how come the number of songs on itunes (3514) doesn't match what is says is on ipod (3494)

There may be one - or more reasons why the numbers don't tie up. Simply using the numbers shown by iTunes and the iPod will not help you that much, particularly if you are using those numbers to assume that there are songs missing from your iPod.

For example;

Do you see any error messages when you Sync your iPod? For example, "the song <song title> was not copied to the iPod because it could not be played on this iPod". If you do see such a message, what precisely does it say and have you checked the song(s) named to see what format it is (they are) in?
If you use Sync only ticked songs and videos, and you have songs in your iTunes Library that are not ticked, they will not be on your iPod, but they will be counted in your Library. If you use this option, look in your Library for songs without ticks in the box to the left to the song title.
If you use Sync selected Playlists, Artists, Albums etc. etc. - and if your selection does not include every song, that will definitely cause the discrepancy. In other words, if you have songs that are not in the Playlists that you have selected, they won't be on the iPod, so the counts will be different. If you use this option, make sure you have selected the albums, Playlists or anything else that has the missing songs in.

If none of the above situations apply to you, have a careful, relaxed think about what is missing from the iPod. While listening to music, take the opportunity to browse through the iPod, and consider what is missing. For example;

is there one complete album, that has 19 songs on it, that is missing from your iPod? (The discrepancy is 19.)
if you like to browse by albums, use the Albums menu to to see if songs are missing from albums.
if you prefer to browse by artists, check to see if any artist is missing or has some songs missing.

If you realise that something is missing from the iPod, have a look at it in your iTunes Library and see if you can work out why it's missing.

Alternatively, do you use Manually Manage to put songs onto your iPod?

Reply