New Music App: Collection Serial Killer

[Symthic]

So ever since Windows Phone stopped using Zune as its desktop music app, I've been having serious trouble. Particularly with how it handles my music library.

Owning a Zune, I would personalize my library to my convenience. If I only had one or two songs from a soundtrack, it would be put in my "Miscellaneous Soundtracks" album. If I had only one or two songs from an artist, it would go in my "Miscellaneous Music" album. If I had like three or more songs from an artist, but from different albums, I'd merge them into one album. Things like that. I'd give these albums custom album art as well, given that they weren't attributed to any one artist.

But with the new Windows Phone App, it just does whatever the hell it wants. Replaces album art (my Halo CE soundtrack has THIS as its album art), moves songs to different albums (often making them the only song in that album, making it a waste of space), and sometimes deleting entire albums (my Halo 3 Disc 2 soundtrack is totally missing).

This only got worse with the Windows Phone 8.1 update, where it hacked up my collection even further, creating at least a dozen albums with only one song and replacing the album art for a dozen more.

And that's just the old stuff. Anything new I try to add only gets worse, sometimes making it into the right album, sometimes not.

I don't understand what the benefit of this is. How rearranging and remaking my music library is supposed to improve my experience with the device is beyond me. It was bad with Windows Phone 8, and even worse with Windows Phone 8.1. I suppose by the time Windows Phone 8.2 comes around, I might as well not even bother anymore.

 

[Noahma]

I think I am a bit confused, you are relabeling the metadata to put songs in different "albums"? Why not just use playlists, they work better, and you do not have to trick the system into anything like your current method.

 

[Symthic]

Well it's not even just that; my normal untouched albums (such as my Halo Soundtracks that came with my Halo 3 Zune back in 2007) are also messed up. It's awful. It also thinks that Sean Murray (composer for some of the soundtrack for Call of Duty: Black Ops and Mass Effect 2) is some guy from Ireland that recomposes classic songs.

 

[awesomeindeed]

I, too, have found the music app in 8.1 to be horrible. Right now (as I type) I'm currently going back into a playlist about a hundred times to delete the same song over and over that keeps re-appearing. Every time I do it the song count drops, but when I open the playlist again, it's there and I have to keep deleting it until it's actually "gone."

This is driving me insane. I have my cloud collection turned off, and have deleted songs from my library only to find my phone re-downloading them a minute later for no reason. If this continues, I will be jumping ship for sure. I rely on my music to get me through my day and have it on while I drive and while I'm at home. Having to constantly fiddle with it all day long just kills the entire experience and makes me loathe using my phone to play music. I also have songs that Xbox Music thought was a really good idea to strip album art from and some of the artist and song names are completely changed as well. I'm not talking about stuff I have tagged myself, but stuff I have downloaded and/or bought from the Xbox Music store. There is no excuse for having an absolutely terrible music experience when Zune was honestly very very good.

 

[fardream]

Although I know you are going to hate me.... but hey, buy an iPhone. iTunes works perfectly fine, iTunes Match works better. Free Spotify Radio. Xbox Music Pass also works. Works with Windows 8.1. A better onenote, a better office.