[slicedbread1991]

Firstly, I absolutely hate the new windows phone desktop app thing that replaced the Zune software. Zune worked perfect for my WP7. I upgraded to a WP8 and refuse to use the windows phone desktop app anymore. Way to limited. I have no Idea why they threw away a great music software and replaced it with crap. Anyways, I'm currently using MusicBee to add music to my WP8, but it still bothers me and it doesn't work right. So what would you say is the best music software to use with WP8?

[jefposter89]

MusicBee ---it lets you sync your PC-based music, playlists, and podcasts.

[juanitoriv]

I plugged in and MusicMatch Jukebox from like 2003 works great. Super easy.

[HodakaRacer96]

I'm having problems with Podcasts. I'm syncing music/videos/podcasts using media monkey. But podcasts go into music not podcasts on the phone. Any suggestions? You can change the path of the podcasts in Media Monkey, I've played with a few different paths to no avail. BTW the lack of video support is why I gave up on MusicBee

[vedichymn]

I'm having problems with Podcasts. I'm syncing music/videos/podcasts using media monkey. But podcasts go into music not podcasts on the phone. Any suggestions? You can change the path of the podcasts in Media Monkey, I've played with a few different paths to no avail. BTW the lack of video support is why I gave up on MusicBee

The only way I've been able to get this to work is by using the desktop app to sync podcasts from iTunes. We tried figuring this out earlier, but it appears to be doing something sneaky to mark the podcasts it syncs as podcasts and not just music, that we can't replicate. It's not something simple like genre, etc

[jeremyshaw]

Well, it's not iTunes + the WP desktop app for Windows, since WP8 does not recognise approximately half of my library's iTunes metatags... I wish I could just use Zune, instead. Did you know, in order to help facilitate a library transfer, iTunes can transcode WMA Lossless files into Apple Lossless files, automatically? Microsoft, Apple made ALAC open source quite some time ago... HINT.

[illegaloperation]

It's best to use Windows Media Player to sync to Windows Phone 8.

There's actually a guide on this: The Best Way to Sync Windows Phone 8; Not What You’d Expect | Pocketnow

[jeremyshaw]

It's best to use Windows Media Player to sync to Windows Phone 8.

There's actually a guide on this: The Best Way to Sync Windows Phone 8; Not What You’d Expect | Pocketnow

All the time I spent transferring my Windows XP/WM2003 WMP library to Win7/WP7 Zune :(

Oh, well. I guess I can learn to deal with WMPs strange dead/not dead/decontented status withing MSFT and bite the bullet. For some reason, before Windows 8, there was some expectation Zune would take over WMPs role o.0, hence WMP losing out on some functionality during the tranfer from Vista to Win7 (permenant taskbar control, "widget," video screen lock, etc).

[zokstar]

You could try SongBird!

[Quin 2013]

This is really annoying that ms dropped the ball on this. This is also the 3rd post I'm mentioning this, ms need to rebrand Zune and just let us all be happy with the PC app.

[awgneo]

MediaMonkey by far :)

[brianlg]

anything you can do in OSX besides iTunes/WinPhone app? I stopped syncing my itunes playlist because it does nothing but crash, and I just drag and drop files into the WP app. But both of these applications suck.

[jeremyshaw]

anything you can do in OSX besides iTunes/WinPhone app? I stopped syncing my itunes playlist because it does nothing but crash, and I just drag and drop files into the WP app. But both of these applications suck.

I think it hates music videos, which iTunes counts in the music category (also separately under videos).
though u have read wp8 isn't working well with the mac app, too.

[Digital Moe]

It's best to use Windows Media Player to sync to Windows Phone 8.

There's actually a guide on this: The Best Way to Sync Windows Phone 8; Not What You’d Expect | Pocketnow

Am I reading this correct does WMP convert my mp3s to make them smaller? Is the max size mp3 I can have on my phone 192kbs that sucks.

[realityeye]

To get the best music experience here is what I do.

