I am trying to copy music albums from iTunes (12.2.2.25) on an iMac (OS X 10.10.2) to a USB stick to use in my car. I have been dragging and dropping. Some albums come across as albums and are searchable as albums in the car, other albums, most, come across just as a list of song files and are not searchable by album. So how do I transfer all the albums I want so that they are recognised as albums? Help please.
iMac
Hi Matto,
You'll probably need to do some detective work here. The big unknown is how the sound system works in your particular car, which you'll likely need to consult your owner manual or maybe the manufacturer's website about.
From the iTunes side, though: Is there anything noticeably different about the albums that appear as albums versus those that appear as lists of songs? For example, are some of the files MP3 and others m4a? Anything different about the way they are tagged -- are all the fields filled in? Single-artist albums versus multi-artist compilations? It seems notable that some albums are recognized properly, which suggests that the problem may be something rather subtle.
Hi Matto,
You'll probably need to do some detective work here. The big unknown is how the sound system works in your particular car, which you'll likely need to consult your owner manual or maybe the manufacturer's website about.
From the iTunes side, though: Is there anything noticeably different about the albums that appear as albums versus those that appear as lists of songs? For example, are some of the files MP3 and others m4a? Anything different about the way they are tagged -- are all the fields filled in? Single-artist albums versus multi-artist compilations? It seems notable that some albums are recognized properly, which suggests that the problem may be something rather subtle.
Thanks Richard. I'll need to do some digging when I have some time. I can't see any common thread at the moment. Some of the successes were MP3, some m4a. They all seem to be similar on i tunes - most are ripped albums with similar levels of information filled in. It must be something subtle, or at least too subtle for me. Not solved yet!
More - the successes show album cover artwork on the USB stick. The failures do not - they are single files.Dragging the album across it seems to come just as 12 (say) music files not as an album.
Aha! Excellent detective work. I'm quite sure this is a clue, but as to what it means ... anybody?
This does suggest an experiment, though. Choose one of the albums that isn't being recognized properly, and round up some cover art from the net for it -- even if it's already got artwork visible in iTunes. Select all tracks, Control-click, choose Get Info.
In this first Get Info tab, check to see that all the album-wide tags are filled in. A danger sign to look for is any field that says "Mixed" in grayed-out letters. This indicates some inconsistent tagging among tracks, and that could be the cause of the problem.
Now click the Artwork tag, and drag the new image into there. Click Okay.
This should cause iTunes to re-process the tracks and update the tag data. I think. And then you can test this album on the USB stick to see if anything is different.
How do I copy albums from iTunes to a USB stick to use in the car?
