[linesma]

I have read through the wiki entries and the GitHub pull request on the Artist information folder. It looks like an answer to the issues I have had with my music library since the days of the Camelot release. A lack of scraping the artist information when adding files to the library and consistency of said library across multiple devices. I would like to make this folder portable so I can use it with the Kodi install on my two nVidia Shield TV's. This way the music library looks the same no matter what device I am on. This is what I have done so far.

1. I took the time to set up the library on my laptop how I wanted it to be.

2. I then used the export library function to create artist folders in the artist information folder that I designated.

3. I also had that function make nfo files with the information that is displayed in my library.

Question #1

The intent is to replace my existing nfo files, which just have a link to the artist's musicbrainz page and are in the same folder as the artist in music source directory, with the one's generated from the library export and have them located in the artist information folder. When I open the library export generated nfo files, I notice that they have a bunch of information regarding the thumbnail and fanart graphics used as well as a path listing to the artist information folder. Example below:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<artist>
    <name>&apos;til Tuesday</name>
    <musicBrainzArtistID>8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0</musicBrainzArtistID>
    <sortname></sortname>
    <type>Group</type>
    <gender></gender>
    <disambiguation></disambiguation>
    <style>Rock/Pop</style>
    <born></born>
    <formed>1982</formed>
    <biography>Remembered for their lone hit single &quot;Voices Carry,&quot; &apos;Til Tuesday gradually evolved from a new wave pop band into a vehicle for the songwriting of Aimee Mann. Emerging at the tail end of new wave, &apos;Til Tuesday&apos;s commercial fortunes were helped dramatically by a stylish video for &quot;Voices Carry,&quot; which quickly became an MTV favorite. However, the group wasn&apos;t able to follow the single with another hit; furthermore, their albums weren&apos;t just ignored by the public, they received little media attention as well</biography>
    <died></died>
    <disbanded>1989</disbanded>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="thumb" preview="https://assets.fanart.tv/preview/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/artistthumb/til-tuesday-50ff7746da2c7.jpg">https://assets.fanart.tv/fanart/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/artistthumb/til-tuesday-50ff7746da2c7.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="thumb" preview="https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/thumb/til-tuesday-50ff7746da2c7.jpg/preview">https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/thumb/til-tuesday-50ff7746da2c7.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="thumb" preview="https://img.discogs.com/al9zKXLC6SZroTRwipvZIJHY6Gg=/150x150/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/A-170791-1289403334.jpeg.jpg">https://img.discogs.com/w_PcugQ-FrgCYJJSEt_TI68OpRc=/404x438/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/A-170791-1289403334.jpeg.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="thumb" preview="https://img.discogs.com/B52Xc4w5OBM9Sli-S2ERghPdprg=/150x150/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/A-170791-1077084695.jpg.jpg">https://img.discogs.com/L_T7gZwhTLvmqcmEjxtN4lGBowU=/300x279/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/A-170791-1077084695.jpg.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="thumb" preview="https://img.discogs.com/7ds20o_vuJ3de9wUrltOWThkRQM=/150x150/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/A-170791-1199034144.jpeg.jpg">https://img.discogs.com/pCW2Hdpncd7n695ARA8GhmvSgXE=/600x270/smart/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/A-170791-1199034144.jpeg.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="clearlogo" preview="https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/logo/yvtwvq1544127349.png/preview">https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/logo/yvtwvq1544127349.png</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="clearlogo" preview="https://assets.fanart.tv/preview/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/hdmusiclogo/til-tuesday-59fe255f271e3.png">https://assets.fanart.tv/fanart/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/hdmusiclogo/til-tuesday-59fe255f271e3.png</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="fanart" preview="https://assets.fanart.tv/preview/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/artistbackground/til-tuesday-50ff775b46209.jpg">https://assets.fanart.tv/fanart/music/8cf8869d-e066-4c94-b734-fe05749badf0/artistbackground/til-tuesday-50ff775b46209.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb spoof="" cache="" aspect="fanart" preview="https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/fanart/til-tuesday-50ff775b46209.jpg/preview">https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/fanart/til-tuesday-50ff775b46209.jpg</thumb>
    <path>/media/Miscka/Multimedia/Artist Information/&apos;til Tuesday</path>
</artist>

Can I delete this information from the nfo file to make them more universal?

Question #2

I noticed that when I did the library export, that a couple of folders were named differently than in the music source directory. For example, the folder for Melanie C is named

Code:

Melanie C_

in the music source directory and in the artist information folder it is

Code:

Melanie C

If I want to make the artist information folder portable, should I rename the folder in the music library source to match the one in the artist information folder?

Question #3

Currently, I have the fanart and thumbnail graphics in the same folder as the artist in the music source directory. If I move those graphics to the artist folder in the artist information folder, will Kodi then use them when I scan my library into a different Kodi install?

As I said above, if I can make the artist information folder portable, it would be like a dream come true. I could finally have consistency across every one of my Kodi installs when it comes to my music library. Thank you for your time. I truly do appreciate it.

