Artist vs Album Artist
Some individuals may think that an artist and an album artist are one and the same, but for those who are music enthusiasts and are building a digital library, they know that there is a difference between the two. The confusion usually arises when there are albums that contain more than one artist or when the main artist invites another singer for a duet. In this article, we will discuss the difference between an artist and an album artist for better organization and storage in MP3 devices.
Key Takeaways
- Album Artist is a tag applied to compilations with different tracks sung by different artists or by two or more artists, making it easier for the music player to find the desired track.
- Artist is a tag used to classify albums under the name of the main artist, typically when all the songs are sung by the same artist or band.
- Using the appropriate tag for Album Artist or Artist helps with navigation and organization in digital music libraries.
Album Artist
The Album Artist tag should be applied to compilations where there are different tracks sung by different artists or by two or more artists. One can choose the phrase “Various Artists” to tag these albums, making it easier for the music player to find the track that the owner wants to hear instantly. One can choose another phrase that suits them or that they can remember easily, but it’s essential to maintain consistency. This gives a lot of flexibility to the music player and allows it to find the song of an artist even if it is tagged under various artists. Making use of such tags makes the music inside our music player much more navigable.
Artist
The Artist tag is used to classify albums under the name of the main artist and contains all the songs sung by the same artist or band, as is the case in most albums. So, if there is an album by Michael Jackson, you know you can easily tag the album under his name as all the songs in the album have been sung by the same artist.
When all the tracks in an album have been sung by the same band or artist, it does not pose a problem for the music player, and it can find the song you want to listen to by just clicking on the name of the artist. However, the problem arises when an artist has sung a few songs that are present in different albums where the main artists are different. There are albums where two or more artists have tracks, or a few tracks have been sung by two or more artists. In the case of such albums, tagging them under the label of Album Artist or Various Artists solves the problem for the music player, and it can easily find the song of an artist even if it is found in an album of another artist. Thus, the tag Album Artist becomes useful in case of compilations.
