Author Topic: Be able to choose the 'Artist Field' for Last.fm Scrobbles  (Read 2400 times)

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Currently, when using Musicbee and scrobbling to Last.fm, the display artist is the field used when uploaded. The issue with this is when you have multiple artists.  It does not match the way Last.fm deals with Artists. If I have for example Display Artist: "Disclosure; Sam Smith" it will scrobble that as the Artist on Last.fm instead of only "Disclosure"

I've seen multiple questions about the Last.fm scrobbling but no actual fixes for this issue other than manually removing the 2nd, 3rd, ... etc  Artist from the Display Artist field of each song. That technique just isn't viable when dealing with large amounts of files. Can we PLEASE have the option to either only take the first artist before the " ; " for scrobbles etc, or be able to choose the fields the Last.fm tool uses for uploading.

Thank you in advance.

frankz

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3834

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Posting the same thing over and over again doesn't make it more likely to be implemented.

Well, that post is over a year old and was essentially shot down with a workaround that isn't feasible for large libraries. I'm asking for a fix that specifically is NOT splitting/editing the Display Artist. For that reason I feel it warrants a post. Obviously I'm new here, maybe that isn't the correct way to handle it, but this type of issue was pretty much lost.

It seems like a very simple issue to fix but the problems it brings are fairly big.

frankz

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3834
Correcting incorrectly tagged files can seem daunting, but if you take it in segments it will probably be less labor intensive than you fear.

IMO Steven's limited time shouldn't be taken up programming workarounds for people's mistagged files, but I'm not the final arbiter of that, just a voice among many.

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
I find your dismissal odd. Respectfully I have to firmly disagree.

Correcting incorrectly tagged files can seem daunting, but if you take it in segments it will probably be less labor intensive than you fear.

I know how intensive it is. Also, if I were to have lost all my data on my computer and reloaded my files into Musicbee, wouldn't they would have to be edited all over again?

IMO Steven's limited time shouldn't be taken up programming workarounds for people's mistagged files, but I'm not the final arbiter of that, just a voice among many.

Hmm. So you think that the "Artist" tag of a music file should NOT include multiple artists, seperated by a character such as " ; "? A lot of people do this and in fact Steven's limited time was used to support this format for mulitple artists. So calling these files mistagged isn't really objective. On top of that, places such as Musicbrainz constantly have Artist tags with Artist splits like " ; " & " / " and countless other music players have the support for it.

There is an inconsistency within Musicbee. The library itself supports Multiple Artists (seperated with " ; ") but the last.fm plugin does not use this same support. That to me is a problem, and not simply a preference. Expecting everyone to manually go through every file and change the "Display Artist" is a workaround for a lack of consistency with the use of the tagging rule.

This change cannot be difficult to implement. I can think of two fixes:

1. Adjust Last.fm plugin. Just change the string taken as the Artist to be the text before the " ; ". This could be a custom setting (scope could be small or large), where users could choose the field used, to include all artists or just one, etc.

2. Musicbee Tags. Optional/Customisable rule for "Display Artist" which allows for it to only take the artist (text) before the " ; " in the <Artist> tag of the file.
Last Edit: December 09, 2022, 11:55:59 PM by TomK7104

frankz

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3834
DISPLAY ARTIST is a tag just like any other tag that will be in your files once you set it.

Here you see if safely preserved in my file as displayed in MP3Tag.  I typed in because that's what I wanted MB to use when scrobbling.  Imagine.

Tagging your files so that they work the way you want them to is pretty common.

Last Edit: December 10, 2022, 12:56:30 AM by frankz

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
You know your attitude drives me and likely others away from participating here? That's why I had replied so late to your 2nd comment from NOV. I saw it nearer the time it was posted, but it came off as condescending and I felt you wouldn't have actually considered my points (tunnel vision). I still don't get your massive hate against this accomodation. It's all based on this idea you have of how to 'correctly' tag files. There isn't one way of doing it. Tagging isn't wholly objective (hence the many accomodations for varying data formats in Musicbee and other music players).

The way a lot of people obtain their music files and the methods of tagging do not automatically come with a DISPLAY ARTIST field entry. Doing it manually can be time consuming and simply adjusting the way a feature works in Musicbee saves a whole lot of hassle (other players/scrobblers do fine). That's a major consideration to take into account, especially when creating a program which manages a lot of files, which can vary in detail from user to user. Sometimes you have to prepare for different formats of data and manage them accordingly.


Quote
I typed in because that's what I wanted MB to use when scrobbling.

Depending on your perspective, this is a 'workaround'. Other players/scrobblers deal with multiple artists fine and take the first artist. Again, inconsistency with the multi-artist support in Musicbee (something you didn't address).

