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Cleaning up iTunes

G

GoHack

macrumors member
Original poster
May 7, 2009
91
3
Palmdale, CA
Hi,

What is the best way, and/or software, for cleaning up my iTunes library on my MacBook, and to keep it clean and organized?


Thanks
 
It really depends on what you need cleaned up, and how you want things organized. I prefer to manage my files myself, so I leave the following boxes unchecked in iTunes Preferences:
iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > organize & copy checkboxes.PNG​
I also manually add high quality artwork from sources like Album Art Exchange or Google searches.

Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes is a great resource for managing your iTunes tags and files.

Here are a few scripts that I've found particularly useful:
 
Thanks

Any good software which does it.

I've first got to clean the mess up first, as well as the wasted HD memory.
 
GoHack said:
Thanks
Any good software which does it.
I've first got to clean the mess up first, as well as the wasted HD memory.
Click to expand...
Again, you don't describe exactly what "clean up" you need. File names? Folder structure? Location of files? Duplicate files or entries in iTunes? Tag information in iTunes?
 
GGJstudios said:
Again, you don't describe exactly what "clean up" you need. File names? Folder structure? Location of files? Duplicate files or entries in iTunes? Tag information in iTunes?
Click to expand...

Everything.

I've got up to three copies of each album/movie, as well as the structure is a mess.

I'd like to clean up everything, w/o loosing any files.

I've got up to three repeating directories/sub-directories.
 
GoHack said:
Everything.

I've got up to three copies of each album/movie, as well as the structure is a mess.

I'd like to clean up everything, w/o loosing any files.

I've got up to three repeating directories/sub-directories.
Click to expand...
No software can clean all that up for you, but here's a suggested plan of action.
  • Decide and create a new folder structure. I have my music stored in folders, first by Genre, then by Artist, then by Album.
  • Search for and drag all your music into the appropriate folders. You may need to temporarily modify some folder names to avoid having two folders of the same name in the same folder, overwriting one.
  • Add everything in those folders to iTunes. It will not add files that already exist in your library.
  • In iTunes Preferences > Advanced, select your new music folder as the iTunes Media folder location.
  • In iTunes, select File > Display Duplicates and start deleting true duplicates, moving the files to the trash. By "true duplicates", I exclude copies of the same song by the same artist that may be different, such as a studio, live, acoustic, re-recorded version or simply a song that appears on multiple albums that I want to keep. Remember, iTunes uses Song Name and Artist to determine duplicates, regardless of the Album, Album Artist, or other tags.
  • Use the scripts I posted to clean up capitalization and inconsistent naming conventions in both file names and tags.
It's time consuming, but worth the effort. I've been working on my collection for many years, ripping CDs, adding artwork, lyrics, etc. Depending on the size of your library, it may only take you a few days or weeks.
 
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