Hatred of Itunes

I don't mind iTunes these days, confused what's going to replace it on my MacBook and how (and how I'll control it with my android phone).

I’ve written my own scripts that use the discogs API, Google or RYM to scrape for things like genre and year.

I mostly use them for artists Greatest Hits comps, to quickly tag every song with the original single release year instead of the year the compilation came out.

^^^^^ I do the same.

Lately my favorite script is one that goes through my library and gets two unplayed songs from each artist.

that would be… a big result for my library

oof

Spend two decades collecting and cataloging your music...and then have it erased by the same company that sold it to you. https://t.co/DC2WhlPIAm pic.twitter.com/3fjxydh0XQ

— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) June 1, 2019

The truth is I am a helplessly unreliable narrator in this story, because whenever I use iTunes, I find that I have absolutely no idea what’s going on, or what the consequences of my actions will be.

lol there can be curveballs sometimes but it's not brain surgery

not sure what all this means. should I burn copies of some of the more obscure cds I've uploaded to itunes and subsequently sold? If I transferred an experimental music cd to digital format in itunes, then sold or donated the cd, then itunes disappears and is replaced by a fucking streaming service, but because my cd was so obscure the new streaming app doesn't include it...does that mean I lose that music?

Caveat emptor

I suspect the Slate thing and the blog post it came from are hyperbole, since anyone who spent two decades compiling and tagging a music collection and then didn’t spend $50 to back up those files deserves to lose them. If that happened to me I would restore my library from one of the four places it’s backed up in full. Absolutely stupid design from Apple though, or more accurately, crass and venal design.

should I burn copies of some of the more obscure cds I've uploaded to itunes and subsequently sold?

yes

thanks

"A truly personal music collection is inevitably going to be full of such odds and ends" which aren't part of the apple ecosystem, that is the problem for me

I guess my concerns are multiple: I don't want what happened to dude above to happen to my files (though they are backed up!), and I'm also concerned that my old iPod won't work with the new app. It works fine. I like what it does. I don't subscribe to any streaming services, and will never do so, so the main reason to even have iTunes is organization of files.

"anyone who spent two decades compiling and tagging a music collection and then didn’t spend $50 to back up those files deserves to lose them"

can understand this (although it is callous), but itunes is a trusted music platform, what about everybody unaware of what is happening?

The way iphone’s music app handles compilations is absolute hell

xp callous I guess, but it's not like that was the first time that software mangled a digital library (although it's repugnant that it was a feature, not a bug). Just another exemplar of revenue consolidation trumping individual choice, while marketing ensures that most people see it as a good thing, and only the weirdoes are shut out. I have large physical libraries and only pay for physical media and non DRM digital, but there's always that day when Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are proud to announce a new partnership, AllPlay, which ensures all computers and personal devices play only encrypted DigiLock audio, and you can choose from these six hit albums at CD-quality 96 kbps.

I remember years ago when apple stopped supporting iphoto. it took days for me to transfer my 20,000+ photo files into the new photos app in a coherent chronological order

xp lol

This:

tbh i think everyone is kinda overreacting about itunes rn. lotta questions on the table. they'd be nuts to kill the retail store and the ability to just... listen to your mp3s.

— Jill Mapes (@jumonsmapes) May 31, 2019

that seems right (although the interface could still suck more, kind of a crapshoot)

the key is holding off on migration if possible so that you have a chance to let early adopters find out about unexpected disasters that can get fixed for you before you go

Yeah, well I’m definitely a “remind me tomorrow” guy when it comes to updating software

the main reason to even have iTunes is organization of files only reason to even have iTunes is to transfer files to an iPod

it’s pretty good at bulk id3 editing but that’s abt it for positives

The way iphone’s music app handles compilations is absolute hell

xxxpost but what problems are you running into? I haven't had any issues, just made sure to click the "part of a compilation" checkbox and enter something in the Album Artist field, either Various Artists or the DJ's name for mix albums

F apple, F iTunes, F the event tomorrow

_but there's always that day when Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are proud to announce a new partnership, AllPlay, which ensures all computers and personal devices play only encrypted DigiLock audio_

You mean Spotify right

the key is holding off on migration if possible so that you have a chance to let early adopters find out about unexpected disasters that can get fixed for you before you go

Agree to the nth degree. I've held off on iTunes upgrades for at least 5 years now, since v. 10.7. I've learned from the small online community devoted to convoluted hacks that allow you do retain the old version while still accessing the App store for OS updates, etc.

