ITunes changing ID tags

Since installing the new version of iTunes today (v.10.6.1.7) I have had an issue where sometimes when I double click on a song to play, iTunes changes the tag information for the song. Specifically, it re-adds in the original Album Artist, Composer, and Track no. (which I delete when I add a new song to my library). It also adds a long string of numbers and letters (e.g., 0000084 A000900....) into the Comment field. It does not change any other fields as far as I can tell. It is not doing it to all songs, just some. It has only started doing this since running the update. Does anyone know why iTunes is suddenly doing this? Thanks.

Thanks both for your help.
The odd thing is, this has only happening since the iTunes update I ran yesterday.
I don't use WMP, but have unticked the settings in the Options that may be causing a problem, and removed all libraries from WMP. I did find that WMP was importing all my music into its music library without me knowing. I have changed the all library locations so they are empty. However, the problem is still occurring.
I'm not sure it's a problem with tags not saving, as I have played these specific songs before now (for many years) with no problems, but now it is suddenly making these changes post iTunes update.
It seems to be a common problem from what I have seen on online, but one Apple don't seem to answer.

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ITunes changing the ID3 tags and deleting music after syncing or opening

After syncing (or opening iTunes), iTunes changes the tags in about 25% of my music (this time it was about 90% affected). It removes the total track number on some of the songs. This has been a consistent problem. I noticed that it also actually erased some of my music, random tracks in my library are now missing (gone in windows explorer also). I have reformatted my iPod and restored it, it's not that. What is going on!! Going through and fixing 7500 songs every time I sync is ******* me off
Here is a picture of what it is doing: removing the total track on some songs
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u233/jupiterssj4/itunes.jpg
Forgot to mention that it also copied the artist field data to the album artist field... had to erase all of those too

Mine is doing the exact same thing. It happens every time I click on a song. Weird letter-number strings are inserted into the Comments field, my album art is gone, and the track numbers are messed up.
I've tried upgrading to the new iTunes. I tried reinstalling iTunes. I turned off my soundcheck option and deleting potentially comprised files. Nothing's worked.
I've tried emailing Apple directly and got no help. Anyone know what's going on???
http://photos.walmart.com/slideshow/AlbumID=46480802/PictureID=1343518875/a=9835 065_9835065/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink

ITunes 11 Edited Tags Changing/Reverting

Hello,
I have an iTunes collection that has been building since 2006. I divide my music into a few categories using the "grouping" tag. Often times when I edit the "grouping" tag I am overwriting either the label or a web address which had been previously added to that tag. I also use Mixed In Key software to analyze my music before adding the music to iTunes. Mixed In Key enters the key of the song into the "comments" tag and the BPM into the "BPM" tag.
I have been doing this for years and lately I have began to notice a problem. On some songs (most songs don't do this), when the song is played iTunes "refreshes" the tag and often times the "grouping" tag changes or reverts back to the info that was previously in the tag, such as the label or web address.
Further, sometimes the key that is written in the "comments" field will change to a long code of digits... something literally like 00007658935482748193.. Always beginning with several zeros.
Is there anything that I can do to have iTunes hard rewrite these fields so that they do not change by themselves?
Thanks.

Yes, others are seeing this. Something in purchased media (I am pretty sure this has only happened with purchased media) is periodically checking back with the iTunes Store and resetting the tags in the iTunes library file but not in the actual media files (metadata are stored in both). I haven't seen a truly systematic diagnosis of the issue (I use an old iTunes and have no iTunes account so I can't test anything myself). There are temporary workarounds but tags will still revert after a time.
Something to try (post by turingtest2) - https://discussions.apple.com/message/26454072#26454072
If the above doesn't work:
2014 discussion about edited tags for Store purchases reverting to originals - https://discussions.apple.com/message/26077896#26077896 - edited tags are still present in the media file but revert to the originals in the iTunes library file. Workaround is to refresh tags so media file tags are re-read and used in library file.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/26193185#26193185
https://discussions.apple.com/message/26335620#26335620 - user ended up rebuilding iTunes library from scratch
Send feedback to Apple about this so they know it is an issue they need to investigate:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html
Don't expect an immediate solution but maybe the next time they update the software it may be resolved.