I am not the only person with this issue, and I will not be the last. The whole point of Musicbee is to simplify the way users can manage and use their music...

frankz

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3834
You know your attitude drives me and likely others away from participating here? That's why I had replied so late to your 2nd comment from NOV. I saw it nearer the time it was posted, but it came off as condescending and I felt you wouldn't have actually considered my points (tunnel vision). I still don't get your massive hate against this accomodation. It's all based on this idea you have of how to 'correctly' tag files. There isn't one way of doing it. Tagging isn't wholly objective (hence the many accomodations for varying data formats in Musicbee and other music players).

I don't have massive hate for the "accomodation."  I have an opinion, which is that it's useless as a suggestion because the situation is more easily rectified by the users who have files that are tagged insufficiently for their uses than by the programmer of the project.  I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings.

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Quote
I have an opinion, which is that it's useless as a suggestion because the situation is more easily rectified by the users who have files that are tagged insufficiently for their uses than by the programmer of the project.

Apply this logic to other features currently present and they wouldn't exist...



hiccup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7781
If I have for example Display Artist: "Disclosure; Sam Smith" it will scrobble that as the Artist on Last.fm instead of only "Disclosure"
I don't scrobble, so I have no dog in this fight. So nor do I have an opinion on this.
(at the moment ;-)
But one thing makes me wonder here:
Even if I have multiple artists in my Artist tags, Display Artist will only display the first artist.
I was wondering why it doesn't for you.
What is your MB version, and what is the exact file format (tagging protocol) of the files you are testing this on?

boroda

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4595
But one thing makes me wonder here:
Even if I have multiple artists in my Artist tags, Display Artist will only display the first artist.
I was wondering why it doesn't for you.
this is definitely so if you edit multiple artists in mb's multiple artist splitter. but i'm not sure how other apps write display artist, and how mb treats (virtual or auto-created by mb) display artist if it's not written explicitly.

anyway, it's very easy to form almost any display artist from multiple artists with the help of tagging tools plugin. 

hiccup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 7781
but i'm not sure how other apps write display artist,
Far as I know 'display artist' is a MusicBee exclusive 'invention'.
And I believe it is written (when absent) as soon as you save a file.
So it would be interesting to learn how the OP writes his artist tags and what audio format/tagging protocol he is using.

TomK7104

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 13
Quote
Far as I know 'display artist' is a MusicBee exclusive 'invention'.
And I believe it is written (when absent) as soon as you save a file.

First two sentences I agree with too. The display artist tag being invented by Musicbee is what annoyed me so much about this interaction, as it is being treated like that isn't a problem and I am "mistagging"/"tagging insufficiently". Editing the display artist is a 'workaround' imo. If your going to implement an unique tag into features and it automatically fills in for users, it should have options/adaptability to it.

DISPLAY ARTIST appears to just take your ARTIST entry if it is absent. Which is fine, however the Mulitple Artist support does NOT apply to the DISPLAY ARTIST tag. I'm arguing that this tag should have this support, or at least something else. Apparently this is a preposterous suggestion.

Maybe it does have this support, and I'm encountering an issue as you are suggesting. Hopefully that is the case.

Quote
So it would be interesting to learn how the OP writes his artist tags and what audio format/tagging protocol he is using.

Here is an example:

ARTIST: "The Weeknd; Ed Sheeran"
ALBUM ARTIST: "The Weeknd"

Automatically it sets DISPLAY ARTIST: "The Weeknd; Ed Sheeran" (NOTE: the artists are already/automatically split in the "Multiple Artist Splitter" window)

Tagging Protocol: ID3v2.3
Musicbee Version: 3.5.8269
File: .mp3
Last Edit: December 11, 2022, 10:27:32 PM by TomK7104

boroda

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 4595
Quote from: hiccup
But one thing makes me wonder here:
Even if I have multiple artists in my Artist tags, Display Artist will only display the first artist.
I was wondering why it doesn't for you.

Far as I know 'display artist' is a MusicBee exclusive 'invention'.
And I believe it is written (when absent) as soon as you save a file.
So it would be interesting to learn how the OP writes his artist tags and what audio format/tagging protocol he is using.

i've just checked this, and, yes, display artist is auto-written by mb on file saving, and only 1st artist is written to display artist.

@TomK7104, right-click on any track, which has display artist as multiple artists separated by ";" select "edit", then click "tag inspector". how multiple artists are written to id3 tags? as multiple ARTIST tags or as single ARTIST tag in the form "artsis1; artist2; artist3; etc"?  or better, post a screenshot of tag inspector.