Andy Abernathy

Q: iTunes Match artwork reverting to old version

On my primary iTunes Mac, embedded artwork that I've changed since turning on iTunes Match reverts back to previous artwork. For example, if I have a 500 dpi cover artwork in a track that iTunes has matched, then today I go upgrade the artwork to a 1000 dpi version, the next time iTunes Match updates it will wipe out my 1000 dpi version and replace it with my old 500 dpi artwork. It is NOT grabbing the iTunes Store artwork, it is somehow recovering MY old artwork from the cloud.

 

I've tried DougScripts Re-Embed Artwork script - no luck. I've dried deleting artwork, updating iTunes Match, pasting in desired artwork, updating iTunes Match again - pulls back old unwanted artwork. The only solution I've found is to upgrade the artwork, drag the tracks out of iTunes before Match updates, delete the tracks from iTunes and iCloud, and finally drag the tracks back in to iTunes. iTunes Match appears to keep my new artwork from now on (so far at least!).

 

I REALLY wish there was a setting that says "Never mess with my artwork!" It's great that Match doesn't change my iTunes audio files unless I tell it to. Why in the world does it change my artwork?

Mac Pro 2 x 2.8 Quad Core, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Dec 4, 2011 11:32 AM

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Q: iTunes Match artwork reverting to old version

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  • by RTW's,

    RTW's RTW's Jan 14, 2016 11:40 AM in response to EastDog
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Jan 14, 2016 11:40 AM in response to EastDog

    iTunes uses artwork in two ways, and generally always has once they offered the "get artwork" option.

     

    1. Your library assigns an image to your album that it has downloaded from the store. The artwork in this case is not embedded in your music files, which conserves space (if you need to).

    or

    2. Your files have artwork embedded in them.

     

    When you upload files with embedded artwork, those are the images that will appear in your Cloud library. If you do not do this, Apple will assign its own artwork (if it properly matches).

     

    The way to guarantee you have the proper artwork in both your files and on the cloud is to upload the files *after* you have embedded the artwork. You can also embed artwork later, after the match has run, but you'll need to delete the album from the cloud and re-match/upload it again to ensure an immediate change. Rematching an album that is already in your cloud library just pairs the files with the existing cloud version without necessarily updating it. [Edited to add: And, if you try updating artwork *during* the match process, it may not take or it may only change some of the files.]

     

    As other users have posted, the best way to use Apple's own artwork is to add an album to your library, get the artwork from the store, copy the artwork from one of the files, then CLEAR all downloaded artwork before pasting the artwork back into ALL the files on the album. Do not paste the artwork only into the first track. Generally you can see which tracks have embedded artwork and which do not by viewing the files in the Finder.

     

    I've been using iTunes artwork in this way since the get-go and have never had any difficulty updating (or getting) the proper artwork, and I have 50,000+ files in my library all with the art that I want. It DOES work. That being said, in recent months they have tweaked the get artwork feature so that the title often has to match exactly what is listed in the store.

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