Remove album covers!!!

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Level 1

5 points

Remove album covers!!!

Weird question...I know!!! But I've got a sizeable collection of music on iTunes (800GB/105,000 'songs' ---- speeches, efx, et al...maybe 45-50k unique and actual 'songs'---still a bit and all 'ripped' in Apple's + 256 format). We use Serato, Traktor and dJay as well as iTunes during 'mix' times (dinner, cocktails, et al...), you get the idea. We're a mobile business and I'm trying to get rid of a lot of what I don't need...and I absolutely don't need album art. It means nothing to us and after running a sweep (OmniDisk), I've found almost 70GB of what looks to be iTunes 17.5MB JPegs....which, I'm assuming is 'album art'. Would this make sense to most? Is there a better way for me to clear the pics without using something a third party, freeware program like ODS? Is there a way to make absolutely SURE iTunes doesn't automatically D/L album art in the future? Certainly from the art I've removed...and no longer for new music purchased (We buy specifically now through iTunes, too **** convenient!) ....anyway, backwards thinking and after looking and looking I'm not sure what I want to do. I just, today reinstalled Mavericks....last night at another Holiday Party (Yes!!! In January, I have another next weekend for 2,800 people and this CAN'T Fail!!!! We've got a new rMBP 15" with redundant libraries booted...running DMX ligthing and set to go in the case of an iMac failure). We booted up, hit iTunes....no problem (I'm at about 90% capacity on a TB HDD. It NEEDS to be paired down...but it's a Mega Daunting task 🙂). Everything good, iTunes was perfect, booted as normal---set sound prefs to external USB soundcard....awesome!! Killer sound, perfect .....everthing. Paired with iPad (LTE). Hit Safari, "Fatal Error"....lots of notes on why it wouldn't open...yada yada. Thinking a fluke in the 10.9.1 update, I hit software update, same error. Cannot Open....Oh SHIzzzzLEEEE. What's up? Reboot (I still carry 300, mainly compilation CDs....with exceptions, Mike Jackson, Madonna, Seger, Skynyrd, and Journey:)) ---Comes up (Again, 15" rMBP (2013/top shelf build, my personal computer in reserve if we have a failure)....iTunes boots. Perfect. Works...Perfect. Same fatal errors in AppStore/Updates and Safari. Couldn't even open Finder without a persistent (20 minute) beachball and hard restart. Reinstallled today via recovery, she's perfect. Hoping I didn't miss the Seagate replacement deadline. That concerns me....but I haven't had trouble and it's strictly an audio playback machine---but for 65 of our 130 gigs a year. It gets mileage. 2011 build, 16GB RAM, 1TB spinner...and music in on board. Not external...and haven't figured out a way to clone an exact dupe of the iTunes files and XML matches to the main system either----with Carbon Copy, it can't find the song. 'nother topic...but if you know how to do this, an external backup would ALWAYS be welcome, espcially using laptops (I'm not going to waste a 1TB PCIe SSD on 800GB of YMCA and We are Family!).

Back to topic. Can I remove (I can...it WILL Allow me...) the jPegs without harm to iTunes (again---pays the mortgage and plays nice with both Traktor and Serato--longer story, longer....couple guys with different preferences)....can I remove those 70GBs with a program like OmniDiskSweep? Is there a setting (I SWEAR I've looked, Googled and struggled to find it!!! I know EXACTLY where it was in 10.x.x!!!!) I need to hit to further guarantee 'No More Album Art'. And Finally....being an Apple Discussion Board---PLEASE, I need an answer. If there isn't a 'safe' answer, how do I put this in the ear of the dudes and dudettes (I'm 42, trying to be 'hip') that develop iTunes---and continue to 'refine' such a Magnificent Piece of Software (No---I'm NOT being Facetious (sp? Why no spell correct built in here???? This has taking me FOREver to figure out an answer for----If you've got one (and possibly cloning another external that I can keep continously organized and up to date with another....essentially a contingency plan, a backup that'll plug n play with existing XML tags in library??? Wow, long sentence, longer post!!!)

Sorry. Tl.Dr.---makes it way too much longer to sum it up:)

Happy New Year, from Alaska....a place warmer right now it looks like than 70% of the rest of the country:) Shhhh....don't tell anyone!

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Jan 5, 2014 7:04 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

ffiti

Level 4

1,014 points

Jan 5, 2014 7:24 PM in response to akdj

Please write shorter posts in the future. A third of your post is completely off-topic and another third is completely unnecessary. This makes people not want to help you.

To remove album artwork, simply select the items from which you want to remove artwork, and secondary-click on them. Then select Get Info. Under the Info tab, there is a field labeled Artwork. Click in the field and press Delete to clear that field if applicable. Then check the checkbox in front of the Artwork, if applicable. Finally, press OK. Your album artwork will be removed.

Items purchased from iTunes will have their artwork downloaded automatically, so you will have to manually remove it. Items ripped from CD's may or may not have their artwork downloaded automatically, depending on the following setting: iTunes > Preferences... > Store > Automatically download album artwork. Uncheck that option.

