iPod TuneUp or Song Genie?

[flynz4]

One of my New Years Resolutions is to clean up my iTunes library. I notice that there are at least two tools: "TuneUp" and "Song Genie". Given the task at hand... I would like to purchase one of the two (or another if it is better).

Do we have any avid users with a strong opinion of which is better? I notice that TuneUp integrates both the "database" and "cover art" programs into a single product... where as "song genie" requires the purchase of two.

I would be using the program on an iMac running Snow Leopard.

Before I pull the trigger (I really prefer not to deal with installing/de-installing" trial versions) I thought I would ask here.

Thanks in advance.

/Jim

 

[GermanSuplex]

Probably not what you want to hear, but I suggest doing it all manually. It takes some time, but tagging in iTunes is fairly quick and you won't get any nasty surprises later down the line. Back when I switched from Musicmatch to iTunes ages ago, I went through the process of doing it manually and am glad I did.

 

[flynz4]

Probably not what you want to hear, but I suggest doing it all manually. It takes some time, but tagging in iTunes is fairly quick and you won't get any nasty surprises later down the line. Back when I switched from Musicmatch to iTunes ages ago, I went through the process of doing it manually and am glad I did.

What type of "nasty surprises" are common? I have done some by hand... but it is tedious. I have quite a large collection (350 GB) that will take too long without some modification.

My personal collection (60GB is pretty clean). I just consolidated a lot more music from my kids which totals about 350GB total. I will probably delete a lot of it... but I am sure there are some gems in there.

/Jim

 

[GermanSuplex]

Well, things can be tagged incorrectly when done by a program. Obscure albums may be identified as something else, and then you'll go to look for/play a song only to find its not there (Well, it will be.. but not as what you're looking for).

I would first prune anything you don't want. If you have an album you've never listened to and are sure you never will, go ahead and get rid of it. Then, once you've done that, put all your common albums in a playlist... albums that are popular, common and you know you won't have trouble getting tagged (Dark Side Of The Moon, Thriller, Sgt. Peppers, etc.)

Then see if you can get a program to tag those tracks in the playlist, then maybe comb through what's left.

I haven't used any tagging software since 2005, but I wasn't impressed then, though I guess with the huge rise in digital sales since then its possible they are much better now, so I'm only offering suggestions. I don't have proof that you won't use one of the two programs in question and they won't tag everything perfectly.. that could be the case. Perhaps do a test run with one of them. At any rate, good luck.. that's a lot of music!

 

[flynz4]

Well, things can be tagged incorrectly when done by a program. Obscure albums may be identified as something else, and then you'll go to look for/play a song only to find its not there (Well, it will be.. but not as what you're looking for).

I'm not too sure how this would be a problem. For example, with Tune-up, it appears that you drag selected files (ex: one poorly tagged album) from the iTunes browser into the Tune-up panel. It will scan the music (similar to Shazam) and tag the music. You can see what it recommends prior to accepting it. I think (but I am not sure)... you can listen to the tracks as well.

Then I have other music that is just totally untagged... Once again, it seems that having some automation will be better than trying to figure it out on my own.

My thought is to start pulling my kids music into the iTunes library one album, or one collection at a time... and then applying the automation.

Has anyone used Tune-up or Song Genie who has direct experience with either? How did it work out?

/Jim

 

[Wiss]

Wow how we get off topic...

I have used tuneup on a 10k library and had good results. The software used to suggest a drag and drop limit of 500 at a time which required some baby sitting. A newer version has increased that to 1k.

The results for tagging is good. 95% or better for me; some mashups and odd songs were all that was missed. Album art is a semi-manual process. You must "approve" each cover it finds and it usually find many per album. Some oddly have better graphics than others.

Overall it works for me. Nothing lost or damaged. I have no comment on the other choice.
PM me if you have specific questions and I'll try to help!

Hope this helps.

Wiss

 

[flynz4]

I picked up Tune Up with the 20% discount listed in their blog. It is probably 10X faster than trying to fix things manually... and I have only been doing it 3-4 albums at a time so that I can keep a close watch on the results. So far I am quite happy!

/Jim