How can I stop iTunes from changing my tags?

I have a MacBook Pro running Yosemite, and iTunes 12. When I play a track, iTunes often changes the tags automatically, but not for every track. It's particularly difficult with compilations, where it will take a song and change the album to something I don't even own.
Now, I have had the computer for a while, and have had iTunes addons before, so it may be a legacy, but I've had the computer so long, I don't remember all of the apps I've had and uninstalled over the years.
I have followed the directions for cleaning out plugins and extensions from the library folders, but it's still happening.
Does anyone know of an app that has this functionality, so I can check their forums, or, if there's no there a way to do a clean install of iTunes on a Mac?
Thanks.

I think even using Get Info may not reveal the change, though it is possible the behaviour has altered since I last tested it. Playing or updating the tracks location in a script such as UpdateTagInfo seems to get iTunes to re-evaluate the tag.
Assuming WMP is involved it may be best to make the necessary settings adjustments to prevent further changes, use the script to get all of the background changes exposed within iTunes, then correct as you see fit. Alternatively I do have another script called ExportImport that could be used to back up the current state of your tags (you should temporarily rename the media folder during the export phase), after which you would then run UpdateTagInfo and then use ExplortImport in its import mode to restore the corrupted data.
tt2

ITunes changes my ID3 tags... more info please.

Hello,
I'm in the process of setting up a podcast on iTunes for my church. Here is the feed. http://www.christcommunity.org.au/feed/?post_type=sermons
Now, when I subscribe to the feed in iTunes and download a file, I notice that two important ID3 tags have changed.
1. Album changes. In 'The Authority of Jesus.mp3', it is 'The Life of Jesus' on my web server but it is 'Christ Community Church » Sermons' when downloaded from iTunes.
2. Contributing Artists changes. In 'The Authority of Jesus.mp3', it is 'David Cunningham' on my web server bu it is 'Christ Community Church' when downloaded from iTunes.
Why do these ID3 tags change? Thanks.

Roger,
Thanks for your reply to my post. I am not concerned about what appears in iTunes as such, and I understand how that relates to the <iTunes:> tags in the feed. The Apple documentation is pretty clear on this.
However, in the feed, the file is specified by:
<enclosure url="http://media.blubrry.com/christcommunitychurch/www.christcommunity.org.au/ wp-sermons/20110306-ChristCommunity-Mark1.mp3" length="8640981" type="audio/mpeg" />
Now, when I download the file from that URL and look at the ID3 tags, the Album is set to 'The Life of Jesus' and the Contributing Artists is set to 'David Cunningham'. When I download the same podcast episode through iTunes, using the same feed, the ID3 tags change, as specified in my original post.
The feed is created by Blubrry/PowerPress but this process does not alter the ID3 tags.
So the question still remains, why is iTunes changing my ID3 tags? Thank you for your assistance.

How To Permanently Change ID3 Tags With iTunes

Okay, so here's the deal. I've seen this question in several places, but I can't find a working answer, so I decided to give it a shot.
My goal: change ID3 tag info with my song collection in iTunes so that my changes stick permanently.
Now let me explain. I am picky about what info I want for a song. Anytime I add a song to my collection, I am specific about what info I want to keep and what I want to get rid of. What I keep: Song title, Artist info, album info and genre. I get rid of everything else, like track/disc number, year, comments, and etc.
To further my point, I'll explain how I go about what brings me to the problem. After I have an album with all songs I want from it, I add the folder to the iTunes library but I don't make any changes yet (I don't have the option checked for iTunes to add copies of the songs to the iTunes folder). Then I select all songs and convert them to 128kbs mp3s with v2.3 ID3 tags. Then I edit all the song info to what I mentioned before in the Get Info box. After a few plays, the track/disc numbers, years, and comments come back, but song title/artist info/album info don't change and the album artwork I added remains. I tried the opposite, editing all the info after adding the songs to the library THEN converting...same problem. I tried a third-party program, MP3tag, before and after converting, both with the same result. I even tried adding something to all comment boxes in iTunes to sync the libraries...that didn't work either. I also tried with that option of adding copies to the library checked and it still didn't work.
I want a solution to where my changes in iTunes of removing the track/disc numbers, years, and comments from songs will be permanent and not come back.
Also, this problem has remained through every new version of iTunes released up to the current version as of the time I am typing this.