[black_eagle]

I could finally have consistency across every one of my Kodi installs when it comes to my music library.

You can already have that if you set up a shared library using MySQL/MariaDB.  Scan once on one machine and it will magically appear on any other Kodi instance connected to your network.  It's a little more involved to set up initially as you have to share your files with some sort of network protocol (SMB or NFS usually) but I have 6 instances all connected to the one shared music db.  Just the one artist info directory too.

See https://kodi.wiki/view/MySQL for more info

[DaveBlake]

All well and good @black_eagle, but to run Kodi client-server you have to have one suitable device  on all the time acting as the server where MySQL/MariDB can run, and all the other devices connected to it over the network. That isn't possible in every situation, having independant installations of Kodi drawing from a common media and artwork in one location could be exactly what the user wants.

So to answer the questions about the Artist Information Folder:

1) Yes you can remove whatever fields you like.
But also the  fields may not have the impact that you think they will. The <thumb> and <fanart> fields hold the scraped art results of art aviallable from remote sites,  and hence is not specific to the install. The <path> field is not used when .nfo files are scanned and so irrelevant.

2) No you do not need to rename the folder in the music library source to match the one in the artist information folder.
Only the name of the subfolder in the Artist Information Folder matters - it needs to match the artist name precisely in the way that exporting created it. If you have more than one artist with the same name then those subfolder names will include part of the Musicbrainz ID too. How you have arranged or named the folders containing the music files does not matter to Kodi at all. You do not even have to orangise those files by artist, it just happens to be a convenient for humans to do that.

3) Yes, if you move those graphics to the artist subfolder in the Artist Information Folder, then Kodi will pick then up when you  scan your library into a different device. However you must remember to set the "Artist Information Folder" setting to on that installation before you scan the music files into the libray.

[linesma]

@black_eagle Thank you very much for your reply. My apologies, I could have been clearer in my initial post. I think you misunderstood what I was asking due to my use of the word "consistency". Adding to the confusion was the assumption that every instance of Kodi that I run uses a shared source on a network. The "consistency" I was talking about was in regards to "look and feel". ie. The same artwork and artist information for every library. We are not concerned with play counts and such. Your solution would work if every instance of Kodi in use relied on a shared library. This is not the case for me. Because my wife and I use our laptops in areas where internet may not be available, the music library is stored locally on each machine. In the past, around the Frodo days, I looked into going the MySQL route, but found that it added a layer of complexity that I just did not want to take on.

@DaveBlake Thank you for your reply as well. From what you posted, the Artist Information Folder will give me what I am looking for. Having the same artwork and artist information for every install of Kodi. Even those that are not relying on a network location for their media. This has been an ongoing project since the Camelot release. I just wanted to make sure that I was doing things properly so I do not end up "chasing my tail". As I did with my initial foray into nfo files.

1. I thought that was the case with nfo files. However, I did not know if that information was needed when using the Artist Information Folder. I thought it was best to ask before spending the time to edit them and only to find that I deleted something that was needed.

2. I will leave the folder names alone then. The folder structure, folder names, and id3 tags of the music source are the same everywhere. The mount point may be different. ie. On a local drive with the laptops and on the home server for the Shield TV's. So I should be good with the folder names in the Artist Information Folder if I copy it to another install.

3. That is what I thought. However, I thought it was best to make sure before I jumped in and started messing with things.

I will be starting on this project today. Because of the size of my music library, it is going to take a couple of days. I will follow up once everything is done.

My use of Kodi, née XBMC, over the years has been a journey of learning and fun. One that I hope to continue for a long time to come. So I want to say another thank you to you both for your time not only on the forums but with this project as well. I truly do appreciate it.

[linesma]

@DaveBlake It is portable and works awesome. I made sure that the generated nfo files were correct, and moved the artwork into the Artist sub-folder of the Artist Information Folder. I then copied the folder over to my home server, and set its location in Kodi. Added the music source, scraped the files into the library, and told Kodi to query information for all artists. Viola! The music library on my nVidia Shield TV looked and felt just like the library on my laptop. I have since done this process successfully on both the other nVidiai Shield TV and the Wife's laptop. Finally, instead of taking hours to scrape my music into the library, it only takes about a half an hour.

Thank you for your help. I can honestly say that the music library management in Kodi has finally caught up with its video library management.

[DaveBlake]

I can honestly say that the music library management in Kodi has finally caught up with its video library management.

Personally I think it has exceeded it, but then I could be baised

[linesma]

I can honestly say that the music library management in Kodi has finally caught up with its video library management.

Personally I think it has exceeded it, but then I could be baised

In some ways it has. The portability of the artist information in a single folder is amazing. I remember the first time we talked about scraping issues about 2 years ago or so, you said that you were working on fixing them. Well, I have to say that what you have accomplished since then is awesome. The whole music side of Kodi has felt like the "less developed" side of the program. Now, it feels like it is an integral part of the program again. It has not felt like this since maybe the Dharma or Eden days. Thank you!