I’ve been a long-time Plex user and really appreciate how well it handles movies and TV shows. However, I’ve recently tried using Plexamp for my music collection, and I’m disappointed by how rigid the system is when it comes to folder structure and metadata.
I’ve spent years organizing my music library in a way that works for me — custom folders, playlists, and artist groupings. Unfortunately, Plex seems to require a very specific structure and metadata tagging to even recognize my files, and Plexamp won’t show anything unless it’s perfectly indexed.
I don’t want another app to “fix” or reorganize my music. I just want to play it as-is, like I can with movies using folder view. If Plex could offer a folder-based browsing option for music, or at least a more flexible indexing system, it would make Plexamp far more usable for people like me who value control over their collections.
Your issue doesn’t to be so much with Plexamp but the Plex Media Server cataloguing your media (which is then used by Plex apps such as Plexamp).
That being said… what are you actually suggesting?
Do you want Plex to ignore its organization and just act as a file browser?
Do you look for it to ignore the naming schema and use only embedded metadata instead?
…
Sorry, if it’s obvious to you, but I’m struggling to understand what you’re asking for.
Unfortunately, Plex is just not a good fit for your music library. As you have noticed it is extremely picky about how music is organized, and there’s really no way out of it. The company does not really announce future changes, but based on everything they have said, there is no reason to think that they are going to change how music indexing works.
FWIW I had the same POV once, so I tried making a copy of my music library that was organized to Plex’s specs. If your files are tagged well, this isn’t actually a lot of work with a tool that can write out a new directory structure, like mp3tag. (I think your playlists would be a lost cause, though.)
I found I really liked Plexamp and before long I just didn’t care about the physical organization of files on disk because I stopped interacting with my library that way. I surrendered.
If you have the disk space and time, maybe try copying your library into Plex’s format and just see how you like it. Even if you do not surrender to Plex like I did, perhaps keeping a copy for Plex and updating it periodically would be an acceptable compromise. That way you still keep your authoritative library organized to your liking, and can keep using it with whatever setup you have now.
Thank for the reply, but as you can read in other reply , I will stay away from applications, that will dictate me how to organize my folders. I only make this mistake once.
I suppose, in that case Plex isn’t really for you.
Why even use a media cataloging and management software and not stick with your basic file explorer and a media player like VLC?
Don’t get me wrong… this is a bit like buying an expensive car, then complain that you don’t like the engine but have it drawn by horse and pulling out the interior to sit on the roof instead. If you want a carriage, don’t go for a car.
Plex is not suitable for you, that’s clear, but to be complete for future readers I want to point out that you do not have to let Plex have write access to your media files.
