[unknown] Artist problem

[Thor]

I hope this will be fixed ASAP!

A simple solution would be to set "Album Artist" fields in all compilation file as etc. "Various Artists". I use Itunes and prefere to leave the Album Artist blank and instead use the Compilation option only.

I suggest a more elegant solution would be a compilations tag option under MinimServer where people can insert the artist tag they prefer.

When this text tag is set to etc. "Various Artists" then all individual artists from compilations should be filtered out of the "Artist" list but exists under the "All Artists" list.

Would be great to have a link under the artist list to search deeper after that specific artist under "All Artist" with would include all the compilations also.

[simoncn]

(09-09-2013 12:44)Thor Wrote:  I hope this will be fixed ASAP!

A simple solution would be to set "Album Artist" fields in all compilation file as etc. "Various Artists". I use Itunes and prefere to leave the Album Artist blank and instead use the Compilation option only.

I suggest a more elegant solution would be a compilations tag option under MinimServer where people can insert the artist tag they prefer.

When this text tag is set to etc. "Various Artists" then all individual artists from compilations should be filtered out of the "Artist" list but exists under the "All Artists" list.

Would be great to have a link under the artist list to search deeper after that specific artist under "All Artist" with would include all the compilations also.

The problem reported by the OP related to MinimServer's incorrect handling of files that don't have an album tag (and therefore aren't part of a compilation album). I think you have something different in mind, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. Please explain the scenario that isn't working for you.

[Thor]

Sorry. I thought it was the same problem. Maybe it is not.

First of all thanks for a great product. I'm using it together with my Linn setup and around 50K High Quality (95% looseless) songs in my collection. I think the MinimServer is the best Music Server for my need that I have seen so far. It gives me flexibility and feel it will be close to perfect over time.

Let me explain exactly what I need:

I have a lot of compilation albums. I do not store any information under "Album Artists" if I have a compilation album. Instead I use the "Compilation" option. This works fine under iTunes and the files are automatically stored under the "Compilations" folder.

The problem with MinimServer is that if AlbumArtist is empty but Artist is filled then the Artist is shown under the Artist List not matter of "Compilations" is set or not in the file. What I want for compilations is the Artist are NOT shown on Artist List BUT shown under All Artists of cause.

Furthermore it would be great if there was a deep link from the Artist detail List to "All Artists" so that songs from the compilations could be found when an artist is searched under the simple "Artist list".

Hope you understand. I can illustrate with an example if necessary.

[simoncn]

(09-09-2013 17:00)Thor Wrote:  Sorry. I thought it was the same problem. Maybe it is not.

First of all thanks for a great product. I'm using it together with my Linn setup and around 50K High Quality (95% looseless) songs in my collection. I think the MinimServer is the best Music Server for my need that I have seen so far. It gives me flexibility and feel it will be close to perfect over time.

Let me explain exactly what I need:

I have a lot of compilation albums. I do not store any information under "Album Artists" if I have a compilation album. Instead I use the "Compilation" option. This works fine under iTunes and the files are automatically stored under the "Compilations" folder.

The problem with MinimServer is that if AlbumArtist is empty but Artist is filled then the Artist is shown under the Artist List not matter of "Compilations" is set or not in the file. What I want for compilations is the Artist are NOT shown on Artist List BUT shown under All Artists of cause.

MinimServer currently doesn't have any special treatment for the Compilation tag. To get what you want, you would need to add an AlbumArtist tag with the name of the index entry in the Artist list that you want to use for your compilations, such as 'Various Artists' or 'Compilations'.

Quote:Furthermore it would be great if there was a deep link from the Artist detail List to "All Artists" so that songs from the compilations could be found when an artist is searched under the simple "Artist list".

Hope you understand. I can illustrate with an example if necessary.

Your suggestion of adding a deep link from an Artist selection to the corresponding All Artists selection is an interesting idea, but it would require major design changes to MinimServer.

