ID3 tags won't save

I've noticed that a few songs that I've imported have incorrect ID3 tags, so I go to "Get Info" to fix them. When I click OK, everything looks good, but as soon as I play the file it goes back to the original tag. I've tried changing the tag and sorting options and made everything the same, but nothing seems to work. Once I open the file in Winamp and edit the tag there, iTunes recognizes the new tag, but I am unable to directly edit AND save the tags through iTunes.
For example:
I try to change the tag from "Original artist name - original track title" to
"Artist - Title"
Clicking OK makes it look right, but as soon as I double click the song to play it, it goes right back to "Original artist name - original track title".
This isn't the case with every file, though; some can be edited with no problems. I've made sure the non-working files have been converted to ID3v2.2. None of the files are stored in my iTunes Music folder, and none are DRM protected.

i'd normally think about access permissions as iTunes will fail silently if it can't write out the updated tag however the fact that Winamp can manage it suggests another problem.
It may be that the files have multiple tags. It used to be common to add both a v1.x & v2.x tag and in theory multiple tags can be used to support different languages. iTunes likes a single tag and may silently fail when it tries to write the data back to the track, thus doing nothing without reporting an error. Next time you access the file the library will update to reflect the true values in the tag. For what it's worth I believe it's recommended to use ID3v2.3 tags with iTunes.
MP3Validator may be all you need, but if not try using the iTunes option *Convert ID3 Tags... > None* say 3 times in a row, then *Convert ID3 Tags... > v2.3* to see if that creates a situation in which your edits can hold.
tt2

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Apple Lossless Tags won't Save

Hi everyone,
Has anyone experienced this? I have about 4 CDs that I've ripped in iTunes (I think), and they are all in Apple Lossless m4a. Despite the fact that their tags load just fine in other programs, iTunes is treating these files as if they had no tags whatsoever. I've tried to rewrite some of the tags within iTunes, but removing and reloading my library into iTunes reveals that these tags were never written in the first place.

Yes, I have experienced it. (not written into the audio file)
What version of iTunes are you using?
Over on the LogicPro8 forum
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8108295#8108295
describes a problem with adding metadata (the ID3 tags) in to a file with
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ID3 tags won't change...

Hi everyone,
i've a problem with my mp3 tags, i'm trying to organize my library trough updating the ID3 tags but it won't work.
For example, I've 2 artists: ACDC and AC/DC, when I change the info artist into ACDC, it won't change anything and i'll still have both names aperaing.
Worse, on some compilation, in my iphone, the album nam will appear as many times as there is songs... if I've 20 songs in an album called "Compilation 1" for example, the album "Compilation 1" will appear 20 times in my iphone list...
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thanks

cedricsh wrote:
However, they are not on my computer's hard drive but on an ethernet connected external drive, do you think it could be the problem ?
seems very likely to me. - but I've never tried that. That's worth a seperate topic here, perhaps someone who's used one could reply, Barring that, See below (for a way to test)
cedricsh wrote:
I've already tried some of your , my last chance will be to reinstal iTunes, however, will all of my library be lost (i mean, will i have to re-upload all the songs ?, i've over 8000 songs so it's pretty long).
No removing the program won't do anything to your music. After you reinstall itunes first try copying a few songs to default location on your internal HD, and see if problem still exists (make sure iTunes is pointed to it) THEN reestablish the external,
PS: I forgot to ask Does your iTunes Prefs > Advanced Tab show the correct path to your media folder? Do you have the "Copy files to Media Folder when adding... " checked?
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ID3 Tags won't write to file

