Duplicate tracks missing from albums - iTunes Match

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Duplicate tracks missing from albums - iTunes Match

I have a subscription to iTunes Match, and I recently had to change my subscription (because I moved to a different country/region), and now I have a problem which is driving me crazy!

Please could you help me to resolve it?

Basically, wherever I have duplicate tracks in my music Library, these tracks are only included in one album - therefore these tracks are "missing" from the other albums where they should appear.

Please see the screenshots below, for The Wall - you will see there is the blue cloud with a line through it next to Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2, which indicates that this is a duplicate track. If I want to listen to this album on my iPhone or on my iPad, this track is missing from the album i.e. the album moves straight from Track 4 to Track 6.

If I click on the cloud, then there is the option to "Keep Duplicate" - but this does nothing, I have clicked on this countless times, but the tracks are still shown as duplicates, and the problem remains.

Please could you help me?

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 23, 2021 4:22 AM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

272,811 points

May 23, 2021 6:03 AM in response to angoose77

See Identify cloud status icons in your music library on your Mac or PC - Apple Support. If you hold down shift (Win) or option (Mac) and use File > Library > Show Exact Duplicate Items > Same Album do you see any duplicates listed? Assuming not you may need to temporarily remove the affected tracks and then see if they are correctly identified as unique items when you reimport them to the library.

tt2

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Answer 2

angoose77 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 23, 2021 6:08 AM in response to turingtest2

Hi turingtest2 - thank you for your reply.

Your approach is good for identifying where there are duplicate tracks in one album.

My issue is that where there is the same track on e.g. two different albums. For example, if there would be the same track on the original studio album, and also on a Greatest Hits album. In that case, iTunes Match only gives me the track on the Greatest Hits album, and it is then "missing" from the original album.

For me, as the song features on both albums, I would like to be able to listen to it on both albums on Apple Music, if you see what I mean?

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

272,811 points

May 23, 2021 6:37 AM in response to angoose77

iTunes Match/Apple Music should allow you to have both versions of the track with the different metadata. The only time this might be an issue is if the two tracks really are identical apart from the metadata. Try changing the title of that particular track to say Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2, make a security copy of the track, remove it from the library, then add it back to see if will be accepted this time. Once it is allowed in the iCloud Music Library you should be able to change the title back.

tt2

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Answer 4

angoose77 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 23, 2021 6:51 AM in response to turingtest2

That's a good idea to make some changes to the metadata, to ensure that iTunes Match will "see" the tracks as different tracks.

In the end, I just spent a couple of hours going through the duplicate tracks, and deleting them from their respective albums, and re-importing them from my backup - that also seems to have worked. But I think your solution would have been quicker :-)

Thanks for your input!

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

272,811 points

May 23, 2021 7:58 AM in response to angoose77

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

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Duplicate tracks missing from albums - iTunes Match

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