iPod touch - songs add to iPod but don’t show on iPod without searching for them.

Here are some examples of how album information should appear. Note that your missing artists problem is specifically addressed in item 4 under the heading For a Compilation album (a various artists album): below.

The reason that an artist is not showing up in the Artists menu is because the album is listed as a "compilation" album, that is, an album by various artists.

The index of artist names on the iPod is achieved by using the Album Artist field (there's a specific tag - or field, for it in each song). On a one-artist album, if the album artist field is blank, iTunes uses the Artist field to index the artist's name. On a "various artists" album, the Album Artist field will have the artist name as Various Artists, so every track on that album will be listed in the artists menu, under Various Artists.

The screenshots below demonstrate how the album information should look in your iTunes Library, according to the type of album, in order for both iTunes and iPod to index everything correctly:

For a single-artist album:

• In the example above, all the songs on the album are selected (the grey background titles to the left of the larger box). The large box is displayed by leaving all the tracks selected and clicking on Edit/Get info

1. shows the artist name (Dire Straits)
2. shows the artist's name. Because every song in the selection is by the same artist, this also states Dire Straits
3. Notice that album artist is blank. With a single-artist album, this is acceptable. It may contain the artist's name, this is also acceptable
4. the compilation flag must be off (not ticked). This is true, even if the album is a compilation of songs by one artist, that is, a greatest hits album. If this flag is set on, on this album, every track will be listed separately on your iPod, so that's probably what's happening with the Adele album

For a Compilation album (a various artists album):

• In the example above, all songs on this compilation album are selected and the large box shows you the Edit/Get Info panel:

1. this shows you the album artist, and since each song is by a different artist, the album artist is Various Artists, and it shows the album title: Crate Diggin' Fever
2. the artist field states mixed because there is a mixture of artist names
3. the album title again. This where you can edit the tile, if you need to
4. the album artist states Various Artists. In order for this album to display correctly on an iPod, this field must contain the text Various Artists. The reason you have artists missing on your iPod is because the artist will only appear in the artist menu if that artist also has a single-artist album on your iPod. If you would like further explanation on this, please ask
5. the compilation flag must be on for a various artists album. But if it is on for a single-artist album, it will split every track into its own album on your iPod

See the additional post, which will, be put up in a few minutes.

This is an additional post, which should be read in conjunction with the first one.

Looking at one track on a compilation album:

• In this example, I have selected just one song on this compilation album and we are looking at the song info for just this song. (Edit/Song Info - note the subtle difference between this and a group of songs)

1. The song title (Seeing you...), as well as the album artist (Various Artists) and the album title
2. the artist for the selected song
3. album artist states Various Artists because the album has various artists. It refers to the whole album, not just this song
4. the compilation flag must be on as this song is part of a compilation album. This flag must be off for a single-artist album

A single-artist album with guest artists:

• In this example, the album by Nelly Furtado has guest artists on four songs. You can see which ones, on the left hand side, in the artist column

1. her name is taken from the album artist field and this is not a compilation album. Also shown is the album title, Loose
2. the artist field contains mixed, because there is a mixture of artist names. This is correct
3. the album artist contains the name of the main artist, Nelly Furtado. This is used to correctly sort all the songs on this album. In this type of album I strongly recommended to have the main artist listed here, in order for iPods to sort and index correctly
4. the compilation flag must be off on this type of album. This is probably causing issues on your Adele album

You're welcome.

I should have added the following for clarity, even though I've already stated in a different way:

If an artist that appears on a compilation album does not have a single-artist album as well, that artist will not be listed in the artist menu. However, you can use the Search feature on the iPod to search your iPod's Library for any artist and the results will show the artist (if present), even if they only appear on a compilation album.

The Songs menu lists all songs, regardless of the artist name.

Hey there Lukey777boy,

We understand that you're experiencing a few issues with syncing music to the new iPod touch. Mainly that some songs do not show up unless searching, and songs that should be listed in one album are spread across multiple. We'd like to help.

For both issues, it sounds like the meta data (or song information) may be the culprit. We'll want to look at adjusting that information in iTunes, then sync the songs over again to see if that fixes the issue. The steps for this depend on if you're using a Mac or PC. Both articles are below.

Change song and CD information in iTunes on PC

Change song and CD information in Music on Mac

In both articles, there is a section titled "Tips for using song and CD info to organize your music" that will be useful. You'll want to use those steps for any content that is not showing up in the album section and the multiple album issue.

After this, follow the steps here to update your iPod touch:

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

When you're ready, sync the music again using these steps: Use iTunes to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with your computer

We hope this helps. Cheers!

I'm facing the same problem in my IPad. I have read some documentation of it on Apple support guide. Did you get the solution?