# Compilation CDs... **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953 "2017-08-09T16:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/1 "2017-08-09T16:00:01Z")
Is there support for compilation CDs in Plex? (he asks facetiously) ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/e/1/e13aa1694b4dd4436ee05aaf1e49a6a6a3587254.png) The above is a perfect example… 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? ---
**Author:** ![yesternow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f04885/32.png) [@yesternow](https://forums.plex.tv/u/yesternow)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/2 "2017-08-09T16:17:18Z")
I’ve never seen this problem, I don’t have many MP3 (my library is nearly all FLAC) albums but this one works fine: It’s tagged with the compilation tag, track artist, album artist: Do you have use embedded tags checked in the advanced settings of your library? It could be bad metadata downloaded by Plex. ---
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/3 "2017-08-09T16:24:51Z")
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. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/4 "2017-08-09T16:56:15Z")
> @javerwey said: > > ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/e/1/e13aa1694b4dd4436ee05aaf1e49a6a6a3587254.png) Please explain what you expect to see instead in this screen shot. ---
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/5 "2017-08-09T17:16:47Z")
I would expect to see each of the individual artists beside each of the tracks… ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/6 "2017-08-09T17:25:29Z")
> @javerwey said: > I would expect to see each of the individual artists beside each of the tracks… They will appear there if the files have appropriate meta tags ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/c/d/cd4843d2cf4602a433a008e14ee8692e250c0739.jpg) ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/a/b/ab908a9c4f3523a49721ca42b8e1f7eb2babcf48.png) ---
**Author:** ![beckfield](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/beckfield/32/7227_2.png) [@beckfield](https://forums.plex.tv/u/beckfield)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/7 "2017-08-09T19:31:03Z")
Are you certain that Plex is correctly [configured to prefer embedded tags](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/227541/howto-configure-plex-to-use-embedded-metadata-music "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. ---
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/8 "2017-08-09T22:58:13Z")
My tags… My Plex… ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/3/8/385d4bc8f2a01ab496dd950d019d47dac0445ac0.png) 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. ---
**Author:** ![beckfield](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/beckfield/32/7227_2.png) [@beckfield](https://forums.plex.tv/u/beckfield)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/9 "2017-08-10T00:39:29Z")
Try it with an album or two before doing the whole thing. You can also create a new library without deleting the old one, and it should work fine. ---
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/10 "2017-08-10T00:40:57Z")
Good idea, thx. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 8:07am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/11 "2017-08-10T08:07:13Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/12 "2017-08-10T11:35:26Z")
@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. Agent: ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/5/b/5b7d2940df52f87e5b9cdbee8ee05194ac6b2889.png) Library Options: ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/7/e/7e246ea0cb99da7d3a6932bc2007ce2576d258d1.png) ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/e/4/e4095846c1d800248ad45b92bef2a7af2483f812.png) Results: ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/a/e/aeb84572d33d01efbe69516e03fb4988a03a96e9.png) Tagging: General Complete name : N:\Plex\Music\MP3\Guardians of the Galaxy\_ Awesome Mix Vol\01 Hooked on a Feeling.mp3 Format : MPEG Audio File size : 6.71 MiB Duration : 2 min 52 s Overall bit rate mode : Constant Overall bit rate : 320 kb/s Album : Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Album/Performer : Various Artists Album/Performer/Sort : Various Artists Part/Position : 1 Part/Total : 1 Track name : Hooked on a Feeling Track name/Position : 1 Track name/Total : 12 Grouping : Pop Compilation : Yes Performer : Blue Swede Performer/Sorted by : Blue Swede Composer : Mark James Composer/Sorted by : James, Mark Genre : Pop Recorded date : 1974 Writing library : LAME3.98 Copyright : © 2014 Hollywood Records Cover : Yes Cover type : Cover (front) Cover MIME : image/jpeg Audio Format : MPEG Audio Format version : Version 1 Format profile : Layer 3 Mode : Joint stereo Duration : 2 min 52 s Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 320 kb/s Channel(s) : 2 channels Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 6.59 MiB (98%) Writing library : LAME3.98 Encoding settings : -m j -V 4 -q 0 -lowpass 20.5 ---
**Author:** ![javerwey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/javerwey/32/7749_2.png) [@javerwey](https://forums.plex.tv/u/javerwey)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/13 "2017-08-10T15:26:21Z")
Thanks @OttoKerner and @FordGuy61 for the detailed response. 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. ---
**Author:** ![beckfield](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/beckfield/32/7227_2.png) [@beckfield](https://forums.plex.tv/u/beckfield)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/14 "2017-08-10T15:44:14Z")
> @javerwey said: > 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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/242023/origin-of-the-plex-dance "ongoing debate"), unfortunately. “Refresh All Metadata” _should_ do what you are asking ([the documentation even says so](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200289306-Updating-vs-Refreshing-a-Library "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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/908454/#Comment_908454 "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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1288718/#Comment_1288718 "list of threads") where people encountered the problems that necessitated the Dance. ---
**Author:** ![nairnmonster](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nairnmonster/32/14560_2.png) [@nairnmonster](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nairnmonster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/15 "2017-09-24T20:57:49Z")
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. Is there a way to get around this? ---
**Author:** ![beckfield](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/beckfield/32/7227_2.png) [@beckfield](https://forums.plex.tv/u/beckfield)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/16 "2017-09-25T17:26:52Z")
> @nairnmonster said: > 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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/196757/is-it-really-not-possible-to-have-brahms-show-as-an-artist-from-a-various-artists-compilation#top "feature request") to add this. Plex Pass holders can add their vote by clicking ‘Like’ on the first message in that thread. ---
**Author:** ![nairnmonster](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nairnmonster/32/14560_2.png) [@nairnmonster](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nairnmonster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/17 "2017-09-25T17:47:55Z")
> @beckfield said: > > > @nairnmonster said: > > > 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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/196757/is-it-really-not-possible-to-have-brahms-show-as-an-artist-from-a-various-artists-compilation#top "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? ---
**Author:** ![beckfield](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/beckfield/32/7227_2.png) [@beckfield](https://forums.plex.tv/u/beckfield)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/18 "2017-09-25T17:54:19Z")
> @nairnmonster said: > > > @beckfield said: > > > > > @nairnmonster said: > > > > > 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](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/196757/is-it-really-not-possible-to-have-brahms-show-as-an-artist-from-a-various-artists-compilation#top "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. ---
**Author:** ![alistairburch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@alistairburch](https://forums.plex.tv/u/alistairburch)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/19 "2018-09-26T19:35:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/compilation-cds/201953/21 "2020-01-07T23:38:32Z")