Compilation issues

[john greenwood]

I see that 7.9 has added a "Compilations" menu item (at least I think it's new to 7.9). However, that seems to have created problems elsewhere. For instance some of my so-called compilations no longer show up at all under Genre/Artists (which is my primary search method). Others are split into multiple albums. Some are not compilations as I define the term, but I'm not sure how to tell that to LMS. I've been looking for patterns, but I have not found one yet.

Edit. I should add that I see no Genre/Various Artists listings. I do have some that show up with (Multiple Artists) as the artist, but I'm pretty sure that's an issue with JRiver, and they do not include the albums I am referring to.

[john greenwood]

So far, the only way I have found to avoid the issue is to make sure that none of my albums are treated as compilations. That's not a real problem for me as I did not use the tag/categorization for anything. But it turns out to be easier said than done. LMS seems to be rather stubborn about keeping some albums as compilations - even after I give all the tracks on them an (invented) single album artist.

So let me ask, is there a definitive list of criteria that LMS considers when categorizing albums as compilations? I've already discovered that if the tracks are stored in a sub-directory of e:\iTunes\compilations, LMS is likely to (but does not always) treat them as compilations. This is true even after I have unchecked the Compilation box in iTunes and re-indexed in LMS. Does using the word "Various" as part of the invented album artist name cause it to be treated as a compilation? If so, are there other words to avoid. And one specific question relating to JRivers tagging system - would LMS distinguish between "Album Artist" and "Album Artist (auto)." It seems to do this sometimes but not always.

[garym]

So far, the only way I have found to avoid the issue is to make sure that none of my albums are treated as compilations. That's not a real problem for me as I did not use the tag/categorization for anything. But it turns out to be easier said than done. LMS seems to be rather stubborn about keeping some albums as compilations - even after I give all the tracks on them an (invented) single album artist.

So let me ask, is there a definitive list of criteria that LMS considers when categorizing albums as compilations? I've already discovered that if the tracks are stored in a sub-directory of e:\iTunes\compilations, LMS is likely to (but does not always) treat them as compilations. This is true even after I have unchecked the Compilation box in iTunes and re-indexed in LMS. Does using the word "Various" as part of the invented album artist name cause it to be treated as a compilation? If so, are there other words to avoid. And one specific question relating to JRivers tagging system - would LMS distinguish between "Album Artist" and "Album Artist (auto)." It seems to do this sometimes but not always.

if an album has any track that has a different artist (or artists), then LMS will treat it as a compilation. For example I could have a Steve Earle album, but on one track the ARTIST tag has "Steve Earle; Lucinda Williams" then the album will be treated as a Compilation. To solve this I make sure that any album I have that has any track artist that differs, I also use an ALBUM ARTIST tag. So in the earlier example, I'd simply make the Album Artist: Steve Earle. problem solved.

For albums I want to be compilations I simply make sure I have the COMPILATIONS tag set to a value of "1" (without the quotes). If not a compilation, I don't have the tag at all.

I don't typically use the ALBUM ARTIST tag (except as noted above) and in the situation where I want an artist under different names to show up in the same place in browsing artists (for example, Miles Davis, Miles Davis Quintet, Miles Davis Sextet, etc.). And on some compilations I may add an ALBUM ARTIST such as "Bob Dylan" when the compilation is a Bob Dylan tribute album and I want it to show up when I browse to "Bob Dylan" albums. Other than these cases I leave the Album Artist tag empty.

[john greenwood]

if an album has any track that has a different artist (or artists), then LMS will treat it as a compilation. For example I could have a Steve Earle album, but on one track the ARTIST tag has "Steve Earle; Lucinda Williams" then the album will be treated as a Compilation. To solve this I make sure that any album I have that has any track artist that differs, I also use an ALBUM ARTIST tag. So in the earlier example, I'd simply make the Album Artist: Steve Earle. problem solved.

For albums I want to be compilations I simply make sure I have the COMPILATIONS tag set to a value of "1" (without the quotes). If not a compilation, I don't have the tag at all.

I don't typically use the ALBUM ARTIST tag (except as noted above) and in the situation where I want an artist under different names to show up in the same place in browsing artists (for example, Miles Davis, Miles Davis Quintet, Miles Davis Sextet, etc.). And on some compilations I may add an ALBUM ARTIST such as "Bob Dylan" when the compilation is a Bob Dylan tribute album and I want it to show up when I browse to "Bob Dylan" albums. Other than these cases I leave the Album Artist tag empty.

If only that worked for me. I have several albums where all of the tracks have the same artist and a matching (the same) album artist. But LMS still treats them as compilations. I had a lot of albums where that was the case when the ARTIST and ALBUM ARTIST contained the word "various." Changing "various" to "assorted" seems to have solved the problem in most instances, but not all.

And how do you get access to the COMPILATIONS tag? I've tried to do it in JRiver and MediaMonkey, but I can't see how. In iTunes it's accessible as a checkbox, but that's no help for my FLAC files.

And I still have no explanation for why a number of my so-called compilations do not appear at all when I search by genre/artist.

[kidstypike]

If only that worked for me. I have several albums where all of the tracks have the same artist and a matching (the same) album artist. But LMS still treats them as compilations. I had a lot of albums where that was the case when the ARTIST and ALBUM ARTIST contained the word "various." Changing "various" to "assorted" seems to have solved the problem in most instances, but not all.

And how do you get access to the COMPILATIONS tag? I've tried to do it in JRiver and MediaMonkey, but I can't see how. In iTunes it's accessible as a checkbox, but that's no help for my FLAC files.

And I still have no explanation for why a number of my so-called compilations do not appear at all when I search by genre/artist.

I use mp3tag to tag my files as I want them, (yes, it does FLAC too), and I let nothing else, and I mean nothing else get their filthy hands on them.

You mention JRiver, MediaMonkey and iTunes, and then expect LMS to play good for you?

[garym]

I use mp3tag to tag my files as I want them, (yes, it does FLAC too), and I let nothing else, and I mean nothing else get their filthy hands on them.

You mention JRiver, MediaMonkey and iTunes, and then expect LMS to play good for you?

Agree. I use mp3tag. If there is no COMPILATION tag I simply add one with a value of 1 using mp3tag.

[garym]

And I still have no explanation for why a number of my so-called compilations do not appear at all when I search by genre/artist.

What are your settings on this page in LMS > Settings (this is from mine, I'm on 7.9)

[garym]

If only that worked for me. I have several albums where all of the tracks have the same artist and a matching (the same) album artist. But LMS still treats them as compilations.

Odd. Are all the tracks of the album contained in the same subdirectory?

[john greenwood]

I use mp3tag to tag my files as I want them, (yes, it does FLAC too), and I let nothing else, and I mean nothing else get their filthy hands on them.

You mention JRiver, MediaMonkey and iTunes, and then expect LMS to play good for you?

I use JRiver to do my tagging. I installed MediaMonkey yesterday just to troubleshoot the problem. Never done any tagging with it. If I look back three or four years, I was using iTunes then, but I've done a fairly extensive overhaul in the interim.

And just for the record, JRiver worked fine for me until 7.9.

[john greenwood]

Odd. Are all the tracks of the album contained in the same subdirectory?

Yes. At this point, except for classical (more than half my collection) my problem is effectively resolved. I still have a couple of albums that show up as compilations, but I can also find them under genre/artist.

With respect to classical, I think if I insert a manufactured Album Artist name I can resolve the issue.