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Moode uses 'Album artist' instead of Artist
#1
Hello,
I have searched the forums but couldn't find an answer to this particular question.

The problem I have is that Moode uses Album artist instead of Artist to populate and sort the column Artist.
Unfortunately, this is an old problem: some programs use Artist exclusively, some Album Artist and the best allow you to choose. 
I cannot change or swap these tags since this would break the libraries of other programs - I guess nobody would do that if it is a large library.

My question is: is there any way at all to order the library by  Artist (since this is what you choose in the settings) instead of Album Artist? 
In a settings file, maybe?

Thanks
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#2
Album Artist tags take precedence over Artist tags, its the ID3 standard that you'll find in all digital music players.
If some of your files have incorrect tags, be it the Album Artist tag or otherwise you'll need to use a tagging program to correct the files.

On Moode youll find the Artists list in the tag view contains both the Artist and Album Artist tags taken from your files' metadata.
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#3
(07-06-2020, 04:09 PM)Giga88 Wrote: Hello,
I have searched the forums but couldn't find an answer to this particular question.

The problem I have is that Moode uses Album artist instead of Artist to populate and sort the column Artist.
Unfortunately, this is an old problem: some programs use Artist exclusively, some Album Artist and the best allow you to choose. 
I cannot change or swap these tags since this would break the libraries of other programs - I guess nobody would do that if it is a large library.

My question is: is there any way at all to order the library by  Artist (since this is what you choose in the settings) instead of Album Artist? 
In a settings file, maybe?

Thanks

As @vinnn mentioned the Album Artist tag has preference over the Artist tag. Typically a collection would be tagged such that Album Artist = Artist unless the album is a compilation in which case the Album Artist tag is set to the string "Various Artists" or "Compilation". There is an option in moOde to set this string.

You could use a tagging program to set the Album Artist tag like I described above or you could provide an example of how your collection is tagged and make the case for implementing a new option in moOde that supports it.
Enjoy the Music!
moodeaudio.org | Mastodon Feed | GitHub
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#4
Thank you vinn and Tim for your responses.

"Typically" is the keyword here. 
For example, I started my music collection with classical, and in this case you have a main artist (the composer) and the album artist (the conductor, pianist etc.). Composer tag is useless, since almost no program uses that at all as the main tag. 
Then I added jazz groups (Artist=main artist, Album artist = personnel) then rock etc. Now I have several thousand albums that work perfectly in Jriver and Foobar2000.

I would not request support just for the way things are in my own tagging method, I just wanted to show how complex things can get real fast - but that you already knew.

I could make a case, though, for a little more flexibility and less automatic behavior: small changes can satisfy a much larger crowd, and the one I propose, as a minimum, is the choice between Artist and Album Artist as the main tag, maybe falling back on the other if the main one is missing.

This is just a starting point, so much more can be done. For example a dropdownlist with the main tags that leaves the choice completely to the user - for example Show by <tag>, order by <tag> for each one of the three main lists, with initial defaults for those who don't care (few I guess).

Assumptions and rigidity make things look unprofessional in my opinion (I work as a developer, thirty years and counting...). Many apps can reproduce music, especially on the Pi. Tag use flexibility is the one field where all of them fall short. Since it's relatively easy programmatically, why not go for it and be the best also at this fundamental aspect?
Although Moode is stable, flexible and very well done as a player (thank you for that!) and has a lot to go for, there is nothing worse than liking a player and having your collection, tagged carefully over the years, look like a mess. It makes you look immediately elsewhere...
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#5
I can look into an option for whether to prefer Artist or Album Artist for the Artist column in tag view but I suspect there will be more exceptions in your collection and that this won't really work well. In any case it will have to be deferred to the 7 series cos we have switched from feature development to release administration for the upcoming 6.6.0 release.

With regard to your other comments including the classic "Since it's relatively easy programmatically" if as you say you are an experienced software developer, you should consider volunteering your time to the moOde project, learn the code base and contribute the changes that will meet your needs.
Enjoy the Music!
moodeaudio.org | Mastodon Feed | GitHub
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#6
Hi Tim,
I have a similar issue to the OP but in reality its so insignificant especially given the extremely hard work you've put into creating MoOde and its support - FOR FREE* - nobody is in a position to complain or compare other software.
I've been a user of MoOde for years and never had cause for complain but just admiration for MoOde and your dedication to what is to me, the best FREE music server software for the Pi there is, period.

I recommend everybody contribute to the upkeep of the project, development let alone your time (Do you ever sleep?!?!?) you put to MoOde.
It would be great if those that profess to have knowledge in such things as tagging or any useful input should consider becoming a mod or at least use their skills to contribute towards those little things that make MoOde a little 'sweeter' for us lucky users.

I bet there are some seriously clever users and posters on the forum that would be a very welcome addition to you and the team.
Mark

*I hope people support you and the project by subscriptions and financial input!
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