I recently received a disc from a friend, the disc had 16 songs on it, with no ID3 Tag info. I went through and added the missing info manually using the "Get Info" option from the file in iTunes & hit OK, but when I was done, the files look complete in iTunes, but the original file copied to the hard drive was unchanged. When I used iTunes 10, it used to rewrite the ID tags for the file on my hard drive with the changed info via iTunes. I double checked to make sure that I "Let iTunes Organize" my files and folders. I've looked through threads, googled, etc, and I have NO clue what to do, or even if I did something. Help!
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i'd normally think about access permissions as iTunes will fail silently if it can't write out the updated tag however the fact that Winamp can manage it suggests another problem.
It may be that the files have multiple tags. It used to be common to add both a v1.x & v2.x tag and in theory multiple tags can be used to support different languages. iTunes likes a single tag and may silently fail when it tries to write the data back to the track, thus doing nothing without reporting an error. Next time you access the file the library will update to reflect the true values in the tag. For what it's worth I believe it's recommended to use ID3v2.3 tags with iTunes.
MP3Validator may be all you need, but if not try using the iTunes option *Convert ID3 Tags... > None* say 3 times in a row, then *Convert ID3 Tags... > v2.3* to see if that creates a situation in which your edits can hold.
tt2

ID3 tags won't convert!

I just learned that you can convert ID3 tags to Unicode right in iTunes. I used to use Unicode Rewriter, but now I can't convert them in either - it just stays the same! I don't know what's different in my computer now, but I did a complete system restore from my recovery partition since then! Please help! Thanks in advance.

version 7.5
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ID3 tags won't upd

I have a Zen Micro and organise the downloads via WM0 because I find it easier to use than Creative's MediaSource software. This is generally fine but I've noticed that, even if I delete a track from the player, edit the tag info in WM0's Library feature and then download it again, the Zen Micro display often shows the old tag information. This is particularly annoying if I've sourced a track via a compilation (e.g. 'Sega Mega-Funk 2' or some such inanity) or if the artist is listed differently across two sources - e.g. 'Grandmaster Flash' and 'Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fi've'. Has anyone got a solution to this problem?
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Strange. I can think of a couple of reasons why it might do this () the changes aren't being saved back into the file in the right way, so try a 3rd party tagging program instead of WMP0 and see if it works (2) the Zen's library is somehow remembering the data, but this seems very odd and I doubt it.

ID3 Tags - Won't remember new info

I looked around and couldn't find any posts about this topic.
When I edit tags in iTunes 7.0 and 7.0.1, the information is not remembered.
I have spent time changing tags. Then I drop the original file back in iTunes and all my work is gone. The old info is still there and none of my changes are saved. All was fine in iTunes 6.
Any ideas?

I suspect that you have iTunes set to "copy files when importing".
You import the the files into iTunes, and iTunes makes a copy of them in whatever directory you have specified. When you edit the tags it edits the file in the directory you have specified as the iTunes music directory. Then when you copy in your original file again it overwrites the one in your music library.

Is there a reason why my ID3 tags won't update in the artist view in the music app?

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Any other reason why this it's still under headphone mode?
I'm pretty sure the fact that it was in the washer is the problem. Just because you 'dried' it in the sun doesn't mean it wasn't permanenlty damaged. Try putting it in a bag of rice for 5-7 days. If it still doesn't work, it's probably permanent.

Mediasource won't update ID3 tags!

"Mediasource won't update ID3 tags!? Please help! I have been using Mediasource 5 over the years to painstakingly get my mp3 library organized just the way I want it. I know that the Media Source track info is not necessarily the same as what's stored in the ID3 tag of the files themselves. I am trying to update the ID3 tags so that the info matches what is in Media Source. The good news is, I can right click on my database in CMS and there is an option to "Update Track Properties". Within this window are two options: one to update the ID3 tags to match MediaSource, and another to update MediaSource to match the ID3 tags.
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Mapleleaf3 wrote:
2) Using the File>export button and clicking save in the CD drive is the correct way to put CD text onto the CD, right?
Preferences > Advanced > Burning (tab)
Under "Audio CD", check "Include CD Text"
Mapleleaf3 wrote:
3) Would this CD text be able to be read by other people's Itunes?
CD-TEXT only allows capable audio players (portable CD players, certain car stereo CD players, etc.) to scroll that information across its display as the track is playing.
For other people's iTunes to be able to retrieve the track listing, it has to be first uploaded into Gracenote's database, once Gracenote processes the information.
Steve

ITunes won't read ID3 tags that Windows sees

I recently switched my library over from a Mac laptop to a PC desktop. I have about 70 GB of perfectly organized music accumulated over years and years.
In the process, after I loaded some songs into iTunes (using the Keep My iTunes Folder Organized and all that stuff), I noticed that about 10 GB of music were without titles, artists, or album info, and just displayed the name of the MP3 file (so like instead of displaying 15 Step by Radiohead from In Rainbows, Track 1 it displayed "01 15 Step" in the Title column only).
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I am also having the same problem with about 200 of my MP3s. The tag info shows up perfectly using QuickLook on Leopard, but in iTunes I can't see any of the info. I have tried converting the ID3 tag version, revesing the unicode....nothing.
Have you had any luck?