There may be a number of things going on. iTunes has a problem updating files with multiple tags, e.g. both id3v1 and id3v2.x. Sometimes it seems it can update one copy of the tag, but then read back data from the other. It may also have problems if file security settings are incorrect, in which case it will appear to make a change, but then reveal the original data next time it accesses the track in some way. WMP may also be involved in magially restoring data that you've deleted. Getting iTunes & Windows Media Player to play nicely.
As to the issue with comments, are these general things or strings of digits like this? 00000000 00000210 00000770 0000000000103000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000. I've a feeling that patterns of digits such as these are in some way connected to gapless playback and are supposed to be hidden from view, but that may be wild speculation. Again it is even possible that WMP rather than iTunes creates them.
One way that might work is, having edited tracks to the values you want, use the option Convert id3 tags > None a few times, then Convert id3 tags > v2.3.
While I'm all for people having things the way they want them I really can't see how your library could be improved by not having track, disc, or year values. Without disc and track numbers albums will play out of sequence. Why not just turn off the columns that hold no interest for you?
tt2

ITunes changes my song tags

Hi,
every time I add my music folder to the iTunes library some track names end up getting a different tag. I'd estimate that it's about 1/6 of all my songs that this happens to. It's basically every track on certain albums. Most tags change to this format: http://bayimg.com/image/haoabaabn.jpg (the highlighted one I've clicked on and thereby changed the tag to the correct one)
By just playing/double clicking these tracks the tag changes to the correct one but it's kind of exhausting to click on 500 songs. It would've been fine if I only were to add my music folder once to the library but I add it on the regular to make sure that I synchronize all my songs to my iPod.
I'm guessing someone else must have had this problem and hopefully it can be solved.
And while I'm writing this post I might as well ask another thing. The iTunes default sorting is pretty bad in my eyes. A few things that irritate me:
* Artist who have the 'The' article don't get sorted under 'T'.
* Albums are sorted by name, not release year.
* Artists whose stage names begin with a number don't get sorted at the top.
* I've tagged track numbers as 1, 2, 3 and so on. Since there's no 0 in front my whole track order gets messed up on my iPod, although not in iTunes. :S
Pretty long post but hopefully someone will be able to help me. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your answer. First of all, I managed to get albums sorted by year now so thank you for that one. Too bad I can't do the other changes. I tag all my songs in an application called 'Mp3tag' and I've been consistent on tagging track numbers as 2 for example instead of 02 or 2/14. I guess I'll have to fill in the 'x of y' in iTunes then so I can get the correct track sorting in iTunes.
Furthermore I don't think it's WMP that's changing my song name tags. I never use the program itself although I use Media Player Classic for playing videos. I tested adding my music folder to the WMP library and all the song tags were correct although some artist tags were wrong, but that's not important.
And just a clarification: my topic is kind of incorrect maybe 'cause iTunes isn't really changing the tags per se. It just shows the wrong song tag and just by clicking on the track it changes to the correct one as I've already written. I would've never minded if it wasn't for the fact that those wrong tags show up in my iPod too.
I use foobar2000 for audio playback and everything shows up just fine in it. A solution to the problem would be if I could play or double click all my songs at the same time but I can only assume that that is impossible? Do you perhaps have any idea how I can solve the problem?
Thanks!

