Overview

Music files collected from different sources often lack complete metadata, causing music players to incorrectly display artist and album information. Claude can help you batch read, fix, and enhance ID3 tags in music files, keeping your music library clean and organized.

Use Cases

Fix tags on music files ripped from CDs
Standardize naming conventions for music from different sources
Batch add album artwork
Fix garbled Chinese tags
Reorganize file structure by artist and album

Steps

Step 1: Check Existing Tags

First, have Claude analyze the current state of the music files.

Please analyze the music files in ~/Music/Library folder:
- Count how many files are missing artist, album, or title information
- Check for garbled or inconsistently formatted tags
- List the types of issues that need fixing
- Sort by severity of issues

Step 2: Extract Information from Filenames

If filenames contain information (like "Artist - Song Name.mp3"), extract it into tags.

The file naming format is "Artist - Song Name.mp3", please:
1. Parse filenames to extract artist and title
2. Write the information into ID3 tags
3. If tags already exist, ask whether to overwrite
4. Generate a modification report

Step 3: Batch Set Album Information

Set uniform information for all songs in the same album.

For all mp3 files in ~/Music/Library/Jay Chou/Ye Hui Mei folder:
- Artist: Jay Chou
- Album: Ye Hui Mei
- Year: 2003
- Genre: Pop
- Set track numbers based on filenames
Please batch update this information

Step 4: Add Album Artwork

You can add artwork from image files or search online.

1. Find cover.jpg or folder.jpg in each album folder
2. Embed the image into the tags of all music files in that folder
3. If no cover image is found, list albums missing artwork
4. Compress large images to appropriate size (e.g., 500x500) to save space

Step 5: Reorganize File Structure

Reorganize folder structure based on tag information.

Please reorganize music files according to this structure:
~/Music/Organized/Artist/Album/TrackNumber-SongName.mp3
For example: ~/Music/Organized/Jay Chou/Ye Hui Mei/01-In the Name of Father.mp3
Keep original files intact, create hard links at new locations

Warning: Always backup before modifying music file tags! Some players may not support all tag versions. Test on a small number of files first. Do not interrupt the modification process, otherwise files may be corrupted.

Tip: Using consistent encoding (UTF-8) can avoid garbled text issues. For Chinese tags, use ID3v2.4 version for best compatibility.

Common Questions

Q: What if the player doesn't show tags after modification? A: It might be a player cache issue. Try clearing the player's media library cache and rescan. Some players need to restart to recognize new tags.

Q: How do I handle collaboration songs with multiple artists? A: You can use formats like "Artist1 & Artist2" or "Artist1 feat. Artist2". Some formats support a separate "Contributing Artists" field.

Q: Can music information be automatically identified? A: Audio fingerprint technology (like AcoustID) can be used to identify songs, but requires additional tools and online services. Claude can help you set up and use these tools.