You have created a sizable music collection while the world is racing toward streamed music distribution. You have invested a lot of time and effort in finding, discovering, and downloading your preferred choice. However, your digital music library is a mess, and every time you want to listen to a particular song, you lose your mind looking for it. There’s an easy fix to this problem. Take out some time to organize your music library once and for all.

Restructure Your Music Folders

Start by reorganizing and restructuring your music folders to make music library management fuss-free. The time you invest in organizing your folders and files will benefit you for posterity.

It would be best if you considered creating a primary music folder and several sub-folders for individual artists in your music collection. Also, in each artist folder, you can create sub-folders for their specific releases. You need to include cover artwork and audio tracks in each release folder.

A simple music library structure typically looks like this: Music – Artist – Release Name – Audio and Artwork Files.

Search, Identify, And Name The Unnamed Audio Files

An essential step in reorganizing your music library is identifying the anonymous music files and naming them. But if you have a vast library, you’ll probably go crazy looking for such files with unnamed artists and unnamed tracks. You can consider using tools. For instance, Bulk Rename Utility for Windows and Mac users can rename batch files using Finder.

Update The Metadata And Tags Of The Music Files

Metadata refers to information about the music tracks in your music library. The tags are elements that you can use to describe the various attributes of the music tracks. For instance, each music track has a name, a genre, title, and artist name. While you can do this manually, it will take forever to update the music files’ metadata. A better alternative is to manage your digital music collection by using digital tools. Such tools are specifically created to help you tidy up your music library. A quick Google search will reveal several macOS and Windows tools that can aid you in instantly updating the metadata of your music files.

When it is about tags, the title and the artist are the most important tags, and these tags will help you classify the music. Also, you can use the tags to find the music you want to listen to quickly.

Manage All The Different Artists And Albums

Cataloging compilation albums of musical tracks featuring several artists will cause you a lot of pain. You can keep these albums under the Various Artists folder in your media library and create a sub-folder for their different releases. However, you need to be careful if you consider using automated library management apps. The app might decide to move the individual tracks outside of the compilation album folder, and it might explode across your media library.

With a single wrong click, you might have several identically named sub-folders. You would not want to face such an issue. Therefore, remember to take a backup before using any app that promises to scan your computer and automatically organize your music library.

Identify And Remove The Duplicate Music Files

Identifying and removing duplicate music files is one of the essential components of managing your digital music library. As you explore your library, you might find several versions of the same file. You might have downloaded them twice or created duplicate copies.

However, you must first check if the folders and files are named wrong. Sometimes the file names are similar, but the tracks are different. So, it would be best to go through the duplicates to decide whether they are mislabeled or duplicated.

Then, you need to delete all the duplicate folders and music tracks from your music library to have more space to include the latest tracks you fancy.

Sync Your Devices To Listen To Your Favorite Music Anywhere, Any Time

Do you think your music library is somewhat in shape? If so, it is time to sync your library across your devices so you can listen to your favorite songs whenever, wherever. While you can also stream your favorite songs online, it takes little effort to look for your favorite tracks again when you already have a playlist.

Whether you are a macOS or Windows user, you will find several built-in apps on your computer that enable you to sync your digital music library across your devices.

The Bottom Line

The music library is a treasure trove for music lovers. No matter how advanced online music streaming gets, music lovers hold their precious music collection in high esteem. They have spent hours searching and downloading those tracks. Therefore, use the tips mentioned above to organize and manage your music library so it is not a mess and you can find the song you seek without a fuss.