Music Library structure.

Hey @essenby,

Thank you for your post regarding how Sonos reads your music library.

In short Sonos will only look at the metadata of your files and arrange them in the app accordingly. So the main point is to check the tags are correct. I used to have a music library in Sonos and loved (honest, I’m a nerd on any database) updating files with Mp3tag.

Having said that, there is an option in the Sonos app, where you can see the library arranged in the file structure of the source. I just had a colleague confirm this and apparently the option to play only appears in this view, if a playable file is detected in the current selection.

Hope this helps!

Hi @Gabriel Z .  

Thanks for that info.   I’m currently trawling through my 2000 plus tracks checking and adjusting the tags (using MP3Tag as it happens) but I’d be interested in seeing the tracks in file structure order.  Can you tell me where that option is to how to achieve it please?

 Do you mean the tracks in an Album subfolder are sorted alphabetically rather than by track number?

Not entirely sure I understand what you mean. Assuming a folder is the same as an album, you could use the album label in Mp3tag to mirror your file structure. In this case, if you want to maintain the track dependency to the actual album in the metadata as well, I would perhaps use the CD number field.

Have you reached out on the Mp3tag Community as well for some ideas?

@Gabriel Z 

I was referring to this statement in your previous post: -

“ Having said that, there is an option in the Sonos app, where you can see the library arranged in the file structure of the source.”

Or did I misunderstand?

​@Gabriel Z 

Thanks for all your help 👍

Hi @essenby, my experience is that Sonos is totally agnostic as to the file/folder structure you use. You can arrange your Genre/Artist/Album folder hierarchy through your file manager in whatever way works for you when you set up your library.

Sonos only looks at the metadata in each song and then groups the songs it finds by whatever criteria you specify for viewing and playback through the app.

As long as your metadata is correct you could just dump all your songs into a single big folder, run the indexing and there will be no difference when you look at them through the app. Until you try using the Folders view......

​@jreddaway - Thanks for this.  I think I have a good handle on it now but I still have issues with the indexing.  For example.When I imported my music on of my compilation albums was imported under artis name rather than album name so I ended up with 40 or so folders each with 1 sub-folder which was named after the album.   I have now moved all the tracks into 3 new folders for disks 1,2, and 3, of the compilation and deleted the origin Artist folders run MP3Tag to correct the Album Artist, Title, and Disk Number and then reindexed from Sonos. 

The resuit is that in my Music Library, not only does it show the 3 new folders, with the correct tracks, but it also shows the original individual folders as well.  When viewed through Windows File Explorer, or through the File Manager app on the NAS, the original folders do not exist.   As I said.  I’ve used MP3Tag to ensure that every track in eack of the 3 folders has the correct values, but Sonos still seems to believe that I have 2 versions of each of these tracks, one in the new folders and one in the original. !

I don’t mind telling you it’s driving me to distraction ! 

Ouch, ​@essenby , I feel your pain.

Before going any further, have you got a trash (or whatever your system calls it) folder inside your library folder?

If you have and it’s active (some NAS drives, eg my Synology, allow you to deactivate it), any files/folders you delete from the library sit in there until the library folder trash folder is emptied.  The Sonos indexer sees those trashed files just like all the others in the library and gives them right back to you with all sorts of different effects depending on whether and how they differ from your latest files.  This may be why you are still seeing the original folders you have deleted.

Anyway have a quick look in your library folder trash folder and, if there are any folders/songs in there, delete them.  With any luck re-indexing will then give you a result much closer to what you expect.

If that doesn’t work get back to me and we can get obsessive about tagging….

Good luck.

Sorry if this has been mentioned already. I cannot read the whole thread. 

There is a setting in the desktop app for "group albums by",which mentions compilations. Not sure what it does but have you experimented with that?

Yes, ​@John B .  I have Android handhelds, so that option is unavailable from there (!)

My recent experience using the Windows desktop controller is that the iTunes option results in the Sonos-Exclusive separate albums for each artist feature for compilations while the Album Artist option works perfectly. 

I have never tried the “Do not group compilations” option - couldn’t see any possible point.