Renaming MP3's in iTunes???

Ok, so I have some MP3s that are somehow protected in iTunes. When I say protected, I can't modify any attributes - Name, Artist, Album, Genre, etc. I can modify the files in Windows Media Player, but the change does not show back in iTunes. Two questions: why is this happening? How can I get them fixed in iTunes?

I want to sort my music a little better for my iPod and this issue is not helping. Here is an example:

"Song Name" currently reads Madonna - Madonna - 08 - Everybody

Artise, Album and Genra, etc. are blank.

thx. Eric

 

Is the MP3 using ID3v1 tags ? If so, try converting it to Id3v2 and see whether the changes are then saved.

 

no clue, how do I check that one? thx.

 

They are not Mp3 files. They are protected AAC (.M4P) files. Mp3 files can't have any protection on them. Are you talking about music you from iTunes? Even then you can still change the attributes on the file by right clicking on the file then; Get Info --> Info (tab). You can modify the Info (tab) field as much as you desire.

If you are really talking about Mp3s the only reason you wouldn't be able to modify the attributes is because the ID tag isn't supported or isn't available. Mp3 don't have any type of DRM protection schemes!

Ced

 

I don't think he means protected by DRM. It's just that he can't change the tag info. I can't remember off-hand how to convert the tag from v1 to v2 (need to wait till I get home) but it's there somewhere. I'll be back...

 

ricster is correct. Also, these were not downloaded or bought in iTunes. these are some older mp3 files and I can't change the tag info in iTunes. I can change the tag info in Media Player but it's doesn't stick when I open back iTunes.

So does anyone know of a tool where I can force this change and make it stick.
thx again.

 

Dammit, I forgot to check last night in iTunes. I'm sure you just right-click the track or something. It comes up with a choice of converting to ID3v1 or 2. If this conversion solves your problem then you might want to check out this tool to do a mass change:

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/audio_software/mp3_tools/mp3_file_editor.cfm

My problem was that I had a load of MP3s with bad or missing file info. So I renamed every one to a consistent format (like Track Number Artist - Title) and then used this tool to convert and set the tag info. The problem with ID3v1 is that the field names are limited to 30 chars. This restriction is lifted in v2, plus you get a whole bunch of other fields. Some of the track names I had were way longer than 30 chars.

One other question - when you modify the tag info in Media Player does it stick there when you return ?

 

ok, it will convert to AAC, whatever that is. Thanks ricster...

As for your other question, nope it doesn't stick. Thanks for calling that one out.

 

Ok - I have the info. Right-click the MP3 in iTunes and choose 'Convert ID3 Tags...'. There you can choose a v2 type tag. I've no idea what they all mean but you can experiment I'm sure.