Change Id3 Tags in itunes match

How can I change ID3 Tags on my songs in the cloud?
I changed them on my ITunes (Windows) but they are not synced in the Cloud.

I just did some tests on my setup: iPhone/iMac (Master iTunes library)/MacBook
the tags will only sync well from MacBook to iMac!
if I change a tag on the iMac (which I did change before on my MacBook) then the change goes back to the MacBook, but not if it's a first time edit!
That process usually takes between 5 and 30 seconds.
on the iPhone I can't really change much (besides the rating) which seems to get synced properly in both ways...
Lyrics I couldn't yet get to work to be synced...
I do have Lyrics on my MacBook (so they seem to be in the cloud) but I cannot get them to be updated/changed on the other device (the other Mac). on my iPhone I don't have lyrics at all

ITunes Changing Tag Info (Compilations/Various Artists/"The")

This is driving me crazy.
Compilations
I change my tags to make sure songs do not have a check in the box marked "compilations", yet they are still moved there in their own section on my artist panel right beneath "All Artists" in it's own group called "Compilations". I cannot get them out of there despite the check box being empty.
Various Artists
Songs keep being moved back to this category over and over. I make sure that the field in the tag that says Various Artists is removed, both in the main song info section as well as in the Sorting tab of the tag. The song will go where it belongs and the next time I open iTunes, it is back in it's own section on artist panel called Various Artists. Compilation box is also unchecked.
"The"
I do not want my artist panel to ever show "The" before an artists name (The Police, The Beatles, etc.), so I change the tags both in the main and sorting tabs. I do this for songs I have imported from various MP3 collections, CD's and songs purchased straight from iTunes store. When I make the changes, they work fine...for a while, then, next thing I know I have 4 songs on my iPhone by The Police and 2 by Police in a different artist block
It really is making me nuts. Is there some setting in the menu I am missing that will make iTunes leave my tags alone? I have looked and come up empty. Any help would sure be appreciated. Thank you - Bob

Go to iTunes > Preferences > Store and turn off
Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases
Share details about your library with Apple
On any iOS device go to Settings > Music and turn off
Show All Music
Close and reopen iTunes and/or reset any device and you should see your version of the metadata for each track rather than the original store data, if not your changes should revert as you play through content.
tt2

Changing mp3 tags in iTunes

Hi all.
I'm changing mp3 tags, adding album covers, etc through Get Info directly in iРhone/Music. I can't see changes in my iPhone music library sometimes. So tags and covers in iTunes differ from the tags in iPhone player.
I tried to reboot the phone, change tag or add cover one more time. It's still not the same.
Help me, please.
iTunes 10.6.1.7

It seems that sometimes when i play a group of songs it will go through and add information to them on its own without prompting me that i do not want there. I have a very clean list of songs as to reduce the number of duplicate artists/albums in my list.
actually, if the songs are in the MP3 format, it's plausible that your WMP is doing this silently in the background. for more information on that possibility (and troubleshooting advice if that's what is afoot here), see the following post:
Otto42: Re: Auto-retrieval Track Information iTunes

Edit (modify or change) MP3 tag with iTunes

Hi All!
Someone knows how can i change, modify or edit the mp3 tag with iTunes 6? Is it possible?
If it isn't possible, do you know some plug-in for iTunes (or external program) that allow me to change mp3 tag of a file(s)?
tnx a lot

right-click on the entry in iTunes and select "Get Info". The "Summary" tab tells you a little about the file, while the other tabs (Info, Options, etc.) let you edit ID3 tags supported and used by iTunes.

Artists showing up as Various artists when I sync music with my iPhone 4S, even though in iTunes the song tags have been changed

My artists are showing up as Various artists when I sync music with my iPhone 4S, even though in iTunes the song tags have been changed.
Am I missing something?
For example, I have 3 songs that are part of a compilation CD. I've change them to no longer being part of a compilation, and changes all of the tags of Arist and Album artist to the artists name, however they still show up as 'Various Artists' on my iPhone.
Any ideas?