Discover new music through:
Metroradio (Pandora)
Nokia Music (through their mixes)
Mixtapes (user playlists)

Download albums through Xbox music on the phone.

Its easy to do and no stuffing around with a computer.

I am always looking for ways to improve the experience; but I am happy with the above.

[Oktay Gardener]

To get the best music experience here is what I do.

Discover new music through:
Metroradio (Pandora)
Nokia Music (through their mixes)
Mixtapes (user playlists)

Download albums through Xbox music on the phone.

Its easy to do and no stuffing around with a computer.

I am always looking for ways to improve the experience; but I am happy with the above.

My shoulder will be here for you to cry on when it's time for Microsoft to suck money from your account to renew
your XM subsciption, and all of your downloaded songs can't be played anymore so you have to re-download them all.

[juanitoriv]

Go and get Audiocloud. Soundcloud client. Its awesome!! Download, stream, you name it. And its free!!

http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appId=...f-2585b24c3c77

[jeremyshaw]

Setting everything up in WMP, then using Windows Phone App for desktop = useless. It's like my music info is useless, or something to that effect. It seems to go out of it's way to annoy me. Trying now via WMP's built in sync function.

[odoggyfresh]

Setting everything up in WMP, then using Windows Phone App for desktop = useless. It's like my music info is useless, or something to that effect. It seems to go out of it's way to annoy me. Trying now via WMP's built in sync function.

same! WMP is unable to figure out the artist info for like 700 of my songs, and I just set the info for all of the actual files with an mp3 tag software

[realityeye]

My shoulder will be here for you to cry on when it's time for Microsoft to suck money from your account to renew
your XM subsciption, and all of your downloaded songs can't be played anymore so you have to re-download them all.

If I have re-download some albums then its no sweat. I am a music **** and I'll find some new tracks.

[WPenvy]

I synced my phone once when I got it, and haven't plugged it back into my computer since. I'm that pissed off at Microsoft and their paltry attempt at a sync client for wp8.

[jeremyshaw]

Sucess! Syncing directly with Windows Media Player (12, in my case, from Windows 7) works perfectly. Artist info is as I want it, not whatever the WP8 sync client wants, media info is much better managed, and with a simple (WMDMPreferredAudioBitrateValue1) registry tweak, all my desktop's music is automatically transcoded to 320kbps (if lossless; lower bitrates copy over directly, unaffected). Everything is exactly as I want. I'm content (though WMP12 is still worse than the old WMP11 on Windows Vista :().


*When I say artist/album info is as I want it, I mean the following: after I set it up properly in WMP, it is as I want it, even when I copy over to the phone. For example, albums with one main artist (say, Gwen Stefani), and a collaberation song with another artist, (say, Andre 3000), would normally show up with the normal WP8 sync client (even if I set it up properly in iTunes and WMP), as, "Gwen Stefani & Andre 3000," as a seperate artist, and with a seperate album. Syncing directly with WMP makes it all show up properly, in one album, all under one primary artist.

As for cover art, I used some ID3 tag explorer plugin I've had for a while, I don't remember what it's called, however :( I *think* regular WMP folder art should work, but again, I don't remember the correct way to get cover art in WMP, anymore.

[juanitoriv]

Try musicmatch jukebox. If on 7, needs compatibility mode, but. Its great. Seriously. I've used it as my player since like 2003 or 2004.

[Alex Rodriguez]

I use WMP, it worked for me. I had to edit some stuff manually like the tittle of the Album so all the songs appear on the same Album and not all over the place which i know is one of the issues. I do that with Windows explorer on the properties option of each song and also had to add some album covers. I also use MPA tool to get the background of the Artist when the song is playing like zune does.

MPAtool | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)

[Digital Moe]

The Win 8 Destop app seems to be working just fine today no crashing for some reason and this sync so much quicker and better then WMP, now finally I can edit playlists in iTunes and have them sync over with ease. I am sure tomorrow it will stop working and I will be back to square one.

Edit:

Ok spoke far too soon it only seems to have brought over some of the tracks from my playlists music syncing is a travesty on WP8.