Organizing a Huge iTunes Music Library with Tags and Smart Playlists
May 18, 2011Do you have an iTunes library that is growing by the day and is now so large it is out of control? Staying on top of your song collection is the key to an enjoyable experience and the best way to manage and maintain a large itunes library is with tags. Here are some practical tips to using tags on your iTunes songs
You should organize your music according to tags as a general rule, and another rule is to always use Smart Playlists. Manual playlists should be reserved for your own compliations and the smart playlists are to help you organize your large iTunes library. This is because these playlists update along with the entire music collection.
Here’s some more tips around tagging and why it is the key to managing and maintaining those ridiculously large itunes libraries of yours, because regardless of whether you paid for your iTunes music or you were savvy enough to get yourself a free iTunes gift cards to get songs for your iPod – there is nothing worse than an unorganized music library.
Rate music on your iPod, or while listening to music at home. Tagging is a no brainer so use your downtime to play around and update them. You can also use apps like Quicksilver or Butler and set up shortcut keys for assigning ratings to your music while it’s playing. You can do this without interrupting the current app you’re using, and it’s a good way of rating stuff fairly quickly and easily.
Bring your music into line and finally sort out that mess with tags, but more importantly – make sure you are consistent with what tags you are using and how you are categorizing and ‘filing’ your iTunes songs.
Tag everything as it arrives. Set up a Smart Playlist called Recently Added – Date Added is in the last 7 days and My Rating is 0. Once you rate your new stuff it will drop out of the list.
Genres are also an important factor and this is a case of less is more. Take the list and cull those that you either don’t use or sound and look very similar. There is no point having 8 different types of classical music if you don’t even listen to that type of music
It is more important to impose a system that works and that you stay consistent with than it is how you go about it. Whether is it tags, playlists, genres, or a mix of all three to organize your huge iTunes library the important element is that you find a way to do it that works, and you stick with it.
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