compilation album artwork !!!

Good replies but eventhough I have a Complilation with the same Album Name but different Artist Name, they still come up multiple times in the Cover Browser view. What can I do to elimate this problem as more or less makes the superb Cover Browser view useless for me... Thx, Kenneth

MacBook Intel 2MHz, 1GB RAM, 120MB hard disk Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Finally, something I know the answer to 🙂

1. Select all the tracks to consolidate

2. right click and Get Info

3. "Multiple Item Info" pane appears

4. bottom left tick "compilation" and set to "yes"


It worked for me!

As Tenex points out sometimes iTunes will separate individual songs by different artist's as if they are separate albums because the iTunes does not always recognise that a collection of songs is a compilation. Solvable as he points out by selecting 'yes' in the compilation box in 'get info'.

However there are some exceptions. Say you download various hit songs of the disco era, each coming from a different album originally. They will appear as different albums in album list and although you can select them all, go to get info and group them as one album by clicking album and giving it a name (any name that suits you will do) This will group all those songs as if they are a real album but the art for each will still be their original album art (different for each song). In that case you need to manually delete the art for each song in 'get info' under the artwork tab. Then select all affected songs go to file > get info > info and drag the artwork you choose into the artwork box. All songs will then consistently have the same art.

Not only can you create your own albums this way, but all albums can have your own choice of image. There is nothing that forces you to use the actual album image as designed by the record company. In fact it is fun if some music reminds you of a particular event or time, to replace the album art with a photo of yours from that time and suitably cropped square and resized.

That's odd - doing exactly what I outlined above I have 15 artists listed as a single album and none of your problems.

I suggest you follow the method above then switch to album view (middle button of the three buttons next to search) and select all, then apply the cover art to the selection. That should create a single entry. HTH

This may not solve the problem as you may already know this, but just in case you or someone else out there doesn't know...

The songs have to be sorted by "Album" to get one piece of artwork for each album. If you sort by "Artist", "Name" or anything else but "Album", each song will have it's own artwork.

You can test this by making a playlist with two compilation albums. When you sort by "Name" (the song title), it will show many duplicate covers because it's showing each song in title order. When you sort by "Album", "Album By Artist" or "Album By Year", it will only show one cover for each album.

PowerMac Dual 1.42 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

The songs have to be sorted by "Album" to get one
piece of artwork for each album. If you sort by
"Artist", "Name" or anything else but "Album", each
song will have it's own artwork.

Actually, however sorted it still displayed multiple album covers until I reapplied the artwork.

To Kenneth and David,

If after the advice you have been given you are still having troubles you need to follow good trouble shooting practice and establish exactly where the problem is.

If this problem occurs to all of your compilation albums and the album info such as 'yes' to compilation is correct then your problem is universal and therefore to do with iTunes itself. First thought is that it is a setting in Preferences. Check it out. If it looks like the program is broke (the least likely scenario) then contact Apple support via the support page.

If it happens to only some of the compilations then the problem most likely lies with the way you enter or store information.

Try this as an experiment. Start by dragging any artwork that you want to use for the whole album to the desktop (from one of the songs - you can drag out of iTunes as well as into) and then delete artwork for each individual song in File > Get Info > Artwork tab. Next select all of the songs of the errant album. File > Get Info > Info tab then manually enter all information so that it is the same including artist and including genre. Make certain you re-enter the album name at this point as one of the most common causes of your problem is slight differences in album name including spaces from song to song. And for artist get them the same - if it is an album of 50's rock'n'rollers for example rather than allow the artist's to be Elvis Presley, Bill Haley etc put them down under the universal name 'Elvis and Friends'. Then drag the artwork into the artwork box under the Info tab. No need to have the compilation box as 'yes' as the album is no longer viewed as a compilation by iTunes.

Click Okay and have a look at what has happened. The songs should all be together as one album. If this is the case then your problem lies in the way the info is put into iTunes and not with iTunes itself. You need then to experiment by adding the artist names back in individually and putting 'yes' into the compilation box for the entire album but leave all other info the same. If the songs are still separated then you have a more serious problem and should contact Apple support via the contact us link on the iTunes support page.