Songs Won't Play, Album Art Not Modifiable, ID3 Tags, Need Help

I have a 32 GB iPod Touch, Windows Vista, the latest version of iTunes and Quicktime as well as the latest iPod software.
I noticed the other day that a bunch of my songs were missing album art. I have a library with almost 7,000 songs and I have album art for everything. I went to the songs to attempt to fix the album art and noticed that it said, Album Art Not Modifiable, in the Album Art preview screen. I thought that was weird and it wouldn't let me add new album art to these albums.
I also noticed that none of these songs would play. They wouldn't play on my iPod or on iTunes. You can click play and it looks like it's going to play, but the counter never leaves "0".
I thought something was wrong with my files and that I would have to re rip or download the songs. However, by chance I opened one of the songs in Window Media Player and it worked, so I knew the files were fine.
I did a search online and found several people with the same problem and a few things to try. But nothing worked until I stumbled upon a solution of setting the ID3 tags to version "None", then setting them to version 2.4. I tried it and it worked.
But now it keeps happening, I get a new group of albums every day that won't play.
Can anyone tell me what is causing this?
How do I prevent it?
Do I really need to take every song in my library and change the ID3 tags, that could take forever?
Could anyone please help and shed some light on this.
Thank You

Thanks for replying, Please read our Operating System details before taking a guess about what 'could' be the problem...
I think I figured it out anyway, Windows Media Player might be adding extra information that iTunes does not like, either Windows Media Player and/or iTunes 7.7.1 don't conform to ID3 v2.4 standards...
Please fix your software, Apple. I know how you love to be unique and mock PC users with your one-sided advertisements but at least conform to the ID3 standards.

Missing songs / won't add or import files / corrupt id3 tags?

Hey Folks,
I can't seem to get some songs/files to add or import to itunes...
My computer crashed while itunes was open. When I rebooted the itunes library was corrupted and all playlists and songs were missing.
... no problem...
I'll just add the itunes folder right... Which is what I did.
Problem is now a good 20% of the songs are missing. They are on the harddrive in the itunes music folder, but won't import or add to itunes.
I suspect maybe it has something to do with corrupt ID3 tags?
Anyone know the answer to this mystery?
Thx

I assume adding artwork is a tag-affecting change - but I can't
add on this track - it just reverts to the black image.
I take it the tags themselves are hidden. I see no direct
editing options for them although I read than they can be
set to different types - and there are utilities available to
clean, fix, re-set, etc.
Ok, now I see your edit - this isn't an mp3, it's .aiff.
Message was edited by: Tom Meade1

ITunes won't read ID3 tags

So long story short, I lost my iTunes library and had to re-import all of my songs. Problem is, iTunes isn't reading the ID3 tags correctly, and most of my music has "unknown" under artist, album, etc. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal to just go through my library and update the information for the tracks manually. But I have a LOT of music, and it would take forever to do so for my entire library. I use iTunes whenever I import CDs or purchase music, so the ID3 tags were all originally created by iTunes itself, which doesn't make any sense. All of the ID3 information (track names, artist, album, etc.) is showing up fine in Explorer and Windows Media Player, so I'm not sure why iTunes isn't recognizing it. Any ideas?

I suspect the tracks have multiple tags which iTunes doesn't cope with. Each mp3 file should have a single ID3v2.3 tag for best results with iTunes. Some software creates both ID3v1 and ID3v2.x tags when creating mp3s. If these are edited with iTunes it may update one tag, but then later read back unchanged data from the other. MediaMonkey has some useful tools for cleaning tags, assuming that is the problem, and you can determine which version needs clearing out. Test with small samples to make sure.
tt2

Some songs won't add artwork so I need ID3 Tags but ID3 isn't in popup menu

When I Get Info on a track I get this menu but
there's nothing for Change ID3 tags. Should
there be or am I in the wrong place?

