[pkscout]

Is there no way to get the MBID from the ID tags embedded in the track that is being played, if it does exist [the MBID tag]? Can XBMC handle that to AS, can't it?

MusicBrainz support in XMBC is definitely not complete yet. As far as I know XBMC does not read the MBID tag in an MP3 file. In fact, I don't think that's even a standard MP3 tag. The only way the MBID could get into XBMC is if a scraper puts in there. If that happens then, in theory, AS requests that from XBMC and would get it back. I say in theory because I have no way to test it, as none of my music has the MBID in the XBMC database. I put that code there just to try and be ready in case MusicBrainz support comes to XBMC 13.

If AS clearly mishandles the name of the artist and no MBID match is being done, why not having AS getting the artist's MBID from XBMC in first place before asking for the artist name?

Technically AS does ask XBMC for the MBID first. See post 644 just above for the order in which AS tries to get the MBID.

[*]I believe AS could even get the MBID by just checking the tags in the local track being played, right?

I guess in theory if the tag was in the file, XBMC would tell me the file location, and I wrote an entire parser to interrogate the file directly, then yes. But that isn't going to happen. AS asks XBMC for any data about the playing song. What I am able to get back is totally dependent on XMBC.

I looked through your log file, and unfortunately it wasn't much help. From the looks of it the artist you were playing when logging was one that has recently been looked up by AS. If AS can't find a MBID, it writes out a blank file and then waits 2 weeks before trying that particular artist again. I'd suggest you delete the entire userdata/addon_data/script.artistslideshow folder, reset all your preferences and then run everything with debug logging.