Converting AIF to MP3 and keeping original file name?

My mp3 files converted from Aiff always seem to keep all the info. they originally had, including the name. The cool thing about mp3s is that you can view the information on your car stereo (if it can play mp3 files).

I have two suggestions:

1. Use the Sundry Info to Comments script to add the filename to the Comment field, then use the File Renamer script to rename the files based on the comment field after you’ve ripped them. Obviously, this will only work if you don’t have other info that needs to be in that field.

2. Rip your files using Max, which gives you a lot more flexibility than iTunes in terms of how the files are named and tagged. This will also produce better sounding MP3 files, because unlike iTunes, it uses the LAME standard.

Personally, I would go with suggestion #2.

I can second using Max to do what you want to do. Max primarily presents itself as a ripping tool and will appear to need a CD on which to work, but there is a menu/feature for just converting files if you poke around a bit.

You could convert the AIFF files to Apple Lossless in iTunes, then to MP3 in Max. This way, iTunes will embed the ID3 data in the Apple Lossless files, which Max will in turn be able to read and embed in the MP3 files. While that will add an extra step to the process, it will preserve the meta data at every turn, so it will save time in the long run.

You could also bypass the metadata problem in Max, merely using it to rip the files with the correct name; then use the Copy Tag Info Tracks to Tracks script in iTunes to copy the metadata from AIFF to MP3.

+(That makes sense in my head. Let me know if it makes sense in print as well.)+

You can use the Albumize Selection script to solve the track number problem.

For BPM, you could use Swap This With That to swap it into a static field (like Genre) that Copy Tag Info Tracks to Tracks recognizes, then swap it back after copying.

Is this too cumbersome yet?

At this point, I'm thinking my previous suggestion is probably a lot easier.

Use the Sundry Info to Comments script to add the filename to the Comment field, then use the File Renamer script to rename the files based on the comment field after you’ve ripped them. Obviously, this will only work if you don’t have other info that needs to be in that field.

You may want to spend some time browsing the iTunes scripts on that site I linked to. It's likely there's a combination of scripts in there somewhere that solves your issue in a way that I haven't been able to imagine.

If there's an easily discernable pattern to how you're naming the files, you can probably create an Automator workflow that will do the renaming for you with minimal input on your part.