Sync Music: "Selected playlists, artists, albums and genres"

iTunes 12.12.10.1 for Windows. - When trying to Sync Music to an iPod, the Sync Menu has two options:

  1. 'Entire Music Library'
  2. Selected playlists, artists, albums and genres


For option #2, not all of the items in my library are provided as options. All of my library consists of ripped CD's and other purchased content, ... I can not find a clear pattern for why some do not appear in the Album or Artist lists. For devices that have enough memory to support the 'Entire Library' option, all of the content is loaded, so it does not seem to be an issue with permissions, but in the organization of the material in the Library.


Anyone have ideas?

Posted on Oct 2, 2023 12:56 PM

Reply
2 replies

Oct 3, 2023 1:44 AM in response to CMC962

CMC962 wrote:

For option #2, not all of the items in my library are provided as options. <...> ... I can not find a clear pattern for why some do not appear in the Album or Artist lists.

The Sync options that you refer to are shown in the screenshot below (yes, I know that you've already found that, this is for clarity):


When using Sync selected playlists, artists, albums and genres, you may need to scroll down the iTunes window in order to see the Genres and Albums headings (my numbering 4), as well as scroll within the heading to see all the artists:


All albums should be listed in the Albums section (my numbering 4 - which is the items to sync sections), which you can find by scrolling down the Albums window. Note though, that in my iTunes library, the albums section is listed as Artist - Album title. I think this may be a change from older versions of iTunes. Crucially, compilation albums (those with various artists) are listed under Various Artists - Album title, not by artist.


But here's an important point:

if you have songs by an artist that only appears on compilation albums, that artist will not be listed in the Artists section (4) or under the artist's name in the Albums section of items to sync.


For example; in my library I have three tracks by the band Argent, but all of them are on compilation albums. In the main library view, I use "show all artists" and Argent is listed:



but if I now look in the "items to be synced" section, notice that Argent is not listed:



In fact, the two-artist entry (Aretha Franklin and George Michael) is not listed, nor is Armand Van Helden. George Michael only appears (in my library) as a guest with Aretha, while the other two artists are only on compilation albums.


If I subsequently add an Argent album to my library (and therefore the Album Artist is Argent), then Argent will appear in the artists list of the items to be synced.


In other words, the Album Artist tag dictates what is happening here, but if the Album Artist tag is not filled in, or is incorrect, it can cause these issues, as can incorrect use of the compilation tag. If you would like more information about the Album Artist field (tag), please ask. Until then, I'll leave it at that to avoid overwhelming you with information (although see the screenshot of one track from a compilation album, below):



If you still cannot see and entry, then perhaps it's in a different alphabetical position. For example, albums beginning with "The" such as The Best of... will be listed under B for Best, not T for The.

Sync Music: "Selected playlists, artists, albums and genres"

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.