Part of a Compilation. Display Bug & Workaround

Hi all,


Continuing this thread..

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4590161


I have found the reason (for me, at least) why iTunes sometimes doesn't group a compilation in the Compilations section, even though the flag "Part of a Compilation" is correctly set in all album tracks.


If the Artist of any tracks in the album is equal to the Album Artist, the whole album will be listed in the main section and NOT under Compilations.


eg. I have a DJ-Kicks mix album by Chromeo:


The Album Artist is "Chromeo" and for track 16 the Artist is also "Chromeo". With the tags like this the album is NOT listed as a Compilation in iTunes. However, if I change the track 16 Artist to "Chromeo 2" or something the album IS listed as a Compilation in iTunes. I could have instead changed the Album Artist of all tracks to "Chromeo Mix" which would also work.


I can always "fix" problem albums by obeying the rule that "no Artist can be the same as the Album Artist". Definitely a bug and one that's been around for a long long time.


There is another bug where single-track albums (like a single-track mix album) will never be displayed as a Compilation, no matter what you do. The only workaround here is to tag a dummy track (maybe a couple of seconds of silence) as track 2 of the album and then it'll be displayed as a Compilation.


I originally posted this with screenshots to better illustrate but it was quickly removed without explanation. Hopefully this one stays and i'll try and post the screenshots as a reply.


regards

El.

iPhone 6s, iOS 11.4.1, iTunes 12.8.0.150

Posted on Sep 28, 2018 8:13 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 28, 2018 10:39 AM

Yeah but I don't see why a Track Artist matching the Album Artist should have any bearing on whether the album is grouped as a Compilation or not. The Album Title is the same for all tracks, the Album Artist is the same for all tracks and the Compilation flag is checked for all tracks. Irrespective of what individual Track Artists are, the album should be grouped as a Compilation.


Track 16 has the same Artist as the Album Artist:

User uploaded file

The album is not grouped as a Compilation:

User uploaded file


I change the track 16 Artist to be different from the Album Artist:

User uploaded file

The album is now grouped as a Compilation:

User uploaded file


This works for all compilation albums where i had the trouble. Easily replicated.

Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 28, 2018 10:39 AM in response to turingtest2

Yeah but I don't see why a Track Artist matching the Album Artist should have any bearing on whether the album is grouped as a Compilation or not. The Album Title is the same for all tracks, the Album Artist is the same for all tracks and the Compilation flag is checked for all tracks. Irrespective of what individual Track Artists are, the album should be grouped as a Compilation.


Track 16 has the same Artist as the Album Artist:

User uploaded file

The album is not grouped as a Compilation:

User uploaded file


I change the track 16 Artist to be different from the Album Artist:

User uploaded file

The album is now grouped as a Compilation:

User uploaded file


This works for all compilation albums where i had the trouble. Easily replicated.

Sep 28, 2018 9:58 AM in response to elsandalos

It sounds as if things are working as intended. The compilation flag has often been used to "fix" split albums where there really is a clear album artist which would be the better glue for the album, or applied to anthologies of a single artist's work rather the to a collection of tracks by disparate artists which is really the intended use within iTunes. The single track mix album is an edge case which, as you note, iTunes doesn't want to consider as a compilation.


tt2

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Part of a Compilation. Display Bug & Workaround

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.