You may find you need to remove the songs and then add them back again.
For general tips on organising in iTunes see Grouping tracks into albums.
tt2

Itunes deleted id3 tags on my mp3s automatically

the "let itunes organize your music" box is unchecked, and i imported my cds as mp3s, as i removed the songs from the itunes library (not the files), it took off all the tags!!!! i spent hours importing cds, once i removed the songs from the library, then dragged the folder back into the itunes window, the tags to the album, track #, artist, etc weren't there anymore!!!!! just the file name. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!! the program shouldn't have authority to mess with the id3 tags that are embedded into the mp3s once i remove the song from itunes!!! RIGHT?! what am i supposed to do with all the unlabeled mp3s!?!1 i'm not going to use iEatBrainz for everything, thats rediculous! could someone else try removing their songs from the itunes 6 version like the one i have here and see if they have the same problem?? its gotta be from the same folder where all your imported music goes....
this is making me soooo mad. i need an alternative program cuz this ain't working for me.

If you remove a song from the iTunes library the file will remain in the location that it was previously BUT the tune is removed from the library. The id3 tag was never changed. If you go back to the file in its' original location you can put it back into the iTunes library and all the id3 info is still there.
Usually it is best to let iTunes organize you library - unless you have a special reason not to let iTunes organize.
I removed tunes from my libary - keeping the files - then added them back and all was as it should be. If you are looking at the file via the finder the only info that you will see is the song title (the same info as in the "Name" column in iTunes). iTunes names the file on the HD the same as what is in the "Name" field.
MJ

ITunes changing media kind

iTunes Match seems to have a mind of its own.
Here's my problem. I recorded a programme from the radio purely to listen to at a later time. It is a mixture of interview and classical music. Recorded as an AAC file at 320kbps. File size 161mb. So I do not want this to upload to iTunes match (it is one of a series of 5 related programmes).
I know that if I import this into iTunes with Match turned on it will just assume it is music and it will lock the media kind. So I turn iTunes Match off and then import the file. I change the medai type to Audiobook and the file disappears into my books section safe from the grip of Match.
I then turn on Match again. And as if by magic a few minutes later it has hauled the programme from the Books section and back into music and changed the media kind back to music, greyed it out and started uploading the file.
So my workaround has been defeated.
I am using iTunes 10.6.1
I have generally been happy with iTunes match which after a fairly indifferent match performance at the start now seems to be delivering a consistently good performance matching music I expect it to match.
But unless Apple develop an option to exclude files from matching or uploading I fear that I shall not be bothering to renew my Match sub.
If anyone can supply a diffirent workaround I'd love to learn of it. (I have already tried using Podcast as an alternative media type but iTunes changes that one too).

This for Mac only (sorry).
'Subler' offers a nice 'clean' way of adding the requisite tags to m4a files, also for iTunes U.
It's free at http://code.google.com/p/subler/
This works only for m4a files. I have not found a solution for mp3s.
Do not add your track to iTunes yet, instead, open it in Subler.
In Subler, make sure that the track has at least the Name, Artist and Album tags set (under 'Metadata', create them as necessary using the small '+'-menu down left).
- For a Podcast, under 'Other Settings' check 'Options: Podcast' and save.
- For iTunes U, under 'Other Settings' choose 'Media Kind' > 'iTunes U' and save.
Now add your file to iTunes.
And Apple: please fix!

ITunes changing song data.

Has anyone experienced a time when iTunes store will change the title or artist of a song that was ripped with iTunes. I've watched my songs change, although it has only happened once right before my eyes.

iTunes does not change any tag information, although there may be other programs on your computer that do. A possible culprit is Windows Media Player; look in WMP at Library > More Options... > Library and see if it is set to do anything that you don't want it to do.
Note that if another program changes a tag, iTunes will immediately reflect the change, which may give the appearance that iTunes is changing it.

ITunes changing ID tags

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