Duplicate tracks in music library

Do you just have one folder path in your Sonos Music Library setup?  Where are the tracks stored?  Is there a recycle bin anywhere where the deleted tracks may be sitting?

I only have one path to my iTunes music library (this is on my laptop) and the tracks aren’t anywhere else including waste bin.  Thx

If you look in the Folders view in the Sonos Music Library do you get any clues as to where it is finding the duplicate tracks?

Thanks for your help.  I’m afraid I don’t know where the SONOS library folders can be viewed. Is this a drop down option in the Windows 10 app?

Hi.  In any controller, in Music Library in the music sources, there are various views - Album, Artist, etc.  One of those is the Folders view.

Thanks, got it.  It looks like all the duplicates and triplicates are compilation albums (certainly so far as I’m aware), but looking at an artist on one I can see in the folder for that artist and that album by him, there is only one track entry in the folder, but there are two (as there are for all other tracks) when looking at the music library album list.

Are you sure there isn’t another folder?  You need to look through the whole of the Folders view in the Sonos music library.  

I don’t use iTunes as library but isn’t there a search function in iTunes, so you can search for the duplicate tracks to see their location? I once had a couple of tricky duplicates and used the search function in my library manager (JRiver).

This may be a red herring, but in the Sonos Music Library Settings (under the Manage menu u in the PC controller), on the Advanced tab, what do you have as the setting for ‘Group albums using?

What happens if you try to play these duplicate tracks?  Do they both play, or only one?  What error message do you get if play fails?

Hi ClausN - in iTunes I have no duplicates (and yes, I have used the identify duplicates function) so the issue is I think solely with the SONOS app.

John, When I click on the artist and then album, or directly on the album, I get each track listed two or three times and each plays two or three times in succession.  Very annoying!  My app has for some reason closed so I’ll reopen and check the Group Album tab, although from memory when exploring all available options I couldnt work out what this did.

Thanks, Rob

My best guess is still that there is a duplicate folder somewhere, which should be visible in the Folders view.  Al other views, such as Artists or Albums, depend on the metadata, so naturally sort so that they sit together.  Have you scrolled through the Folders view from top to bottom?

This case may prove to be the exception, but I can honestly say that in every case I have come across of the Sonos Music Library allegedly screwing up, it has turned out to be the data in the end, and Sonos was just doing what it was supposed to do, with the data provided.

John,  thanks for your input, and I will delve further.  I probably have over 20,000 tracks in my itunes so scrolling through folders could take a very long time!  Rob

Hi @Rob57, and welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sounds like this could be related to the metadata attached to those files, particularly as you mention that it seems to affect compilation albums.

As a test, would it be possible to edit the tracks in one of the albums that gives duplicate entries, using iTunes, such that the artist listed on every track is “Various Artists", or something similar?
There’s also a checkbox in iTunes that lets you mark an album as a compilation, which may be worth ticking.

After making these changes, if you update the Music Library in the Sonos app, do you still see these duplicated tracks?