Audacity 3.7 trashes metadata

Feedback and Discussion Forum
1

Metadata editor issues:

  1. Discards pre-existing Metadata fields on import, even when present in source sound file:
    Artist [when importing mp3, but not when importing FLAC or WAV]
    Year [mp3, wma]
    AlbumArtist [mp3, FLAC, wma; re-tagged as Band when importing WAV; re-tagged as AlbumTitle when importing mp4 and m4a]
    Composer and/or Lyricist [mp3, FLAC, wma]
    UPC/EAN [mp3,wma]
    ISRC [sll formats]
    and ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) [mp3, FLAC]
    Album Art [all formats]
    Lyrics (both types) [all formats]
    Publisher [mp3, FLAC, wma]
    DiscNumber [FLAC, wma; re-tagged as PartOfASet when importing WAV
  2. Adds last-used value when a field is blank or absent in source sound file:
    Genre [importing WAV Query - dependent on last-used template or template set as default?]
  3. Fails to use template value when a field is blank or absent in source file:
    UPC/EAN [this is actually deleted from the editor after one write!]

PLEASE get the metadata handling fixed before releasing Version 4.

2

Metadata is a known weak area and apparently not a priority.

It’s not “easy” because there are different standards for different formats.

It’s not really “trashing” the metadata unless you over-write your original file.

3

Unfortunate.

I don’t think I suggested it would be, but most of these formats have been documented for decades by now.

Yes, but I do, so it does. It should at worst leave metadata undisturbed.

4

Yes indeed Doug, BUT it does ignore and discard any of the non-Audacity managed metadata - and that of course remains missing even if you Export to a new different filename from the original.

The one bit of metadata that is discarded that annoys me, personally, the most is the loss of any image artwork associated with an imported MP3 file.

At the very least I always think that Muse should be addressing this one:

@mitch_park
There is a summary bug that lists all of the known issues with metadata:

Peter.

5

There is no doubt that metadata handling in Audacity has deteriorated during the development of the v. 3.x .x series, and very noticeably in the last two releases.
Since fixing metadata handling is such a low priority to Muse, could they make it a high priority to stop Audacity interfering with metadata at all. Users could then use their own favourite external metadata editor with confidence that the wave editor isn’t going to trash their metadata as it does at present.