[DaveBlake]

I'd mistakenly thought after I saw the album "stuff" in the artist info folder that things were changing and that kodi would be looking in the artist info folder for everything.  Yes, that might be confusing without knowing that kodi isn't looking there for the album info.

Yes I need to make that clearer, we are working on it.

But it is important to realise that music library export is not a backup facility

Do you say that because when you export the album info will go into the artist info folder, but Kodi won't "suck it back in" because that's not where it looks when it's doing its sucking for album info? .  

I say that music library export is not a backup facility (and never has been) because I think a backup is a complete store of something from which you can recreate a system, and music export does not do that. The essential data of the library comes from tags within the music files, and that is not exported. Having an xml file, or lots of NFO lone will not recreate the library.

When I backup my Kodi installation I copy the db files (and custom nodes and settings files), I don't use export. That is what I would advise others to do too.

Also the principle idea of NFO files is to enable users to provide additional artist and album data themselves rather than depend on an online source to provide it. It really is a bit clunky to then create NFO files to save that downloaded data locally, best way to do that is a single xml file. If I wanted to transfer the downloaded additional data to a new system I would use export to single file and then import that file. Using separate NFO files only has value if you are wanting to edit them or manage the information some way.

(for that copy the db), it is an advanced user facility for management of additional local artist and album info and art. Beginners will be scraping online art etc., this is for those that want to go further, have exotic music collections or are control freaks for what data/art they have (no insult intended as I speak of myself).

Or, for using in an offline installation (me).  It's given me something I did not have, all the pretty pictures of singers I've never heard of ().  J/K, I'd had the "show artists who aren't on albums"(or whatever it says) setting off because there was no point.  Now with my little local source of artwork in the artist info folder, I can have all the artists showing.

I am glad you fell you have gained from this, but I am a little confused. Do you mean that you have an online system, scraped art for song artists from online sources, exported it, and can now also use it from an offline system that can only show local art?