for to display an album, and all the in between tracks have covers of the original individual CD releases, so Symphony 1, 2, 3 etc. all have their "own" covers. Cover art is embedded in each individual file, that way, it never gets messed up.
Now this approach works for me, I try to have "fewer" albums in my collection, it's easier for me to maintain my collection this way. It also reflects more the way my CDs are organized in the shelf. I dislike the "CD 1, CD 2" identifiers, and instead enter the disc numbers (like "1 of 2" , "2 of 2").
It also means all files that belong to one album are in one folder.
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Alien [Original Soundtrack Album]
But then on some titles I wanted the OST to carry on after the expanded programme, almost as if they were additional tracks, so I changed the album name to Alien and used disc 1 for the expanded version + bonus tracks and disc 2 for the OST (How I wish Apple let you rename the disc titles). That way if I wanted to just listen to the OST I can still easily find it, or else if I just play the album I get the lot. Personally I would never put each disc as a separate album nor would I keep Disc 1 or Disc 2 to replicate how they were on CD - but that's just me.
I generally like to keep the tracks of a CD on the album as they are, as that has the advantage that they easily be verified with Accurate Rip. However, I do have some albums I "splitted". For example, THE RIVER WILD has the Maurice Jarre score and the Jerry Goldsmith score in separate folders. I even have Rosenman's HELL IS FOR HEROES as one album, and Fielding's ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ as another album. Though I kept the original track numbers (1-10 is Rosenman, Fielding 11-29), so I theoretically could put them together again any time I want.
I also find that's almost impossible to come up with a one size fits all for every release. FSM's Ben Hur release for instance - if I followed the above example I'd have all album releases / rerecordings all on the one "album". In this instance I've split each recording out as separate albums - but I've kept the two Savina albums are one title but disc 1 and disc 2 so they play through as if one. So while I have a rough "policy" as it were, I also have many instances where I've not followed it because it doesn't make sense for the title.
Yes, sometimes it makes sense to break up larger albums. In fact, have the Intrada release of the AVA collection separated into six individual albums (the way the original LPs were released). Sometimes it just makes sense to "break up" a release, sometimes it makes sense to "group" them.
As you said, it depends on your needs and preferences.
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...So my question to you is this. Should I get rid of the (Disc 1) identifier for each CD and have the entire multi-disc release in one folder with the Metadata doing the work in separating the actual CDs they were ripped from, or should would it be better to keep each CD in it's own album folder?
Yeah, to echo what Nicolai P. Zwar says, I keep those multi-disc releases in one folder and do not break them apart, no matter how many discs for that "album" or release. The disc numbers listed within the album suffice.
I'm a little concerned, though, after reading the work that some of you do with the files themselves, that I have not done enough cleanup. I focus on cleanup of the title track names, album names... all of the metadata within the iTunes software itself before importing, however, I've rarely gone into the files themselves and made changes. When I have delved into the files on my hard drive, I often find myself unhappy with what I see...such as the files being alphabetized by first name. I've shied away from going in and cleaning it up to my satisfaction because it then causes iTunes to not find the file and you then have to turn around and point it to the right location.
I fear I don't know enough about what I am doing to not cause a lot of problems with my rather large library. Still, if I feel the need to clean up the files that badly I guess I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that it will be a big project.
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I'm a little concerned, though, after reading the work that some of you do with the files themselves, that I have not done enough cleanup. I focus on cleanup of the title track names, album names... all of the metadata within the iTunes software itself before importing, however, I've rarely gone into the files themselves and made changes. When I have delved into the files on my hard drive, I often find myself unhappy with what I see...such as the files being alphabetized by first name. I've shied away from going in and cleaning it up to my satisfaction because it then causes iTunes to not find the file and you then have to turn around and point it to the right location.
In iTunes, there is a setting (under "Advanced") that says "Keep iTunes Media Folder organized". If you set that, the iTunes will maintain the files and folders according to any changes you make in iTunes. So that already helps to keep the files and folders organized to a point. Not sure what you mean by going into the files themselves apart from that?
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Posted: |
Dec 6, 2021 - 9:59 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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So it's:
Name of album: Mahler: Symphonies & Orchestral Songs / Bernstein (DGG)
Album Artist: Gustav Mahler
Artist: Leonard Bernstein: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (this entry varies from CD to CD)
Composer: Gustav Mahler
Year: (varies from recording to recording)
That's a complex sorting system. I always keep album artist and composer the same. Whoever performs the music (what orchestra etc.) is of little importance to me when I'm listening, and it might be displayed on the cover anyway.
