# Lock Artist Field
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281
**Category:** Metadata & Adding Files
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [September 30, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281 "2020-09-30T11:48:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lawrencenull](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lawrencenull)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2020, 11:48am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/1 "2020-09-30T11:48:34Z")
There should be a way to lock the artist field in music to keep it from defaulting to Various Artists. Personally need it for compilation albums etc.
---
### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2020, 11:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/2 "2020-09-30T11:57:01Z")
A compilation album is always Various Artists.
At least if your files only contain meta tags for the Track Artist, and there are tracks from different Track Artist within the same album.
With sampler albums, it is partcularly important to fill the ‘Album Artist’ meta tag. You have to decide on an Album Artist name for the whole album.
Then use this name to fill the ‘Album Artist’ meta tag uniformly in all the files of this album.
Additionally, all the albums which use one particular ‘Album Artist’ need to be stored together inside a folder.
You cannot have albums with different Album Artists stored inside the same folder. Doing so will wreak havoc.
```auto
/music
/Album Artist
/Album Title 1
01 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
02 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
03 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
...
/Album Title 2
01 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
02 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
03 - Track Artist - Track Title.mp3
...
```
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### Author:  [@certuna](https://forums.plex.tv/u/certuna)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/3 "2020-09-30T12:07:50Z")
I think his problem is that the MusicBrainz matching keeps changing his album artist back to “Various Artists” while he wants it to be something else?
You can fix that with the setting “prefer local metadata”.
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### Author:  [@lawrencenull](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lawrencenull)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/4 "2020-09-30T12:18:02Z")
That’s exactly what’s happening. I don’t really want to have to edit metadata for each song in a particular collection. The simplest solution would be just to be able to lock the artist field. Why you can’t I don’t know.
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### Author:  [@lawrencenull](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lawrencenull)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2020, 12:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/5 "2020-09-30T12:24:36Z")
Unfortunately the “prefer local metadata” didn’t work. Still defaults back to Various Artists each scan.
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### Author:  [@gary\_hatcher\_virginmedia\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/gary_hatcher_virginmedia_com)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/6 "2026-05-27T13:57:26Z")
Is it beyond the realm of possibility that when editing the artist name from various artist to a name of my choosing there is a tick box that says im not an idiot, I know what im doing please respect my decision?
I have 150 or so compilation albums, which were nicely curated away from various artist to their respective artist name, ministry of sound, now thats what I call music etc. I log in today after the last update and all of them are back to various artist.
Evidently plex thinks im a moron because it will now not allow me to change the titles, as when I hit save it changes from various artist to various.
Its mildly rage inducing why in 2026 this is still something that trips plex up. I have use local metadata ticked and using V4.159.0
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### Author:  [@bluehz](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bluehz)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/7 "2026-08-10T19:50:09Z")
I’m seeing really off album;compilation behaviour as well - same situation - I have many many series groups I have pulled out of Various Artists and name all with the same artists (Dusty Fingers Series) and plex used to intelligently sort those - now my whole library is messed up and even when manually fixing tags - I have a single album of a five series set that REFUSES to sort into album;compilations. I am embarrased to say how much time I have wasted trying to get this one album down into the Compilations section with its buddies Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, Vol 5 - there is NO reason that single album should be so stubborn. I have tried everything from stripping all tags out to the bare metal and retagging, retagged with picard, retatgged with yate, etc etc etc… no matter what I do it will not budge - although at one point plex took it upon itself to return it to the Various Artists listing. Its beyond infuriating having to deal with these anomalies on a never ending basis. PlexPass Lifetime
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### Author:  [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2026, 5:30am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-artist-field/638281/8 "2026-08-11T05:30:04Z")
Your use case will only ever work with “Prefer local metadata” checked in the properties of the library.
“Artist” is different from “Album Artist”.
See my first response above.
More details in here: [Albums appearing with incorrect artist and unable to change it - #2 by OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/t/albums-appearing-with-incorrect-artist-and-unable-to-change-it/937387/2)