Importing audio to Music: tracks end up in another album!

[clivechafer]

I'm digitising my vinyl using Audacity. I export the tracks to my desktop (MacBook Air A1466 running Monterey 12.7.6) as .mp3 files. I then want to import them to my Music program on my laptop. But whether I import the tracks as individual files or put them in a folder given the album title, they all end up being imported into another album that's already on my laptop (in this case, Don McLean's American Pie!). I then have to extract them by changing the album and artist names, which puts them in a new album. This is very laborious and time-consuming. Is there any way I can stop them from being inserted into American Pie and instead create and insert them into the album they are meant to be in? Thanks.

 

[ferrarr]

You need to look at the settings in Audacity. Audacity controls where the audio file is saved to.

 

[clivechafer]

True up to a point. But I have Audacity saving the files to my Desktop, from where I drag & drop them into Music. So they don't go direct from Audacity to Music. It's the route from Desktop to Music that I need to change.

 

[clivechafer]

I've just looked at my Music>Preferences. Under Files there is an empty box titled Music Media folder location with two buttons - Change and Reset - next to it. Beneath it is a checked box that says Keep Music Media Folder Organized, under which it says: Places files into album and artist folders, and names the files based on the disc number, track number and song title. Maybe I should uncheck this box? Or put something in the empty Music Media folder location box?

 

[clivechafer]

I just tried unchecking the Keep Music Media Folder Organized box and dragged and dropped the mp3 files into Music... and they still landed in American Pie!

 

[ferrarr]

Yes, you need to change that location. Navigate to the location you want to save your music files. If you leave the checkbox checked, you can then go to File > Library > Organize Library. And then Music will put all the files into the location you selected.

 

[MightyGem]

Did you split your recording into the separate Album tracks before exporting?
Did you fill in the exif data(Track name, Track Number, Artist, Album, Song Title) during the export?

I've done this many times and never had a problem.

 

[Slydude]

Have you recently used Audacity to add the artist, album, and track information for the tracks from American Pie? IIRC that information will continue applying this information to new tracks until you tell it otherwise.

Here's one thing you can do that might speed up the process a bit:
1. Import the tracks as you are doing.
2. The tracks will appear in the Recently Added section.
3. Select The tracks that are tagged incorrectly. It's possible to select several tracks at once.
4. Right-click one of the selected tracks and choose Get Info.
5. Make any changes to the Album and artist fields. If you want Music to sort the tracks into albums properly make sure the information is correct in the sorting tab.

This isn't a huge speedup but it helps a bit.

 

[clivechafer]

Yes, you need to change that location. Navigate to the location you want to save your music files. If you leave the checkbox checked, you can then go to File > Library > Organize Library. And then Music will put all the files into the location you selected.

Well, I tried. I navigated to the Recently Added page in Music and then opened Preferences, where the Music Media Folder Location box had now been populated with /SD/iTunes (I keep my music library on an SD card). I hit OK and immediately a box opened up and the names of every track in my music library started flashing by at high speed. I've no idea what it was doing, but I let it complete the operation. When I imported the next bunch of tracks, I was hoping they would appear in Recently Added, but they didn't. They were all in American Pie. So that didn't work. Any more suggestions?

 

[clivechafer]

Did you split your recording into the separate Album tracks before exporting?
Did you fill in the exif data(Track name, Track Number, Artist, Album, Song Title) during the export?

I've done this many times and never had a problem.

Yes, as I said in my earlier post, Audacity downloads the tracks to my desktop (which is where I have asked it to put them) in mp3 format. I name each track in the Audacity .aup file before exporting them, and when Audacity finishes it comes up with a dialog box that lists all the tracks it has created in mp3 format. There is nowhere to add more data, but Audacity asks before exporting if I want to export the whole project or multiple files. I choose multiple files because otherwise it doesn't divide the album up into tracks but just exports the whole thing as one file. When the tracks all show up in American Pie they are numbered correctly and the track names are right, but the album name is American Pie and the artist is Don McLean.

 

[clivechafer]

Have you recently used Audacity to add the artist, album, and track information for the tracks from American Pie? IIRC that information will continue applying this information to new tracks until you tell it otherwise.

Here's one thing you can do that might speed up the process a bit:
1. Import the tracks as you are doing.
2. The tracks will appear in the Recently Added section.
3. Select The tracks that are tagged incorrectly. It's possible to select several tracks at once.
4. Right-click one of the selected tracks and choose Get Info.
5. Make any changes to the Album and artist fields. If you want Music to sort the tracks into albums properly make sure the information is correct in the sorting tab.

This isn't a huge speedup but it helps a bit.

It was a long time ago that I used Audacity to digitise American Pie. I have digiteised other albums since, but it still thinks I want everything in American Pie. You're right, it will continue to do this until I tell it otherwise. Which is what I'm trying to do, but don't know how. I can't find anywhere in Music Preferences or anywhere else that routes all my uploads into American Pie. But somehow that's what it thinks I want, and it's a pain extracting all the tracks from there and renaming the album and artist on every track. If I can ever get it to land them in Recently Added, as you say it should, I'll use your shortcut. Thanks.

 

[ferrarr]

I think it's time to go to the Audacity Help or their Forums and see if anyone there uses Audacity in the same manner?

Recently Added is an iTunes/Music tab to make it easier to find newer items, I removed it from Music on all my Macs.

 

[clivechafer]

I think it's time to go to the Audacity Help or their Forums and see if anyone there uses Audacity in the same manner?