As an alternative, it might be possible to include compilation tracks directly under the Artist index entry for the track artist (if there is an Artist index entry for that artist), as well as including these tracks under the Artist index entry for the AlbumArtist value. However, I'm not convinced that most users would want to have these tracks duplicated in different sections of the Artist index. See this thread for some comments from an iTunes user who doesn't want this duplication.

[Thor]

Thank you so much to fast and precise answering.

I agree on the "Various Artists" solution due to the missing compilation tag. Not as elegant but it works. It's seems like a fairly simple function to include in the future so I hope it will happen :-) I suggest a "compilation text" to be added under configuration where people can add "Various Artists" or another text in a different language if they prefer that.

I also agree on your second point. When I think about it I would surly prefer to have the result listed directly under the Album or Items index instead of a link and another click. Let's say I select an Artist then it would be GREAT to have both dedicated albums AND compilations albums on the same list. It could be an option to select/deselect under the configuration if some users do not prefer this. I'm aware this is probably a bit difficulty from a technical standpoint but from a users standpoint it would be great.

[simoncn]

(10-09-2013 09:03)Thor Wrote:  Thank you so much to fast and precise answering.

I agree on the "Various Artists" solution due to the missing compilation tag. Not as elegant but it works. It's seems like a fairly simple function to include in the future so I hope it will happen :-) I suggest a "compilation text" to be added under configuration where people can add "Various Artists" or another text in a different language if they prefer that.

It shouldn't be too difficult to do what you're suggesting. This could be configured by adding Compilation to the indexTags property, which would display compilations with no AlbumArtist tag under a Compilation index. If a different name is wanted for the compilations index entry, the user could configure something like Compilation:Various Artists.

Quote:I also agree on your second point. When I think about it I would surly prefer to have the result listed directly under the Album or Items index instead of a link and another click. Let's say I select an Artist then it would be GREAT to have both dedicated albums AND compilations albums on the same list. It could be an option to select/deselect under the configuration if some users do not prefer this. I'm aware this is probably a bit difficulty from a technical standpoint but from a users standpoint it would be great.

I'd be interested to hear whether other users would want to see compilation tracks and albums included in the Artist index under the track artist name. One way to configure this option would be to do it only for tracks that have a Compilation tag and don't have an AlbumArtist tag. What do people think about this approach?

[stampie]

Hi Simon, yes it would be great see any odd tracks an 'Album Artist' has on any compilation albums. However...

This is already accomplished by just looking up the 'Album Artist' name under the full list of all artists - both compilations and normal albums are shown. A bit of a nuisance when I'm already scrolling though the 'Album Artist' list, but not a big deal IMHO

I always use the AlbumArtist tag, so don't experience some of the issues being described, but do also use the compilation tag (dbPoweramp will populate it when ripping suitable CDs)

In summary, I would see it as a nice to have feature, rather than essential
regards
Nick

[Thor]

Thanks for looking into this Simon. I just started to use MinimServer and I really like it. I have some other issues and wishes but I will wait a bit and give you a full list when I'm sure about everything.

I hope somebody else out there share the same interests as me in regards to the "compilation" issue.

Thanks again!

[simoncn]

(10-09-2013 13:28)stampie Wrote:  Hi Simon, yes it would be great see any odd tracks an 'Album Artist' has on any compilation albums. However...

This is already accomplished by just looking up the 'Album Artist' name under the full list of all artists - both compilations and normal albums are shown. A bit of a nuisance when I'm already scrolling though the 'Album Artist' list, but not a big deal IMHO

I always use the AlbumArtist tag, so don't experience some of the issues being described, but do also use the compilation tag (dbPoweramp will populate it when ripping suitable CDs)

In summary, I would see it as a nice to have feature, rather than essential
regards
Nick

Thanks for this feedback. To clarify the proposal, these extra compilation tracks would be available only under the Artist index, not the AlbumArtist index. The AlbumArtist index would remain exactly as it is at present.

[Thor]

Let me come back with detailed description + data example. Give me a few days - little busy at the moment...