[dj001]

I am having 1,000 CDs ripped to FLAC. The company ripping them proposes to put the files into folders organized by Artist and then Album. If I want KODI to be able to search the entire library all at once, any problem with folder and subfolders? I don't need to give them special instructions, right?

[DaveBlake]

A well organised folder structure is good for humans, Kodi likes well organised tags. The need is one clear instruction, although I don't know if they do that job, that is to fully and accurately tag the music files with metadata. If they don't do it, and I have doubts, then you will have to do it yourself afterwards.

But no problem with that file structure it is very common, yes "Kodi sees everything". However I am intregued what they are going to do with collaborations - albums with more than one album artist, each artist may have solo albums or collaborations with other artists too.

[tssgery]

Should work fine. My structure is:

music/<format>/<artist/><album>/<tracknumber>-<tracktitle>.<format>

I assume they are adding metadata to the files so the scraper can just pick it up?

[bry]

</Album Artist>/<Album> may work better depending on what you are tagging them with.

example https://imgur.com/a/eLv8q

[DaveBlake]

I presume that

The company ripping them proposes to put the files into folders organized by Artist and then Album.

means album artist.

Don't want to bamboozle the op.

[dj001]

A well organised folder structure is good for humans, Kodi likes well organised tags. The need is one clear instruction, although I don't know if they do that job, that is to fully and accurately tag the music files with metadata. If they don't do it, and I have doubts, then you will have to do it yourself afterwards.

But no problem with that file structure it is very common, yes "Kodi sees everything". However I am intregued what they are going to do with collaborations - albums with more than one album artist, each artist may have solo albums or collaborations with other artists too.

They use MusicBrainz and two other tag scrapers. I suppose they will use "Various Artists" for compilations.

[DaveBlake]

They use MusicBrainz and two other tag scrapers. I suppose they will use "Various Artists" for compilations.

Excellent
Yes "Various Artists" for compilations all under the same folder.

But I really meant collaborations where the entire album is by the same album artists. This is common with classical music where the album is by composer, orchestra, conductor and possible soloist or choir. In that case composer is usually used for the folder, until you get say Bruch and Mendelsonn violin concertos on the same album. In that case "Various Artists" is inapproriate, so what folder does that go into? Multiple album artists on a CD happens less in pop, but still happens e.g. "Riding with the king" by B.B.King and Eric Clapton. They are artists in their own right, and you could even have albums by B.B.King and albums by Eric Clapton under their artist folder - so where does the collaboration go?

BTW there is no right answer, but it could be worth knowing what their strategy is if you have any collaborations CD in your collection.

[bilgepump]

until you get say Bruch and Mendelsonn violin concertos on the same album. In that case "Various Artists" is inapproriate, so what folder does that go into?

When I copy my cds into my computer, I use the freedb which usually "knows" what the cd is, so mine go into whatever folder the person who put it into their database decided.

I have an album of "all sorts" of composers, and it is under the performing orchestra as the artist, then the folder is just called the names of the six composers on the album. It probably makes quite a long pathname, but it hasn't caused any issues that I know of. Another is under "various artists", folder is the name of the album, and then the composers are mentioned on each track name. I reckon you could go a bit crazy trying to figure out one consistent way of doing those "mish-mash" type recordings.

[DaveBlake]

I reckon you could go a bit crazy trying to figure out one consistent way of doing those "mish-mash" type recordings.

Sure could
In relation to the op, Kodi (mostly) does not care. The one bit than can get messy is artist.nfo and artwork. Current assumptions is that every artist has an obvious unique folder, and that clearly isn't always the case.

But I find it interesting to know what people do with their "mish-mash" CDs. Popular music it is pretty simple, but away from that different genres need different handling. In classical music for things like Bruch and Mendelssohn I have a "Various Composers" folder. With film music it is mostly under the compser if it has a single score e.g. John Williams and Enrico Morricone, but not always. I have compilations divided under genre, separating Jazz compilations from Now 99 etc.

But I repeat it matters more to humans than it does to Kodi.

[bilgepump]

But I find it interesting to know what people do with their "mish-mash" CDs. Popular music it is pretty simple, but away from that different genres need different handling. In classical music for things like Bruch and Mendelssohn I have a "Various Composers" folder. With film music it is mostly under the compser if it has a single score e.g. John Williams and Enrico Morricone, but not always. I have compilations divided under genre, separating Jazz compilations from Now 99 etc.

The thing that I find interesting is the change in importance of classical composers and modern songwriters. My classical albums are mostly listed under the composer's name, not the performers', yet with modern songs, the songwriter doesn't get a mention when somebody records their song. I know that for classical music afficionados, they will seek out a recording from a particular orchestra and I've got recordings that I like and others where I don't think they've done a very good job, but the work stays more on the composer than the performer. With modern music, the songwriter seems to get less recognition. A song becomes the performer's the minute they put out a recording. I suppose classical stays the same and modern recordings differ in their interpretation or arrangement, but if I were a songwriter, I'd feel a bit neglected in the recognition department.

[DaveBlake]

The thing that I find interesting is the change in importance of classical composers and modern songwriters. My classical albums are mostly listed under the composer's name, not the performers', yet with modern songs, the songwriter doesn't get a mention when somebody records their song. I know that for classical music afficionados, they will seek out a recording from a particular orchestra and I've got recordings that I like and others where I don't think they've done a very good job, but the work stays more on the composer than the performer. With modern music, the songwriter seems to get less recognition. A song becomes the performer's the minute they put out a recording. I suppose classical stays the same and modern recordings differ in their interpretation or arrangement, but if I were a songwriter, I'd feel a bit neglected in the recognition department.

Wandering off topic, sorry op, but what the heck.

Kodi now processes the composer tag.
I have noticed that quite a few non-classical tracks have been tagged with composer(s) and other people involved information in the Musicbrainz database. It is all down to whether the person that adds the album can be bothered to create "works" from the CD booklet. I have entered a few myself, giving back to the community, but it is a little tedious. Anyway the possibilty is there, and if people load the data then Kodi can make use of it. It can be quite interesting to see who wrote what song etc.