All of my compilation CDs are fully tagged MP3 files utilizing the compilation flag, album artist = “Various”, artist = track artist, yet Plex displays the Album as such (doesn’t matter if it’s web, android, smart tv, or ios version).
I’ve tried to suppress the album artist in the Plex interface as much as possible, as for someone like me with a fair number of compilations the Album Artist generality is not helpfull. But the way Plex displays basic Album info still keeps me from fully transitioning from iTunes or Google Music.
Anyone else having better luck with their Music Library?
You know, when I first created my Music library I don’t remember seeing the embedded tags option… I just assumed the agent order dictated whether the file tags were used. I’ll check that setting. I’m also confirming the tags on my compilation CDs to see if any of them appear correctly in PLex based on a different tag configuration.
Are you certain that Plex is correctly configured to prefer embedded tags (there’s more than just the checkbox)? If not, it’s possible that the problem you’re seeing is the result of Gracenote.
I believe the ‘Compilation’ tag is an iTunes-specific tag. It isn’t part of the ID3 specification, and I don’t think Plex pays any attention to it. If the Album Artist field is ‘Various Artists’ (or even if it is blank) and each track has a unique track artist, Plex should be displaying your album as shown in Otto’s and Yesternow’s screenshots.
Now I did discover that my Music Library’s advanced settings were not set to use embedded tags, so I’ve corrected that (before taking the screen shots and forcing a refresh of metadata). And I found a few of my compilations had blank Album Artist fields (not the ones I’m keying on here though).
Next step will be to delete and re-add my library (with correct settings in place before identifying my main music folder). But that’s going to cause a cascade of hurt through all of my devices where I’ve sync’d music, so I’m procrastinating on that step.
Tell Plex to prefer your embedded meta tags over the online meta data sources
Go to Settings - Server - Agents - Albums - last.fm
In there, grab the line ‘Local Media Assets’ with your mouse and drag it upwards, so it ends up being at the top of the stack of active agents.
Repeat the same under Settings - Server - Agents - Albums - Premium Music
@javerwey I’ve mine set up as a premium music library and to prefer local tags. Plex shows the artist beside the song title. Works for both FLAC and MP3 files.
I had all of that set as such, but it looks like for me this is a case of having an old library not making it through all of the upgrades with everything in the database being upgraded as it should.
Now that I’ve confirmed all of the settings mentioned in this thread I’ve created a new Library pointing to the same location as the old and the results are like night and day.
It’s not done going through all of the 12K files, but even with the first 5K in there my browsing screens look way more complete and useful. So, in the end, I’ll just have to retire the old library and re-deploy the content to my devices via the new library.
I just wish I knew which option, (Scan Library FIles, Refresh Metadata, or Analyse) if any, did the same detailed data gathering as is done when a file is first introduced into the database. That would really help when I add a large chunk of sneaker-net content into my library and do some in-place re-work of the tags. I’m not confident that the effort would be rewarded/reflected in Plex.
I just wish I knew which option, (Scan Library FIles, Refresh Metadata, or Analyse) if any, did the same detailed data gathering as is done when a file is first introduced into the database. That would really help when I add a large chunk of sneaker-net content into my library and do some in-place re-work of the tags. I’m not confident that the effort would be rewarded/reflected in Plex.
That’s an ongoing debate, unfortunately. “Refresh All Metadata” should do what you are asking (the documentation even says so), but it doesn’t. This problem has been around so long, the workaround has acquired a name, the “Plex Dance.”
They say they’re working on a solution to this, but there’s been no sign of it. I’d recommend doing your tag re-work before adding your content to Plex, to minimize the number of times you have to do the Dance. And I will add this thread to the list of threads where people encountered the problems that necessitated the Dance.
I have something like the above, took me a while to get the tagging right for the songs but I’m 90% happy with it now. The last 10% is just me being anally retentive. I don’t mind compilations albums being marked as Various Artists. To be honest, there isn’t really anything else it could be. But, the thing that bothers me is, the artist tag is set for each track correctly but they do not show under the actual artist.
If I then click on say, Fleetwood Mac, it will not show the compilation album song under the artist, list below.
If I then click on say, Fleetwood Mac, it will not show the compilation album song under the artist, list below.
Is there a way to get around this?
Unfortunately, no. There is a feature request to add this. Plex Pass holders can add their vote by clicking ‘Like’ on the first message in that thread.
If I then click on say, Fleetwood Mac, it will not show the compilation album song under the artist, list below.
Is there a way to get around this?
Unfortunately, no. There is a feature request to add this. Plex Pass holders can add their vote by clicking ‘Like’ on the first message in that thread.
I’ve just done this, thanks for the advice. What kind of numbers would get the feature explored?
If I then click on say, Fleetwood Mac, it will not show the compilation album song under the artist, list below.
Is there a way to get around this?
Unfortunately, no. There is a feature request to add this. Plex Pass holders can add their vote by clicking ‘Like’ on the first message in that thread.
I’ve just done this, thanks for the advice. What kind of numbers would get the feature explored?
Your guess is as good as mine. Plex doesn’t divulge what they’re working on, or timelines, in general. Number of votes doesn’t guarantee consideration or implementation - it just informs their prioritization.
Well after two of my days mucking around, I have found that the ALBUM ARTIST field in the embedded tag MUST have the ARTIST in the field. MP3TAG editor can be used to do this. If the album artist is BLANK or “VARIOUS ARTIST” then the PLEX displays the wong information.
