Export Audio: duplicate year in metadata

[Londonist]

I'm using Audacity 2.1.2 on Windows 10, from the .exe installer.

Whenever I save an exported audio file, the year is always duplicated in the metadata. For example if I enter 2016 as the year, the tag value in the resulting file will be "2016;2016".

I've been using Audacity for at least 5 years, and this problem only started recently. I can't find anything relevant in the settings, or any other reports of this issue.

Can anyone advise me on how to stop this happening? Thanks for any help.

[Gale Andrews]

Assuming you are exporting MP3 it is deliberate and you cannot stop it happening if you use your current tag editor. Some media players only work with ID3v2.3 tags and some only work with ID3v2.4 tags. Writing the tag in each format is the only way that we can get both iTunes and Windows Media Player to see the tag. We get far fewer complaints this way.


Gale

[Londonist]

Your assumption that all Audacity users are using either iTunes or Windows Media Player is very strange. I don't understand why you can't provide configuration options which make the choice clear and explicit. It's not as though Audacity is a lightweight tool for end users with no technical knowledge.

[Gale Andrews]

Your assumption that all Audacity users are using either iTunes or Windows Media Player is very strange.

Of course we don't assume that, but many users are doing so, given those are the media players that ship with macOS and Windows respectively. And certain other players only work with one of ID3v2.3 or v2.4.

I think you are the second person to complain about the duplicated frame in four years or more, whereas before the change we got several dozen complaints a year.

I don't understand why you can't provide configuration options which make the choice clear and explicit. It's not as though Audacity is a lightweight tool for end users with no technical knowledge.

Audacity has users with a wide range of skill levels, but if you look at this Forum you will see many users can't yet be called "advanced".

The developer who made the change did not want to clutter the interface with an option, and we don't have a mechanism for more advanced preferences, so that's where we are now.

It should be possible to remove the duplicate frame yourself if it is a serious problem. What player application are you using now?



Gale

[Londonist]

It should be possible to remove the duplicate frame yourself if it is a serious problem. What player application are you using now?

I use foobar2000. Of course I can remove the tags manually. It's just a pain in the neck.

[Gale Andrews]

It should be possible to remove the duplicate frame yourself if it is a serious problem. What player application are you using now?

I use foobar2000. Of course I can remove the tags manually. It's just a pain in the neck.

Then you could revert to your previous version of Audacity that only wrote one frame, but that would be the obsolete 1.3.12 Beta or previous for which technical support is no longer available.

Or perhaps change the Audacity source code and recompile current Audacity. You just need to comment out

Code: Select all

AddFrame(tp, n, v, "TYER");
name = ID3_FRAME_YEAR;

in src/export/ExportMP3.cpp (and likewise in ExportMP2.cpp if you use that format).


Gale

[Londonist]

Okay, I may very well do that. Thanks for your help.

[soulman25]

Assuming you are exporting MP3 it is deliberate and you cannot stop it happening if you use your current tag editor. Some media players only work with ID3v2.3 tags and some only work with ID3v2.4 tags. Writing the tag in each format is the only way that we can get both iTunes and Windows Media Player to see the tag. We get far fewer complaints this way.

Sorry for posting in this old thread but this "duplicate year" issue still exists...
I have a question about the justification described here for Audacity writing both ID3v2.3 tags and ID3v2.4 tags when exporting into mp3 file.
"Some media players ... only work with ID3v2.4 tags." - Can someone post here an example of a media player that can't read ID3v2.3 ?
The "opposite" is true - Windows Explorer and many media players have problems with ID3v2.4 but as far as I now all media players don't have problems with ID3v2.3 tags.

Thanks in advance.

[waxcylinder]

This is a known logged bug
https://bugzilla.audacityteam.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2291
Metadata: Exported MP3 shows double year in MP3tag metadata

I suspect that it may be something that is beyond our control and can do nothing about.

Peter.