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Answer 2

akdj Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 5, 2014 7:46 PM in response to ffiti

fffiti

It's been an aweful week. My apolgies for the length of the post. Should've been more concise and two different questions. 99% of my queries have been aswered with simple searches. As you've maybe noticed, I've been a member here 7 years, lurker for a decade. Didn't realize how long it was til I'd posted it

Thanks for your concise responses and (possible solutions). I'm sure you noticed, 70GB of 12-15meg files. No rhyme, no reason...and scattergory through a 105,000 audio file library. When using options to 'show' in a column, album art isn't one of them. Is there a way to specifically show 'only' songs with artwork. Secondarily, are you saying eliminating the jpegs through OmniDisk isn't recommmeded? (Your option implies I go through 30-40,000 songs and while I suppose I can set up an automation to do your advised click system....it's still an entirely tidious process if this 'sweep' elinates that necessity. Agian. It's ONLY shownig dedicated iTunes JPEGs, but I'm not sure WTH they're representing....if anything OTHER than Album Art Work. Sorry. Hope that makes sense. Your solution isn't an option. Not without spending 100-120 hours at the terminal getting rid of each individual piece. If a mass solution is avaialble, I'm all ears. Money isn't a concern. Don't mind paying for software. Thanks though on the ettiquette reminder. My bad (I'm not being the least bit sarcastic, please believe...just a 22 year vet in the biz that resisted digital until I realized it's unrivaled and portable revolution in what I do;))

Regards,

Jeremy

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Answer 3

akdj Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 5, 2014 7:57 PM in response to akdj

fffiti,

I figured out a simple way (albeit still legnthy). Album View (so by album, suppose I could try artist), right (Cntrl) click, remove all album artwork. It reaffirms what you want to do, but it works for 'all' songs on record. if there's a single song from the album, that opion is NOT available on the 'dropdown'. However, as you said, right click, get info, artwor, "Delete" 🙂

Thanks again

No....to the cloning!
J

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Answer 4

ffiti

Level 4

1,014 points

Jan 5, 2014 9:33 PM in response to akdj

You just select multiple items and remove the artwork. Where was the confusion?

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Answer 5

akdj Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 6, 2014 7:45 AM in response to ffiti

'Multiple Items' = 56,382 items. Nothing confusing.....but practically impossible. Are you not understanding my dilemna? So I CTRL Click 51,212 and 'accidentally' just click (w/o CTRL) # 51,213. I'm screwed. All others are 'un' checked. Not sure why you think I'm confused. I'm not. I'm looking for

A) A way to separate songs with artwork only. (other elements won't have art, speeches, efx, etc)

B) A way to MASS Delete them. NOT Select 'multiple items'. This isn't a couple dozen, couple hundred, or event a thousand....I'm sorry, but what you're suggesting is simply NOT possible. Though I'm playing With said sweeper (Omni) and DID remove the JPEGS (with iTunes lead, 70GB). It seemed to work...so that part has been taken care of. I have an iMac that I can play with as the library is redundantly copied in a dozen places.

I appreciate your short, concise answers ffiti. However....I'm not sure you are actually understanding WTH I'm talking about. OR, you have a helluva lot more time than I 🙂

J

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Answer 6

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Jan 6, 2014 9:58 AM in response to akdj

akdj wrote:

'Multiple Items' = 56,382 items. Nothing confusing.....but practically impossible. Are you not understanding my dilemna? So I CTRL Click 51,212

Why?

Why not simply Command A to select all?

Then right click - get info, click the button under Artwork.

Also, go to iTunes prefs > Store & uncheck Automatically download missing album artwork

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Answer 7

akdj Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 6, 2014 10:56 AM in response to Chris CA

Did the prefs. Why? Because...again, back to square 1----I can NOT find a WAY to separate song/artists/albums, et al that do/don't have artwork!!!

If I select ctrl-a, select all, this will also select 60,000 items that don't have artwork. Hence, the ability to 'remove artwork' isn't 'an option'. Do you have a solution to isolating JUST the records/artists/albums, et al WITH artwork from the ones withOUT?

Man----am I really being this ambiguous? Seriuosly....I'm not sure you're gettting the picture of what the task at hand is. Sorry...but from the beginning, THAT has been the #1 issue. Probably wading through the OP, that's a challenge to see....but I wanted to be clear what I'd tried, etc.

Thanks for your continued efforts...I know you're going to hit something I haven't tried!

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Answer 8

Chris CA

Level 10

82,434 points

Jan 6, 2014 11:22 AM in response to akdj

akdj wrote:

If I select ctrl-a, select all, this will also select 60,000 items that don't have artwork. Hence, the ability to 'remove artwork' isn't 'an option'.

Why not?

What's wrong with selecting all songs, whether they have artwork or not?

The songs that have artwork will get removed and the others without artwork, well there's nothing to remove.

Script to add songs with no artwork to a playlist -> http://dougscripts.com/apps/tracksiftapp.php

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