For year, I usually enter year of release. But in some cases, I enter year of composition instead. For example, if a soundtrack comes out 2-3 years after the film, the film gets the year. For classical recordings, I don't put the recording date, but the year of composition (if available). Which means I have years going back to the 1600s.
I also use genre, but leave the other spaces open.
As others above, I keep multidisc sets within the same album. But I split up if there are different scores on the same disc.
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So it's:
Name of album: Mahler: Symphonies & Orchestral Songs / Bernstein (DGG)
Album Artist: Gustav Mahler
Artist: Leonard Bernstein: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (this entry varies from CD to CD)
Composer: Gustav Mahler
Year: (varies from recording to recording)
That's a complex sorting system. I always keep album artist and composer the same. Whoever performs the music (what orchestra etc.) is of little importance to me when I'm listening, and it might be displayed on the cover anyway.
Album artist and composer is often the same (as in film scores or classical music), as in the example both is "Gustav Mahler". Artist is then the actual performer. In pop music, the album artist is usually the performer rather than the composer. It's actually quite simple system, more or less consistent and keeps everything more or less in focus. Works for me in any case. But guests also usually find their way quickly through my collection.
Performers are of vital importance to me, and I would want them displayed on my streamer as well. So I would want to see if it's Mahler conducted by Bernstein, Abbado, Karajan, or Boulez... including orchestra.
So when I listen to classical music on my hifi system, it shows me who composed it and who performs it. Not much use for me seeing who composed it twice. (My hifi system does not show cover.)
I keep re-recordings like that too. So Tadlow's QB VII is Album artist: "Jerry Goldsmith" and artist is "Nic Raine: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra". On the Intrada OST, on the other hand, both is "Jerry Goldsmith". It's important to me that there is not just the composer of a piece, but also performer.
For year, I usually enter year of release. But in some cases, I enter year of composition instead. For example, if a soundtrack comes out 2-3 years after the film, the film gets the year. For classical recordings, I don't put the recording date, but the year of composition (if available). Which means I have years going back to the 1600s.
No, I only have recording dates. Not much use for me to have the date of composition in classical music, as they would be the same in all recordings. I find it more useful to have the recording date.
I also use genre, but leave the other spaces open.
I use genre, but only in a very general way. (I think I have about ten.). I might use genres more once I find a good way to use multiple genres.
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To each their own and all that. I like the more sleek and minimal way of doing it. So that Gustav Mahler thing you mentioned would be "Gustav Mahler" in artist/performer and "Gustav Mahler" in composer.
Yeah, I like it sleek and consistent too, but not to the point of vital information missing. But I hear mostly classical music, and the performer is a vital information there.
If a Chopin Nocturne comes up, I'd want to see if it is played by Barenboim or Pollini on the display. That is just an information almost as important as the composer itself, as the performances will nevertheless be very different.
That's one of the problems iTunes has, it's basically made for pop music collections and classical music is more tricky to manage accurately. Especially multiple performers and cross referencing cannot really be adequately done. When I started to transfer my collection to hard disc, I gave this quite a bit of thought and that's so far the best system I could come up with, even though it does not have as much information as I would prefer. But it works for me.
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Throwing in my two cents on the classical music. While it doesn't necessarily follow the way I enter data for soundtracks, I've come up with the following and try to remain consistent:
- The artist and album artist are same, listing the performers and orchestra; however, in the artist field I will highlight any specific instruments played, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Cello. I leave specific instruments out of the Album Artist field.
- I use the composition date for the year but list the recorded date of the piece in the Comments field.
- I list other items in the Comments field, like what type of piece it is (such as Concerto), the ensemble (quartet, symphony), specific instruments highlighted in the piece (Cello, Violin) and the above mentioned Recorded Date. I use this information to set up specific playlists to suite my listening needs.
- I also use the grouping field as another way of categorizing my classical music by using it for the era (such as Baroque, Romantic, Classical, etc.)
All of this data allows me to create many customizable playlists. For example, I can decide to play any selection I prefer that is from the 20th Century period, with violin as the highlighted instrument, and even hone it down more to add that the pieces are concertos.
This all might be a little too obsessive but it's nice to have these options when I'd like.
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