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An Accurate ID3 Tag Database?

Posted by Cliff on from the battle-of-the-genres dept.

Andy Le Couteur Bisson asks: "Can anyone suggest an ID3 tag database that doesn't label everything from Gabber to Ambient as Electronica & Dance, or worse? I am currently ripping more of my CD collection and it is annoying to have to review and edit almost all of the tags after every session. The odd error or difference of opinion is understandable, but I struggle to comprehend the logic that categorizes The Liberators and Luke Slater as R&B (for the uninitiated they are Techno). I guess I'm looking for a more UK centric database but Googling hasn't helped much, thus far."

5 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Tag & Rename by panic911 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Unfortunately Tag & Rename is shareware, but it's a GREAT application. You can select a whole list of mp3s and have it search for the albums on Amazon.com and automatically generate ID3 tags. I've done my entire collection of 150 albums in a couple of hours (I believe you have to do one album at a time). The link is http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm

    By the way, there is another program that IS freeware that does the same thing with amazon.com, but I can't remember the name :/

    1. Re:Tag & Rename by Rytis · · Score: 5, Informative

      By the way, there is another program that IS freeware that does the same thing with amazon.com, but I can't remember the name :/

      Mp3tag? http://www.mp3tag.de/en/index.html
      That's a diamond, IMHO.

  2. Limited Suggestion by Saige · · Score: 5, Informative

    For tagging music files with properly spelled artist names and song names and the like, I find the MusicBrainz tagger to be quite useful. It's also got the advantage of being editable by the users, and easier to clean up than other places.

    However, you'll get no genre info there. That's something that's just really, really hard to do well. Especially because of the overlap that some artists have between genres, and how specific someone wants to be. Is VNV Nation EBM? Futurepop? Or just Electronica? How about Dead Can Dance? I think they've hit a dozen different genres over the years, how do you pick one?

    For the most part, I've tried to just give up on genre entirely. It rarely says anything of value anyway.

    --
    "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
    1. Re:Limited Suggestion by snarlydwarf · · Score: 5, Informative

      id3v2 supports lyrics (even synced) [the USLT tag for unsynced lyrics], cover art [APIC], performer names [TIPL, TMCL, TPE1-4], composers [TCOM for composer, TEXT for lyricsist]...

      The problem is that very little software supports most of that other than cover art.

      Perhaps you should look at id3.org: see the id3v2.4 specs.

      The problem isn't the tagging methods, it's the lack of software support.

      (That said: obligatory plug -- slimserver supports lyrics, cover art, performer names and composers.... perhaps you need a Squeezebox.)

  3. MusicBrainz by deezilmsu · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.musicbrainz.org Haven't used the new picard looker-upper, but I know the original works wonders. Check that out.

    --
    It's not that I'm asking the big questions, it's that I'm asking lots of small ones.