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Topic: Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s (Read 4704 times) previous topic - next topic
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Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

I have scoured the forums but haven't found what I am looking for.  Basically, I want a program that will completely reorganize an existing collection of music, which is currently stored one album per folder, but do it on an automated basis.  Here is how I would use the software:

I would tell it the following:
1)  Download and write IDV1 and IDV2 tags
2)  Rename/reorganize the music folder like so:

- For single CDs by a single artist:
    %artist%\%album% (%year%)\%track num% %title%

- For compilations, OSTs, DJ mixes:
    Various & OST\%album% (%year%)\%track num% %title%
  (and write the true artist in the Original Artist and/or Composer tag)

- For multi-CDs, each CD would have its own folder, e.g.,
    %artist%\%album% (%year%)\CDx\%track num% %title%

and clean up after itself (move any pre-existing album art, etc. to the new folder).

3)  Download cover art, pick the best one, save it as folder.jpg, and also store in the IDV2 tag.

I would like to be able to configure it per above, point it to my music folder, and let it run.

I have been manually doing the above using a combination of tools like ACAD, Tag Scanner, and of course, Windows Explorer.

Any suggestions?

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #1 –
TagRename by softpointer is quite good, u can get a trial from

www.softpointer.com/tr.htm

will do all the renaming stuff and get images from amazon etc etc...

hope it helps, i use it all the time, but not for creating the folder structures, althou im sure it will do this!

Cheers
Matteo

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #2 –
Altough sometimes we get criticized for always recommending the same thing: foobar2000 will do it.

I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #3 –
Quote
and clean up after itself (move any pre-existing album art, etc. to the new folder).

foobar0.8.3 cannot move non-music files. Can the new foobar beta do it now?

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #4 –
OK, now I am thinking I have resisted fb2k long enough.  Let me just make sure I am understanding its capabilities.  I could point it to a folder containing lots of albums organized into folders, tell it how I want everything organized, e.g., tags, naming conventions, album art, etc., and then it would recursively go into all the folders (unattended) and reorganize/rename/retag everything, including artwork?  That would save me hours and hours of time.  Can anyone confirm that this is approximately what it would do?  (I did try Tag & Rename.  It works great, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work recursively in an unattended mode.)

Another question:  How would fb2k know a compilation (OST, etc.) from a regular album?  Is that info available from amazon or freedb?  Or if not, would I simply flag (or tag) compilations in advance and configure fb2k to organize differently based on that flag?

Same question with multi-cd sets, although I'm not aware of a way to designate one as such.

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #5 –
I think your best shot would be with something like tagscanner and a batch file to move your album art...

I don't know of a program that can move it at the same time as music.

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #6 –
Quote
I think your best shot would be with something like tagscanner and a batch file to move your album art...

I don't know of a program that can move it at the same time as music.
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Actually, Windows Media Player 10 does exactly what veloearl's talking about. Really.
EAC>1)fb2k>LAME3.99 -V 0 --vbr-new>WMP12 2)MAC-Extra High

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #7 –
Have a read of this guide for the Foobar Masstagger - will get you well started for at least the restructuring side of your plans.

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #8 –
Try MediaMonkey: Here

The maker claimed they can not only re-tag & re-name but also auto-organize into folders.

And it's free.

The complete list of features is here.

Important note: I have not personally used it  . Just did a search to find a good MP3 & Ogg tagger, stumbled upon this one, downloaded it... and didn't have the time to test it out... heck, been going home at 02:00 am since last week    ... will update as soon as I check it out...

[span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%']EDIT #1: added link to features[/span]

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #9 –
You may want to try J. River Media Center also. It does many of the things you specified and has many tools to do some of the things a bit differently. Especially it can import the cover art images to the database and mass relocate and rename the music files and the image files. JRMC is not free, but it has a 30-day try out period and IMO the price is reasonable ($18-40 depending on the version).

The toughest part is to get the missing tags from a CD database. I am not sure if any program can do that properly for a bunch of albums. Personally I would first check each album separately with a program that can import the details from freedb like foobar2000, MP3tag or Tag&Rename. Usually freedb has several more or less correct instances of the albums and human intervention is needed for getting the best match. After that JRMC can easily build some still missing tags from the filenames or folder structure if available. It has also a proprietary database that may contain tag details for single tracks.

[span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%']A not so important note: I have personally used it    [/span]

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #10 –
If you set it to "Keep music folder organized", then iTunes will do just this - provided that the ID3 tags are good. If you use FB2K to get the tags straightened out, then iTunes will take care of the folder/file business.

I always use this feature so that the music is stored in a fashion consistent with visible tags - works just fine, low effort. 
 

Best software for reorganizing existing MP3s

Reply #11 –
I'm going to give fb2k/masstagger a shot first.  I'm ready to take the plunge.  I have feared it long enough.