Using Media Information in Windows Media Player
Clean up your Player library by fixing missing/incorrect song titles, artist names, genres, and other media information in Windows Media Player 10.
On This Page
Why can't I update media information for the tracks that I ripped from my CDs?
When you rip (copy) tracks from a CD, Windows Media Player tries to identify the songs by connecting to the Internet and searching a database. However, sometimes the Player may not be able to retrieve complete or accurate media information because the Player may be unable to connect to the database, or information may be missing because the CD information is:
| • | Not in the database. This can happen with commercial CDs that are new or relatively rare, and with custom mix CDs that you have burned. |
| • | In the database, but the Player cannot match the CD in your CD drive with the database entry. |
| • | In the database, but the information is inaccurate or incomplete. |
Before you rip a CD that you purchased from a store, if you notice that the Player has not correctly identified the tracks on the CD, do the following before you click the Rip Music button:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Rip, and then click Find Album Info. If a message tells you to change your privacy settings, right-click the Player title bar, point to Tools, and then click Options. Click the Privacy tab, and then select the Update music files by retrieving media info from the Internet check box. | ||||||
2. | Click Search by album name, type the name of the album that you want to rip, and then click Next. A list of albums appears. Do one of the following:
| ||||||
3. | Confirm that the rest of the information is correct, and then click Finish. |
How do I prevent media information from being overwritten?
If you have added or edited media information for a file and you want to make sure that the media information for a file will not change, do the following:
1. | Right-click the Windows Media Player title bar, point to Tools, click Options, and then click Library. |
2. | If the Retrieve additional information from the Internet check box is selected, make sure that Only add missing information is also selected. This option prevents the Player from inadvertently overwriting the media information you've added. |
How do I change the source of my media information?
When you click More Info in the Library, the currently selected online store (such as f.y.e. Download Zone or Napster) provides the media information. If that store doesn't have information about an album, switch to a different online store by doing the following:
| • | On the View menu, click Online Stores, and then click another store. The new online store's Web page appears in the Player. To see the updated media information, click Library. |
Why does the same album appear more than once in my library?
In some instances, the same album appears twice in your library, once without the artist name and once with the artist name, or it appears with different spellings of the artist name. If this occurs, it indicates that the songs in the album don't have a value entered for the Album Artist attribute, or the value is incorrect.
To fix this, you can update the attribute for the songs in the album with the missing or incorrect artist name. There are several methods you can use to update the attribute. Typically, you can use the Find Album Info command to search an online database for the media information. For more information, see the Add or Edit Media Information Web page in the Windows Media Player How-to Center.
This column focuses on two other methods, drag-and-drop and editing in the library. To update the Album Artist attribute using the album drag-and-drop method, do the following:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library. |
2. | In the Contents pane (the left pane), click the album with the incorrect or missing attribute information, and drag it on top of the album with the correct information. |
3. | If you are asked to confirm that you want to change the media information, click Yes. The album now appears once in the Album category, followed by the artist name in parentheses. |
You can also update the Album Artist attribute for songs on the album by doing the following:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library. |
2. | In the Contents pane, click the album that you want to fix. |
3. | In the Details pane (the middle pane), right-click one of the column names (such as Title), and then click Album Artist. The Album Artist attribute appears as a column in the library. |
4. | For any songs that you want to edit, right-click the Album Artist area, and then click Edit. To select multiple adjacent songs to edit, click the first item, hold down the SHIFT key, and then click the last item. To select multiple nonadjacent items, hold down the CTRL key as you click each item. |
5. | In the Album Artist box, type the name of the album artist, and then press ENTER. One album now appears in the Album category, followed by the artist name in parentheses. |
How do I prevent songs on albums with the same name from appearing under the wrong artist in the library?
Albums that have the same name may appear under one artist in the library if the songs of the other artists are missing the Album Artist attribute. For example, if you navigate to the Album Artist category, pick an artist, and then select the "Greatest Hits" album for that artist, songs from "Greatest Hits" albums of other artists may also appear.
To fix this, find the songs that are missing the Album Artist attribute, and then enter the correct album artist name. You can enter the correct information by using the Find Album Info command in the Player. For more information, see the Add or Edit Media Information Web page in the Windows Media Player How-to Center. You can also edit the Album Artist attribute in the library. For information about editing the attribute in the library, see the previous question.
How do I make a song created by two artists appear under the listings for both artists in the library?
You can use a semi-colon followed by a space between multiple items in a field, for example, to associate several artists with a song. If you have tracks that are unknown, or are listed incorrectly, edit the track information by doing the following:
1. | Right-click the field you want to edit, and then click Edit. |
2. | Type the information you want to enter, and then press ENTER. |
Why am I asked to change my privacy settings when I try to change media information?
By default, when you rip a CD and are connected to the Internet, the Player is configured to automatically retrieve media information and album art. If you have changed your privacy settings, you might be prompted to change them back when you click the Find Album Info button. To change your privacy settings back to the default values, do the following:
1. | On the Tools menu, click Options. If the Tools menu is not visible, right-click the Windows Media Player title bar, and then click Options. |
2. | In the Options dialog box, click the Privacy tab, and then select the Update music files by retrieving media info from the Internet check box. |
When I use the Advanced Tag Editor to change media information, are the changes saved to my original files or just to the library?
When you use the Advanced Tag Editor to edit media information, your changes are immediately saved to both the digital media file and the library. If you use another method to edit media information, the information is immediately saved to the library, but it might take some time for the changes to be saved to the original file.
In most cases, you won't notice the lag time. However, you might want the media information to be saved to the files immediately, for example, if you plan to copy the files to another computer right after you edit the information. You can save the latest media information to your files immediately by performing the following steps:
1. | In Windows Media Player, edit the media information. |
2. | Right-click the Player title bar, point to Tools, and then click Process Media Information Now. |
Where can I learn how to add or edit media information?
See the Add or Edit Media Information Web page in the Windows Media Player How-to Center to learn common reasons why your files might not have correct media information, and what you can do to fix them.
If you don't find the answer to your question in this column, be sure to check the Archive. Media Advice is not an official Microsoft Support channel. If you need immediate help for an urgent problem, we recommend that you visit Microsoft Help and Support.