Fix Songs Example - Detailed Results

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Can SongKong identify an album when the files contain no useful metadata and the filenames give no clue what the music is?

What was wrong?

All metadata was removed from these files and the filenames were renamed so that they contained no useful information about the artist, album or individual songs.

There is therefore no meaningful text for SongKong to use when trying to identify the music.

What did SongKong find?

SongKong creates AcoustID fingerprints from the audio itself. These fingerprints can identify recordings even when the files contain no useful metadata and filenames such as track1.flac and track2.flac provide no clue to the artist, album or song title.

SongKong then combines the available fingerprint matches with album-level information from Albunack to determine which release the collection of tracks belongs to. SongKong considers the grouping as a whole and will only match the songs to an album when all songs in the grouping can be matched to tracks on the same version of the album. In this case, despite having no useful metadata or filenames to work from, the files are identified as the correct version of AM by Arctic Monkeys.

The filenames remain unchanged because Fix Songs updates metadata only; renaming files and folders is handled separately by SongKong's Rename Files task.

What would change?

Once the album has been identified, SongKong can rebuild the missing metadata using information from its supported music databases.

• Artist and album identified as Arctic Monkeys - AM
• Track titles and track numbers restored
• Release and recording identifiers added from MusicBrainz, AcoustID and Discogs
• Release date, Label and other album information added
• Roles such as Producer, Engineer and Lyricist added
• Artwork added where available

Why is this useful?

This allows music to be recovered even when existing tags and filenames are missing or unreliable. The audio itself provides the starting point for identification, while SongKong's album-level matching uses the results across the complete set of tracks to determine the correct release and add useful metadata.

Various Artists - Pure Rock Ballads

Can SongKong repair incomplete and inconsistent metadata across a two-disc Various Artists compilation?

What was wrong?

These files already contained some useful metadata, but it was incomplete and inconsistent. Basic metadata such as Disc No, Track No, Artist and Title information was missing from a number of tracks.

The Status Report also highlights fields that should normally be consistent across an album but are not. In this case the Album Artist was missing from a number of tracks, even though the release is a Various Artists compilation.

What did SongKong find?

SongKong identifies the files as belonging to the same two-disc Pure Rock Ballads release and matches the individual songs to their correct tracks on that release. Importantly, SongKong does not match the individual songs to the original albums they may also appear on, which would incorrectly split the compilation into multiple albums.

It can then add the missing disc and track numbers, fill in missing artist and title information, and use Various Artists consistently as the Album Artist while preserving the correct artist for each song.

What would change?

• Missing disc numbers and track numbers are restored
• Missing track artists and titles are added
• Various Artists is used consistently as the Album Artist
• Both discs are identified as parts of the same release
• MusicBrainz and Discogs identifiers are added
• Other missing release and track metadata can also be completed
• SongKong can also add detailed performer information for individual tracks. For example, the following credits were added for November Rain by Guns N' Roses

Why is this useful?

Inconsistent compilation metadata can cause one release to be split into several albums or make tracks difficult to browse correctly. Restoring the missing track information and using a consistent Album Artist keeps the complete two-disc release together while retaining the individual artist credited to each song.

The Blue Aeroplanes - Tolerance / Bop Art

Can SongKong identify the correct combined release rather than matching the tracks to the two original albums separately, while also correcting inaccurate metadata?

What was wrong?

This release combines material from the earlier albums Bop Art and Tolerance into a later combined release. The track titles therefore overlap with music that also appears on the original albums.

A simple track-by-track match could easily identify the songs correctly but still associate them with the wrong album release.

What did SongKong find?

SongKong considers the tracks as an album rather than treating each song independently. By comparing the complete track listing and release information, it identifies the files as belonging to the combined Tolerance / Bop Art release rather than splitting them between the two original albums.

Some of the existing metadata is also incorrect, but this does not confuse SongKong. In this example, some track titles are wrong, some artist values are incorrect, and some titles contain extra whitespace.

A useful feature of the Status Report is that it highlights trailing and double whitespace in pink so it is easier to spot. SongKong then removes this when you run Fix Songs. For example, track 3 is incorrectly titled Rare Flowering, which SongKong corrects to Rare Flowers. Some tracks also list the artist as The Green Aeroplanes, which SongKong corrects to The Blue Aeroplanes.

The release is also by a less widely known artist, showing that matching is not limited to mainstream or heavily catalogued releases.

What would change?

• The files are matched to the combined Tolerance / Bop Art release
• The correct album title and release information are added
• Track numbering is aligned with the combined release
• Incorrect details such as artist names and track titles are corrected
• Extra whitespace is removed from affected fields

Why is this useful?

SongKong does not just add missing metadata; it also corrects existing metadata. Correct identification depends on more than recognising individual songs. By considering the complete group of tracks, SongKong can distinguish between different releases containing the same recordings and preserve the correct album edition in the user's collection.

Shostakovich: Symphonies nos. 1 & 6

Can SongKong add the extra structure and credits needed for classical music, rather than treating each track like a conventional song?

What was wrong?

The existing files already contained useful metadata, but classical music often needs more detail and more structure than standard Artist, Album and Track Title fields provide.

In this case the Album Artist was simply the composer. The album also contains movements from two different symphonies, but there was no separate Work and Movement structure to show how the tracks relate to the larger compositions.

What did SongKong find?

SongKong identifies the release as a classical music album and applies its classical matching and metadata rules. This allows it to add information that is especially useful for classical collections.

The Album Artist can be rebuilt from the main classical credits, for example using the composer, conductor and orchestra rather than just the composer alone. This behaviour is configurable, so if you prefer the composer to appear only in the album title, the composer can be omitted from Album Artist.

SongKong also adds separate Work and Movement fields. The symphony can therefore be stored as the parent Work, with each track stored as a Movement within that work. Because this album contains more than one symphony, the hierarchy clearly shows which movements belong to which composition.

SongKong's classical algorithm also marks the music with an Is Classical flag. This makes it easier for other software, scripts or tagging rules to recognise classical recordings and handle them differently where required.

Additional classical fields are populated, including information such as Work Type and Opus, providing richer information about the composition itself rather than relying only on the track title.

What would change?

• Album Artist can include the main classical credits such as composer, conductor and orchestra
• Album Artist formatting is configurable, including the option to omit the composer if it is already included in the album title
• The complete composition is added as a separate Work
• Each track is identified as a Movement within that Work
• Movements are associated with the correct symphony when an album contains more than one work
• An Is Classical flag is added when SongKong identifies the release as classical
• Additional fields such as Work Type and Opus can be added

Why is this useful?

Classical music is much easier to browse when the metadata reflects the structure of the composition rather than treating every track as an unrelated song. Work and Movement fields preserve the hierarchy of the music, richer Album Artist credits make the main performers clear, and fields such as Work Type, Opus and Is Classical provide useful information for music players and other library tools.