I assume adding artwork is a tag-affecting change - but I can't
add on this track - it just reverts to the black image.
I take it the tags themselves are hidden. I see no direct
editing options for them although I read than they can be
set to different types - and there are utilities available to
clean, fix, re-set, etc.
Ok, now I see your edit - this isn't an mp3, it's .aiff.
Message was edited by: Tom Meade1

My iTunes library and metadata/ID3 tags issue

Since 2010, iTunes is the only media player I use to play music. My library consists of music purchased from the iTunes Store, CD rips and stuff many artists these days release as freebies on the internet to promote a new album. Also, M4A and MP3 are the only formats I use so far.
Since iTunes, I really got into editing my library's metadata tags by hand, in order to create a custom archive which serves my preferences best. I should mention that besides iTunes being the only software I use to play my music library, it's also the only software I use to edit their metadata. Also, before iTunes – when my library was on different media players – I never bothered with editing them.
A few days ago, I found how a lot of people in forums complain about the way iTunes edits and stores metadata. So, I experimented and moved a few of my songs to other media players after editing their tags within iTunes. And indeed the tags and/or artwork were often displayed messed up and/or incorrect, some times partially and some times completely.
Some people were referring to the version of the ID3 tags being the issue, while others suggested using the "convert ID3 tags" feature. I myself am a little bit confused. "Converting the ID3 tags" wasn't available for my M4A files and once I performed it for my MP3's I didn't know which setting I should apply or what version to choose. I chose one version randomly but I'm not sure what happened.
My goal is to make my music library able to play and display my custom metadata on the majority of the popular media players. I hope that firstly this is possible and that secondly it won't be a solution which requires me going through every single song individually.
I really hope that all those years work on my library wasn't for nothing.
I'm using a MacBook running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and my iTunes version is 10.7
While my music library is more important that my iTunes version, I do like iTunes 10 more than 11.
I apologize for any grammar mistakes, since English is not my first language. Thank you all for your time and any suggestion is welcome.

itsjamesd wrote:
Hello turingtest2 and thank you for your reply.
In response to "a possible cause of problems is multiple embedded tags", what exactly does that mean and how can I avoid doing it in the future?
Anything ripped with iTunes should get a single tag. If multiple tags in some of your older mp3 rips are the cause of the problems when you try to access the files elsewhere then you should apply the suggested remedy selectively, not to the whole library indiscriminately. Once fixed you shouldn't have the problem again unless you use different ripping software. If so check the options to ensure you generate a single ID3v2.3 tag. Downloads from elsewhere are pot luck.
If I use Convert ID3 Tags>None before converting to v2.3 as you suggested, how many times is "several times" and why do I have to do it more than once? Also, what are your thoughts on 'v2.3 vs. v2.4'?
Several is at least two, but more could be needed if a file has both v1 and v2 tags in multiple languages. If there are two tags, the first conversion to none should remove the first one, and the second conversion the second. Experiment, And stick to v2.3.
In response to "the process removes any embedded art but otherwise preserves the data that iTunes knows". All fields excluding cover art remain the same? Does that mean that I will have to start from scratch and apply new cover art individually for each album? That would be too time consuming given the fact that I embed custom art.
Yes, everything but artwork is held in the iTunes database and is restored with the final Convert ID3 Tags... v2.3. Use Doug's scripts SaveAlbumArtJpeg before you start and RestoreArtworkFromAlbumFolder afterwards to save and the restore your existing artwork.
Also, what happens with my M4A files' metadata? ID3 tags are only used for MP3's, right?
Yes, m4a/aac files have a different tag mechanism. Multiple ID3 tags is just one possible issue that you might have. You said:
So, I experimented and moved a few of my songs to other media players after editing their tags within iTunes. And indeed the tags and/or artwork were often displayed messed up and/or incorrect, some times partially and some times completely.
It might be worth going into some more detail about exactly what differences you noticed. iTunes can automatically associate (instead of embedding) artwork when it can match the album in the store which could be why some tracks didn't get artwork.
tt2

ID3 tags won't save

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