Windows Media Player - Multiple Artists

[CyberWilhelm]

(First up, yes I know that WMP is legacy, but it's what my wife and I prefer to use, even on Windows 11 - we like the library interface, among other things)

My setup is the same as described in a post dealing with the same issue from 2015, except that was before MinimServer 2 (and an upgrade to Windows 11 on our computers).

I've now migrated to a new Synology NAS, and am having trouble with two things when setting up MinimServer 2:

1. Multiple artists on a track are showing up as "Artist 1, Artist 2" - the same as the post referenced above.
2. Compilation albums (where all the tracks are tagged with "Various Artists" as the album artist, and the individual artists as Artist tags) are showing up as individual albums by the separate artists.
   

The first issue was solved in MinimServer using Artist.display.multiTag, but that was removed with MinimServer 2, and the documentation instructed me to post here for help.

The second issue I'm a bit puzzled by, because from what I've read in the forums and documentation, MinimServer 2 should by default be sending the Album Artist tag value, and substituting in the Artist tag when Album Artist isn't present.

Here is my current config, on the latest version of MinimServer 2:

Code:

aliasTags = OriginalDate:Date
contentDir = /volume1/Music/MP3
displayName = Ulthar Music
indexTags = All Artists, Artist, Date, Genre, Composer
tagOptions = Album.sortTags={Album, Artist}, all.ignore.sort={The}
.profileVersion = 2.2

Thank you very much for any help!

[simoncn]

The previous support for WMP is still available but the details of how to configure it have changed. To send multiple artist tags separately instead of sending them as a combined string, add this to the upnpCustom property:

multiTag={Artist}

To enable WMP to read the AlbumArtist tag correctly, add this to the upnpCustom property:

roleType={author}

To configure both of the above (needed for WMP compatibility), the upnpCustom tag should be set to:

multiTag={Artist}, roleType={author}

After making these changes, restart MinimServer.

The user guide points people to the forum for advice because it can be tricky to get these settings configured correctly for different control points and some people have added these settings in the past (especially multiTag) when they were not appropriate for their situation.

[CyberWilhelm]

Thanks for the reply! I implemented your changes, and it's getting closer but not quite there yet.

Here's the current behavior with your recommended changes:

• Multi-artist songs are no longer showing up as "{artist1}, {artist2}", and are attributed to all of the separate artists properly in the WMP library's "Contributing Artist" view - perfect!
• Compilation album handling has not changed. The songs are still showing up as a (sometimes single-track) album by the first artist listed in the Artist tag.
  

Here's my config as of now:

Code:

aliasTags = OriginalDate:Date
contentDir = /volume1/Music/MP3
displayName = Ulthar Music
indexTags = All Artists, Artist, Date, Genre, Composer
tagOptions = Album.sortTags={Album, Artist}, all.ignore.sort={The}
upnpCustom = multiTag={Artist}, roleType={author}
.profileVersion = 2.2

Thank you again for your help. Seems like we're almost there!

Edit: Accidentally pasted the wrong profile data

[simoncn]

I have tried to make this work but I don't see any of my AlbumArtist tags in the Windows Media Player UI. Has anyone had success with this?

[simbun]

When WMP serves over DLNA it uses the same xml tag as MinimServer (<upnp:artist role="AlbumArtist">), all the other tags are related to Track Artist.

Code:

<dc:creator>__Track Artist__</dc:creator>
<upnp:artist role="AlbumArtist">__Album Artist__</upnp:artist>
<upnp:artist role="Performer">__Track Artist__</upnp:artist>
<upnp:actor role="__Track Artist__">__Track Artist__</upnp:actor>

I only have one Windows install, but it would be interesting to see how WMP behaved when being served by another WMP (assuming it uses DLNA/UPnP for communication).

[CyberWilhelm]

Here are a few things I'm going to try when I have the chance:

• Import a copy of a "Various Artists" album into Windows Media Player's local library, to see what it makes of the tags natively
• Investigate what (if any) effect setting the "COMPILATION" tag has
• Investigate the "BAND" tag that I've seen referenced occasionally for WMP (this would be on the local library version most likely, since I'm guessing that MinimServer doesn't do anything with a tag with that name at the moment).
  

[simoncn]

(09-05-2024 12:44)simbun Wrote:  When WMP serves over DLNA it uses the same xml tag as MinimServer (<upnp:artist role="AlbumArtist">), all the other tags are related to Track Artist.

Code:

<dc:creator>__Track Artist__</dc:creator>
<upnp:artist role="AlbumArtist">__Album Artist__</upnp:artist>
<upnp:artist role="Performer">__Track Artist__</upnp:artist>
<upnp:actor role="__Track Artist__">__Track Artist__</upnp:actor>

I only have one Windows install, but it would be interesting to see how WMP behaved when being served by another WMP (assuming it uses DLNA/UPnP for communication).

Thanks for this. Two of these tags are the same as MinimServer sends and the other two are not. I will investigate further with a test library and post back here.

[simoncn]

I decided to start with a local library to see how Media Player handles it. For an album with an AlbumArtist tag that contains tracks with differing Artist tags, Media Player shows only the AlbumArtist tag value when viewing the album and its tracks. The only way I have found to see track artists / contributing artists (Artist tags) is to right-click a track and select Properties. Is this the desired result when using Media Player to view a MinimServer library?

[CyberWilhelm]

The behavior I'd like to see browsing a MinimServer library from WMP, where an album has a single AlbumArtist and varying Artist tags across the songs, mimics what happens when browsing that same album in WMP's local library:

• Artist library view: The album is attributed to the AlbumArtist tag value
• Album library view: The album is attributed to the AlbumArtist tag value
• Contributing Artist library view: Songs from the album are attributed according to the individual song's Artist tag value(s). (This view is hidden by default. Right-click the library views to add it)
  

[simoncn]

(11-05-2024 04:33)CyberWilhelm Wrote:  Contributing Artist library view: Songs from the album are attributed according to the individual song's Artist tag value(s). (This view is hidden by default. Right-click the library views to add it)

Where exactly should I right-click? I have tried right-clicking everywhere I can think of but nothing happens.

Edit: I have been trying to make this work with the new "Media Player" in Windows 10 and 11. If I open Windows Media Player Legacy, I am able to add a Contributing Artist view. Which of these are you using?