Hatred of Itunes

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).

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.

― L'assie (Euler), Tuesday, June 4, 2019 7:21 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

feel like apple thinks of the "downloaded music" tab as a necessary evil that distracts from what they're selling which is apple music

they just moved backups, video and podcasts out to new apps.

― Siegbran, Monday, June 3, 2019 11:45 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is the first thing that they've done in a minute that i fully support. admittedly i panicked with y'all at first

yeah I have apple music! but I want downloaded music so that I can listen whenever, not just when I have a good connection w/ lots of data. bumping me back to the full library seems like a bug but I I dunno.

"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?

Smart playlists would be great. A "Loved" playlist where anything I click 'love' on gets added to. Ability to rate 1-5 stars, not just 'loved' vs 'disliked'. A complete "recently played" history. Count of how many times a song has been played, and ability to sort by that. Ability to store non-Apple bought/streamed tracks, like could on laptop. An EQ would be nice.

Errr... the star rating is still there.

on mobile?? I don't see it.

You have to go in to Settings>Music and enable the "Show Star Ratings" option. Then on the screen that shows the full album art in iTunes you can tap on the three dots in the bottom right corner of the screen and you'll see a "Rate Song" option. You can then change the star rating of the song.

Yeah they tried to kill it but brought it back after people complained. It’s still not as easy and straightforward as it used to be but better than nothing (probably the one feature that still binds me to Apple Music/iTunes given how much I rely on ratings for my synced smart playlists)

hmm there is no "show star ratings" option on that menu. I have iphone6 w most recent IOS version.

it's there for me on iphone6 with latest iOS.

Supposedly it's known to not show that option for some users, but it can be forced to show if you go into itunes and check option to "sync only checked songs and videos". Except uh only ever use my phone so I don't have itunes now. Super.

they're not even killing itunes on windows, apparently. i don't know why i use itunes on windows. yes i know, it's because i owned an ipod in 2007 and haven't cared enough to try and export everything into something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IpYkNZRdi8

Thanks for that j
So they really are moving the sync to the finder - in the same manner that Craig satirized during the announcement. How dumb

maybe they have been using all that telemetry junk that's been the fad to learn how much people sync without itunesing first. personally i rarely sync my ipod without also fiddling with the list of what will be put on it, so it will seem kind of dumb to have to do that in the music app then sync in the finder.

the finder is for files!!

Long time iTunes hater here.

Used to have to use it to get music on my iPhone but ditched it once I switched to Android phones.

Wife still has iPhones though. Is there a way to get music onto her phone without using iTunes? Because I'm loathe to install the bloated piece of software on my new (non Apple) laptop.

You can initiate a WiFi sync from the phone (Settings/General/iTunes WiFi Sync), and whenever I connect by cable it automatically starts syncing, so I guess you don't have to go into the Finder so often?

"Still, the smart-playlists feature isn’t explicitly mentioned in Apple’s PR, and the company hasn’t said anything about whether users will be able to transfer their lists from the old program to the new one."

https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/6/5/18653818/itunes-smart-playlists-feature-apple-spotify-streaming-services

The beta of Catalina with the new Music app is already out, it has smart playlists functionality if I’m not mistaken?