I tried updating the Sort Artist for some tracks and now iTunes is showing a blank Sort Artist field:
When I try updating the Sort Artist field again it's ignored:
Usually when you change a field you get the little green tick alongside the field, but not on this occasion.
Anyone got any ideas or is this another iTunes bug? This only started happening since I upgraded to version 12.2.1.16 (WIndows 64-bit).
HP ProDesk 400 G1 SFF-OTHER, Windows 7
It seems the current version won't let you store a manual sort value that matches the main value, presumably as it is unnecessary.
Also editing the main value now wipes the sort values out, perhaps to ensure that irrelevant sort values are not left in place.
Note that giving different main values a common sort value can give unpredictable results and should generally be avoided. Use album artist where needed to link tracks from an album rather than mashing things together via the sort fields. See Grouping track into albums for more information.
tt2
Thanks for your reply, but it doesn't help.
I was trying to correct a spelling mistake made by Apple and as a result iTunes has now wiped the Sort Artist field for an entire album with no way of getting the original information back. I've tried deleting the album and downloading it again but it makes no difference.
I prefer to use the Sort Artist field rather than the Artist field but I'm no longer able to do this because the Sort Artist field is blank, and why bother to have a Sort artist field if I'm not allowed to use it? I can understand iTunes not saving the Sort Artist field if it duplicates the Artist field, but it could at least display the Artist field in its place rather than not displaying anything.
This is a bug, pure and simple. And what's most annoying is a complete lack of any response or acknowledgement from Apple which shows a complete disregard for their customers.
Whether it is a bug or the designed behaviour is for Apple to call. You can use iTunes Feedback or Apple Bug Reporter to try to let them know about the issue, but it is generally a one way communication process. They don't talk back, but if they decide the issue warrants action it may get rectified in a subsequent release.
I'm not sure quite what you mean by the statement "I prefer to use the Sort Artist field rather than the Artist field". Use it for what? The value that controls sorting is generally the first non-blank value from Sort Album Artist, Album Artist, Sort Artist, Artist. The value that is displayed is Album Artist or Artist. Whether you sort on Sort Artist or Artist (or Sort Album Artist or Album Artist) the order is the same. What is displayed in the Album grid, or the now playing screen or elsewhere is always the primary field, not the sort field, so what exactly is the impact on your library of this change?
If you must have every slot for Sort Artist filled in when looking at the Songs or other list views, which as far as I can tell is the only place where it might matter visually, then click in the empty fields and type in the details. The order won't change if they match the primary values, but iTunes will accept them and not wipe them out as it does when using Get Info.
tt2
I was unaware of neither iTunes Feedback nor Apple Bug Reporter and assumed - wrongly it would appear - that the Apple Support Communities would be the appropriate place to raise this issue.
I use the Songs view so the Sort Artist field does matter, and you can't type in the Sort Artist field.
This is a user to user support forum. Apple's involvement is limited mainly to moderation, with a few community specialists who try to pick up unloved posts and suggest an existing support document that might be relevant. They may keep a weather eye out for significant issues, but they don't generally use the forums to gather feedback.
I neglected links before so here there are: iTunes Feedback is for general feedback. Or you can sign up for a free Apple Developer account and make use of Apple Bug Reporter where a more formal style is required; it should be a detailed account of a reproducible problem, preferably with information covering which builds are affected and any workarounds. They don't generally talk back whichever method you use, but they do claim to read everything.
As I stated if you are merely repeating the contents of the main field in the sort field then the order will not change, except in the case where the value you enter is different from the auto-sort value that might otherwise be generated. It might bother you visually, but it won't affect display or playback order.
To enter values in the Songs layout tap twice (slower than a double click) just inside the left edge of the field you want to edit.
tt2
I have reported this to Apple using the iTunes Feedback option from within iTunes itself.
Your last comment about tapping twice really helped - this is what I was looking for. Thank you for your help.
You're welcome. 🙂
tt2
Can't change Artist/Sort As using Get Info
