Advice on import of large music collection

[DavidHB]

(25-02-2015 16:03)Roy Boy Wrote:  I took a look at Metadatics and it looks promising...Has anyone tried Musicbrainz Picard? It looks like it has a level of automation in the lookup of metadata...Not sure if it would be appropriate for my situation. Thanks

Can't comment on the Picard software, but the underlying Musicbrainz library (which is one of those accessed by dBpoweramp) is, like others of its kind, a bit hit and miss, especially as it is dependent on user submissions. However, it might work for you, and it is free to use.

The trouble, as you have surmised, is that I am not sure whether or how the software can identify your files. When ripping from CD, an album is, so to speak, a known quantity, and an identifying digital 'signature' can be calculated and compared with the CD being ripped. The chances are that your files will not conform to any known pattern, and data entry cannot be automated, or is at best only partially successful.

My advice would be to bite the bullet and develop a workflow for tagging your files in Metadatics (progressively, as previously recommended). You already have album and artist names and track titles to copy to the relevant tags; arguably that is all you need to start off with for all genres other than classical, for which you would also need the composer name. With Metadatics' ability to add data in batches, I think you will be surprised how quickly you can add files to your library.

David