Hi
I have several albums by the same artist.
When I select view by artist in one instance it has not added a new album to where all the others are.
Rather it it shown as a separate item.
Same artist name just showing above all the others.
Hope I have made this understandable.
Thanks for any help in advance.
joshe
iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mavericks (10.9), null
Steve MacGuire a.k.a. turingtest2 - iTunes & iPod Hints & Tips - Grouping Tracks Into Albums - http://www.samsoft.org.uk/iTunes/grouping.asp (older post on Apple Discussions http://discussions.apple.com/thread/2099465?answerId=9910895022#9910895022)
Quick answer: Select all the tracks on the album, File > get info (or right-click > get info > details), and either give them all a single "album artist", or check the "compilation" flag (as in https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3756735?answerId=17670085022#17670085022).
If these are from multiple-CD sets you may also need to enter the appropriate information in the disc number fields. If they are not a multiple CD set you still need to make sure the disc number fields are set correctly or all empty.
Another explanation by hhgttg27 August 2015 - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6864334?answerId=27784417022#27784417022
If they still really do not want to group check this Aug. 2008 post by turingtest2 about temporarily changing labels - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1670662?answerId=7904806022#7904806022 or http://www.samsoft.org.uk/iTunes/merge.asp - This often works but I have had cases where tracks grouped when a letter was added but ungrouped when it was removed again.
If they are mp3 files try changing the ID3 tag version which may cause iTunes to re-write the tags and clear up inconsistencies. I use iTunes 7.5 (yes, from 2007) so I can't tell you where this is in later versions.
I had one case of really stubborn grouping. The tracks would re-group in ways that didn't make sense when I changed metadata. Without going into detail, I deleted the tracks completely from iTunes, then re-added the files and they all grouped correctly.
Hi Steve
Thanks for your response and the links.
I have tried adding a letter to the artists name which put that album under a separate new heading as expected. When I took out the extra letter it did not return to where it was.
Having tried this with two other albums I now have three headings for the same artist. Seven albums under one, two albums under the next and two albums under the third. Whoops!
So I have managed to add one album to the album that would not consolidate, make up another heading for the artist but not put all eleven under the same heading.
I have tried all combinations of entering the artist name under sorting but it just doesn't group all albums under the same one heading. I am, for sure, not doing something right but for the life of me I cannot at the moment see what it is.
I have had similar problems in the past and managed to sort them but that was on an earlier version if iTunes. I think I might delete the album completely and reinstall. Perhaps that might work.
Have to say, I do wish someone at Apple would get to grips with some of these problems. This particular one has been around for ages.
You are probably wise to stay with 7.5!!
If you have anything further please post.
In the meantime thanks again.
Regards.
joshe.
I suspect you've managed to lump Limnos and I together. 😕
Deleting and reimporting albums generally won't have any effect if there are inconsistencies in the metadata. For a given artist you're normally aiming at consistency in the spelling, casing & spacing of Artist, Album Artist, Sort Artist and Sort Album Artist across all tracks by them, and within each album a similar consistency for Album and Sort Album. In rare cases you can make changes which on the surface should update the tags, but don't because iTunes doesn't have the right permissions to make changes, or occasionally in the case of mp3 files because there are multiple tags which iTunes doesn't handle properly. It is usually best to apply the same fix to all of the tracks at the same time. This ensures the problem isn't being caused by one set of tracks having a different invisible character than another, or some other oddity like an upper case i used as lower case L. I'd recommend completing both Artist and Album Artist fields. iTunes and iOS devices favour Album Artist over Artist when the two are different. Older iPods only use Artist.
tt2 (Steve)
Hi
I can see what I've done now. Sorry about that.
I have tried your last suggestion with one of the albums. Copy and paste to make sure the spelling layout is the same. Not working as yet.
Thing that worries me is that if I ever fix the problem I probably will not be able to understand what sorted it.
Still will continue to play, I will let you know if I have any success.
Fortunately it doesn't affect the music.
Thanks again.
Regards.
joshe.
If you'd like to post up a screenshot of what you're seeing I might be able to make specific suggestions.
tt2
Hi tt2
Screen shot attached from the album listing.
I have included the artist above and the one below.
You can see Rod Stewart is split into three.
Thanks for your continuing support.
Regards.
joshe
Using the Songs view select all 107 songs from the 11 albums and Get Info. Change the Artist, Album Artist, Sort Artist and Sort Album Artist to Rod Stewart X. Click OK to apply the change. Check under the Artists view that all has merged under Rod Stewart X. Now set all four fields back to Rod Stewart.
tt2
Thank you so much turingtest2 - this has seriously been doing my head in! - particularly noticed this when an artist's album has them in a duet - and the guest artist is listed as a joint artist - I like to change the artist name to match the album artist only - makes for neater iPod searching - and I add the guest artist to the song title...but my OCD then stuffs up the grouping as above! Really though, the sorting should just easily work as the user prefers - otherwise why give the option to change? - Apple really gotta fix this - shouldn't need a workout as you've identified - I've literally spent hours trying to sort my library....But thanks again - you're a life saver for nut-job OCD users like me!
You're welcome. 🙂
tt2
consolidate albums under artist