Just remember most problems come down to the way we set things up or spell things etc so you need to experiment to try to isolate exactly where your problem lies. For me it is usually one simple thing, and when I get it right you hear a loud 'dohh!'

Did you change either the "Album Artist" field or the "Compilation" setting?

To try and replicate the problem, I took one compilation (which had the "Compilation" tag set and nothing listed in the "Album Artist" fields) and added completely different artwork for each track. When sorted by album, it showed one piece of artwork as usual, from the first track. However, when not sorted by album, iTunes still showed the artwork from the first track for each song.

When I unckecked the "Compilation" tag, the songs showed their individual artwork, and were organized as twelve different albums, each with the same name.

When I added the name "Various Artists" to the "Album Artist" field, once again they showed the first cover for all tracks.

It looks like you can either set the "Compilation" tag to make iTunes think it's all one album, or you can make sure the "Album Artist" and "Album Title" fields so they are the same for all tracks. Differing artwork doesn't seem to come into it either way.

I usually use the "Compilation" tag, and ignore the "Album Artist" tag on compilations, unless the album is a mix done by a DJ, or a Greatest Hits compilation that includes tracks from two or more different acts.

For instance, the album "Osymyso Brings You... The Art Of Flipping Channels" is tracks by various artists that have been mixed together by the DJ Osymyso. So each track has it's own "Artist", but the "Album Artist" field for all tracks is "Osymyso".

Similarly, "The Pretenders Greatest Hits" includes tracks by "The Pretenders" (of course), as well as tracks by "Moodswings & Chrissie Hynde" and "UB40 & Chrissie Hynde". In this case the "Album Artist" is "The Pretenders".

The albums are then neatly listed as compilations under "Osymyso" and "The Pretenders" respectively.

PowerMac Dual 1.42 GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Did you change either the "Album Artist" field or the
"Compilation" setting?

I didn't have time to reply earlier but I've just ripped a couple of audiobooks (12+ discs each) and tried selecting all tracks and applying artwork to all as a compilation and using "Album Artist" but it hasn't consolidated the Coverflow entries as desired.

Then I tried again using the Compilation box and all is well.

Since the upgrade to iTunes 7.0 Iv been having similar problems. All of the compliation albums have gone nuts. Now no matter which option I choice to view my library all albums with any comlication has it's own file. Perfect example: "Moulin Rouge". Instead of the way things listed in iTunes 6.0 now the album is split up. In one file there are multiple files. In one it shows songs 14, 10, 11, and 8, in that order. To find the other 10 tracks I have to dig through the entire library. Any album regardless of genre is the same, classical, rock, pop you name it. Doesn't make any difference when I pull "get info" whether I check compliation as yes or no. Nothing changes.

Plus the fact that even when the entire album shows it now lists track 14 - 1, not 1 - 14. That and I have probably 10 or 11 tracks / albums that simpy will no longer work.

Don't know what the upgrade to iTunes 7.0 did, but at this point I'd dump it if I could. Iv been waiting 6 days now for iTunes support to get back to me.

Anyone have any hints?

Mike

Since the upgrade to iTunes 7.0 Iv been having
similar problems. ...
Don't know what the upgrade to iTunes 7.0 did, but at
this point I'd dump it if I could. Iv been waiting 6
days now for iTunes support to get back to me.

You can go back to iTunes 6 via the combo update I've read elsewhere. I may join you every time I connect my Nano my iMac freezes.

Complation is checked in preferences. Same for "get info". Doesn't matter if complication is checked or not checked in "get info". I still get the same thing in iTunes.

iTunes support replied this afternoon and all they said was make use I have the latest iTunes updates. Which I do.

In any case I can't get the compilations to group together in one album. They all still show as singles or doubles with common reason why iTunes is separating them.

Mike

You need to go into iTunes prefs and turn on Compilations.

Make sure you are sorting on the correct field.
If you are sorting on Artist, they will show up separately.

Try sorting on Album by Artist or Album Artist.