I've forgotten by now what crucial changes after 10.7 would wreak such havoc on my MP3 library to make it worth all this trouble. I get enough satisfaction just knowing I'm doing my small part in stickin' it to tha man, flying the pirate flag!

yeah they screwed something annoying up a long time back but i since leapfrogged lots of versions, and i dunno, the latest that was available on high sierra before mojave was released seemed alright to me except for the annoyance of itunes store click-regions everywhere i never wanted them

it could be that i have been corrupted by my lack of faith with the old ways

Hate the fact I had to use clunky iTunes to update my phone's collection. More in the past, when I listened to music rather than podcasts on my dog walds. I never spent a dime at the iTunes store, I only bought DRM-free MP3s, which I could manage as I please. My "cloud" is two (redundant) portable hard drives.

Honestly, I would like Apple more if they weren't so intent on changing our metaphors for digital objects. I like hierarchical folders containing discrete files, and can visualize them. I like being able to select them and move them to other digital storage devices (like my phone) within the file manager of a computer. I have less invested in Apple than most (an iPad and a couple of refurbished phones, 4s and now 5s), but their metaphor for how data files should exist (not as discrete objects, but as connections with applications) still bothers me to no end.

when I signed up for apple music I had none of these problems with match deleting my files. I'm pretty sure it prompts you or something and you have to say yes. that is not the default behavior. This came up a few years ago too.

I think Apple is on the right track with treating music collections as databases with queries and syncing instead of a simple folder hierarchy - copying files around manually works if you have a few hundred songs but with large collections and phones with lots of storage it’s almost impossible to keep track of what has already been copied, updated metadata, or sync more complex queries (smart playlists).

The world has moved away from that in other areas too, things like OneDrive/Dropbox and photo sync/backup also don’t work through manually dragging files and folders to and from the phone anymore.

you can have my structured folders when you pry them out of my cold dead hands

I was talking to a colleague about this and he doesn't mind Apple messing around with his music because music isn't really a big deal to him.

Being someone who loves music I cannot fathom how anyone else who does could ever let anyone else - especially a company with such contempt for personal ownership of files - take control of their collection.

As long as they don't kill off manual star ratings (which they've been trying to do for a while), i'll be fine.

files are just…so exhausting

It does give some form of control over the process but I can’t imagine dragging and dropping 200 GB worth of files manually.

ha I just transferred 3 TB to a new drive by literally dragging and dropping, it takes a while but all you do is start it before bed and let it churn away

I’ve done a ‘copy all’ manually to a new drive too, yes, but making a 200 GB selection out of those 3 TB and manually copying that to yr iphone...

true, thankfully I don't use my phone for audio at all, I do have a whimsical selection of various MP3 files on it but the iTunes interface for phone is so terrible that I almost never use it, also the bulk of my collection is FLAC

iTunes will automatically make a list based on what it thinks you want on your phone/iPod - it seems to grab everything with high play counts but also randomly chucked on a bunch of shit I never listened to in lieu of stuff I actually did. still got it mostly right though

The only thing I really use iTunes for is importing new CDs as WAV files so I don't have to manually enter track names. Occasionally I convert some files to MP3 for uploading. But I do zero listening, pretty much, I use VLC/FLAC for everything. You can make playlists in VLC and save them as well.

Does VLC do smart playlists these days? havent used it for music in ages.

probably not, but I don't actually know

i use it to keep a video playlist, which it seems to fuck up easily if there are file problems, so i would guess no

False alarm, the new Music application appears to duplicate pretty much all functionality of iTunes, they just moved backups, video and podcasts out to new apps.

this is good news—I have never used iTunes for anything *but* music and it seemed like all that other functionality was what pulled it down.

But I'm not letting my guard down, I have never updated w/o my library getting fucked somehow, and the story above seems consistent w/ their m.o. of owning every aspect of the listening experience. ffs they took way the headphone jack!

*away

"the iTunes interface for phone is so terrible" how so? I mean, you can sort by artist/album and play a song. what more do you need?

I don't love how deleting songs can be a chore: when you're in your downloaded music library trying to get rid of music you've downloaded without deleting it from your full library, and simply "remove download" it (often?) sends you back to your full library, rather than staying in your downloaded music library.

xp

when I try to sort by "Songs" in iTunes I see one Arthur Russell track and that goddamn U2 album, and that's it. When I sort by 'Albums", it lists everything as an individual track starting with the album title and tagged "unknown artist". Same with a Genre sort once you click through to the album list. Totally useless. Haven't bothered to troubleshoot because I do literally no listening via phone. CDs in the car, stereo at home, laptop for DJ gigs. I think I threw those tracks on the phone for a plane flight home like two years ago.

Pretty sure these aren't tagging issues because this shit worked just fine on my iPod Classic (RIP).