Unrecognized Files in iTunes Library - Help

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ShockControl, Apr 22, 2014.

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  1. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    Whenever I digitize rare vinyl and import it to iTunes, it shows up in an "unknown artist/unknown album" folder.

    However, when I try to title the folders with the artist and album names, and then name the individual mp3 files, iTunes throws it back into the "unknown" folder.

    Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a workaround?
     
  2. j.t.k.

    j.t.k. Senior Member

    Location:
    Wheaton, IL, USA
    You will need to tag the files using iTunes (or another file tagger). On a Mac you select the files and then right click and select "Get Information", not sure about PC.
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  3. Steve Martin

    Steve Martin Wild & Crazy Guy

    Location:
    Plano, TX
    File names and tagging are two different things.

    iTunes has a feature whereby it will organize the folder and file naming based on the tags, which you have enabled. If you disable the "keep iTunes Library organized" feature it will stop moving your files and leave them how you have named them.

    BUT, that is not what I would do! Having your files properly tagged will have many benefits down the road (correct artist/album name showing on players, etc.) so I would just tag them as j.t.k. has said. If you tag them with iTunes, it will move them to the correct folders and name the files properly if you have left that option checked. Best of both worlds.

    So I would recommend that you don't worry about the folders and file names, just edit the artist/title tags in iTunes and they will get moved to the right place.
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  4. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    Thank you both! I have a Mac.

    Just so I'm clear, does the "get information" feature allow you enter your own artist/album/track title information?
     
  5. gloomrider

    gloomrider Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA, USA
    If you're trying to tag WAV files in iTunes, the tags won't hold. You'll need to convert to Apple Lossless first.
     
    Atmospheric likes this.
  6. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    Thanks. I assume it lets you tag mp3 files also? Not that it's my format of choice, but I occasionally end up with mp3 files of obscure tracks.
     
  7. gloomrider

    gloomrider Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA, USA
    Yes, MP3s are no problem.
     
  8. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    This drove me crazy. What I do now is rip the LP to a CD then open iTunes and insert the CD. When it asks you if you want to import into iTunes click "NO". Then click "CD info". Add the artist name and LP title and then click "import CD". Then you can easily search for the album and play the songs.

    This revelation has got me on a LP digitizing craze as of late.
     
  9. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    Why would you not just import the file into iTunes and tag it first instead of burning a cd then importing the cd? If you eventually will burn it onto a cd anyway there will be text info on the cd if you burn the cd from a tagged file. This way artist/song/album info will show up on your cd player's window. If you don't need a cd you don't need to do this step at all.
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  10. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    Because for many years I was using a freestanding CD burner that was a component of my stereo.
     
  11. ShockControl

    ShockControl Bon Vivant and Raconteur! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Lotus Land
    OK: So I just tagged the first album as instructed.

    Here's my question: When I go into my iTunes folders - outside of iTunes, looking at them as computer files - how long does it take for those folders to organize themselves the way they were tagged in iTunes? I ask because the album I just tagged is not yet showing up with the the new information in the folders.

    Also - does the environment where you tag the tunes matter, i.e., in a playlist vs. library.

    I'm on a Mac.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I agree 100%. It's ludicrous to burn a CD just to get it into iTunes, and it's just another step that can introduce file corruption and distortion. Just use the original files made directly from the LP, and name the files and tag them by hand.

    You need a 3rd-party file naming/tagging program that will rename files based on tags. iTunes will not do this for you. It's a huge failing of Apple's, in my opinion.

    I take care of this by doing all my ripping and tagging outside of iTunes, then only use iTunes for creating playlists, playing music, and loading up iPods. Anything much beyond that is dicey (in my opinion).
     
  13. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    That doesn't work. I don't know why. It all ends up as "Unknown". A mess.
     
  14. Paranoid Android

    Paranoid Android Forum Resident

    I hate iTunes, it is clunky and slow.
     
  15. jeffrey walsh

    jeffrey walsh Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, Pa. USA
    Just remember one thing, the users sometimes can be faulted for that.
     
  16. Paranoid Android

    Paranoid Android Forum Resident

    It used to work, until I updated my computer and iTunes
     
  17. Kit2010

    Kit2010 Too far gone

    Location:
    UK
    As vidiot suggested, "a 3rd-party file naming/tagging program" will be your friend. I use Mp3tag but I'm in Windows, so you need a good equivalent for your Mac. Just tidy up the tags in whatever lossless but tag supporting format you ripped your vinyl to, if necessary convert it to a format that iTunes will read (like apple lossless, being careful to preserve the tag information), then let iTunes do its stuff. You can use a tag editor to "inspect" the files at any stage in your workflow to see what is happening to the tags.



    By what you have posted, it sounds like somewhere in your workflow you are losing or else never properly creating tag fields in your music files. It may be stating the obvious, but simply renaming folders or files will not change the tag info in the music files. You really need the tag editor for that. I'm no expert on iTunes, but I very much doubt it is capable of guessing the correct tagging for a vinyl rip since unlike CD rips everyone's rip of the same album is going to be different. Also, have you checked that the file type, sample rate and bit depth of the files you are passing to iTunes are all supported by iTunes? Just a thought.
     
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