Recently Added is an iTunes/Music tab to make it easier to find newer items, I removed it from Music on all my Macs.

Can you tell me if the info that was automatically populated in the Music Media Folder Location was correct for the files to land in Recently Added? (it read /SD/iTunes). There is a Change button next to the box, so presumably I could put in a different location, but I've no idea what to put in there.

 

[ferrarr]

If you want the files on the SD card, then leave it the way it is set. Can you post screen shots of the Music app Settings for the Library location? Do you have "Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to library"checkbox checked?

I think the files may be in multiple locations.

Do the files disappear from the Desktop after you add them to Music?

 

[Slydude]

When you export the tracks for an album are you separating each track into separate files or did you export the album as one file with each track separated by markers? That might or might not make a difference.

Give this a read and see if it helps things a bit. I tend to use Amadeus Pro rather than Audacity. Metadata in Audacity

I think you should be able to enter album metadata here. Once you have processed an album into tracks and save as you are doing. When you are ready to work on the next album change the metadata to reflect that new album information.

Here's how I do this in Amadeus Pro:

1. Open the large file (entire album).
2. Scroll to the end of the first rack and select that area.
3. Cut the selected info out and paste the result into a new file.
4. Save the track with a new name. I don't fill in the metadata at this point but probably could.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for the other tracks.
6. Import the tracks into iTunes/Music and add the artist/album information as I described earlier.

 

[clivechafer]

If you want the files on the SD card, then leave it the way it is set. Can you post screen shots of the Music app Settings for the Library location? Do you have "Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to library"checkbox checked?

I think the files may be in multiple locations.

Do the files disappear from the Desktop after you add them to Music?

Curiously, when I went to Preferences to take the screenshot, the Music Media folder location box was empty again. No sign of /SD/iTunes. So I clicked Reset, and it came up with /CliveDrive/Users/Clive/Music/Music/Media. I decided to take a chance and hit OK. I've actually no idea what I have just done, but I'm at the stage of "I'll try anything". I shall try uploading my next album to Music and see what happens. Attached is the screenshot of the box, which I think is what you were asking for.

 

[clivechafer]

When you export the tracks for an album are you separating each track into separate files or did you export the album as one file with each track separated by markers? That might or might not make a difference.

Give this a read and see if it helps things a bit. I tend to use Amadeus Pro rather than Audacity. Metadata in Audacity

I think you should be able to enter album metadata here. Once you have processed an album into tracks and save as you are doing. When you are ready to work on the next album change the metadata to reflect that new album information.

Here's how I do this in Amadeus Pro:

1. Open the large file (entire album).
2. Scroll to the end of the first rack and select that area.
3. Cut the selected info out and paste the result into a new file.
4. Save the track with a new name. I don't fill in the metadata at this point but probably could.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for the other tracks.
6. Import the tracks into iTunes/Music and add the artist/album information as I described earlier.

Slydude, I think you may have cracked it! I had not clicked on the Edit Metadata button at the bottom of the Export window in Audacity. (I thought the fact that I had named the tracks in the audio file would be enough.) When I did, it came up with the right name for the track, but the artist was Don McLean and the album was American Pie! Mystery solved. When I put the tracks in a folder with the album name and drag it into Music, I get the album, properly named and with all the tracks named and in order, in Recently added. Yay! However, I still had to go thougth and change the artist and album name on easch individual track. Is there a way to apply the information to all the tracks at once?

 

[clivechafer]

I've looked on Audacityteam forum and it looks like it has to be done track by track, which is a pain. But it happily applied Don McLean and American Pie to all tracks! I wonder if I had inadvertently saved this as a template...

 

[Slydude]

However, I still had to go thougth and change the artist and album name on easch individual track. Is there a way to apply the information to all the tracks at once?

I'm glad that seems to have partly sorted things out for you. I stumbled on that after a quick search. I got the idea because some other audio software, such as Audio Hijack Pro, seems to behave that way.

I don't know if you can fix your problem easily in Audacity. I don't use it much but I know someone who does. I'll ask them if they have any ideas.

In the meantime here's what I would do since it sounds like the tracks are in Music and at least all together.

1. When you import the album into Music select all tracks that need to have the album and artis info changed.
2. Right-click the selected tracks and choose a"Get Info" (or choose it from the File Menu).
3. A dialog appears asking for permission to make changes choose "Edit Items".
4. In the dialog that follows, use the "Details" tab and enter the changes to the Album and Artist fields. There are other fields that can be edited here. The changes will be applied to all selected tracks simultaneously when you close the window.

Bonus Tip: If you go to the "Sorting" tab and make changes there you can control where the albums appear in your library. Suppose the Artist for the album is The Beatles. If you put the word "The Beatles" in the Artist Sort As field the Album will be sorted with artists starting with "t" because"the" is the first word. Entering it as "Beatles" places the same tracks/albums with artists starting with "B".

 

[clivechafer]

Thanks, Slydude. The best shortcut I've found so far is to save a template with the artist's name and album title when I start editing the metadata for an album in Audacity. Then, when I move to the next track, I load the template and it fills those fields for me. I still have to fill in the track name (which is odd, because it's already there at the top of the box!) and number, but it saves a few seconds. It sounds like it might be simpler to do the whole job in Music where I can save the artist and album name to all the racks at once. It might even import the track number from Audacity. I'll still have to add the track names, but that's all. It's weird that Audacity knows the track names from the breaks I have put in on the audio file, but doesn't transfer this information automatically to the track name field!