I'm posting this in several places so more members will see it....

Please everybody - try to follow these instructions from now on. It will save us a lot of time when it comes to processing your files.

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HOW TO MAKE CORRECT FILE NAMES AND ID TAGS

IMPORTANT:
Please do NOT use spaces in file names.
Please do NOT use any diacritical characters like ä, é, ñ etc. in either file names or ID tags.


NAMING

The name of a file should be:

composer-title-pianist.mp3

in all lowercase. Do not use any other characters other than plain lowercase letters (no diacriticals), digits, and dashes (-). These dashes should always be there as this is how we break up the name into parts. No spaces are allowed.


Composer

Just the last name, no initials, no prefixes.


Title

If there is an opus number, just use that number. If a composer has a catalogue, we add the letters of the catalogue (ex. Bach, bwv123, Mozart, kv123, Schubert, d123, Scarlatti, k123). Items within a set or series get a sequence number, and if these have sub items, another sequence number. Examples:

Chopin Mazurka Op.24. No. 4 should be:
chopin-24-4-pianist.mp3

Beethoven Sonata Op.31 no. 3, 2nd movement should be:
beethoven-31-3-2-pianist.mp3

When there is no opus number, use the work title (don't make it too long please). If it's a set, use the set name and then sequence numbers (not titles of individual items), e.g.

granados-seispiezas-2-pianist.mp3

Please take care to avoid misspelled composer/pianist names and different names for the same piece names. When in doubt about a name, look if there is a similar piece on the site and follow the naming of that. Or ask. It saves time to do it right the first time. Keep in mind that the 'stats' and 'new recordings' programs rely heavily on correct naming.

Pianist

Just the last name, no initials or prefixes.
 

ID3 TAGGING

ID3 tags are pieces of information within an mp3 file, which are used by the 'stats' and 'new' programs.

In ID3 tags, you are allowed to use all characters except diacritical characters like ä, é, ñ etc.

You can add and edit these with a number of programs such as iTunes and the Windows music library/folder. In Windows, the tagging fields are listed directly underneath when you click one time on a file. In iTunes, you right click on a recording and chose ‘Get info’. This brings up the properties sheet – click the info tab. The ID3 tags that need to be supplied are

Name
Artist
Year
Album (always http://pianosociety.com)
Composer (only the last name, no initials)
Genre (always Classical)

In ID3 tags,

Name

This is what is shown in an MP3 player. The syntax must be:
Composer - Name of piece (NOTE: THERE MUST BE EXACTLY ONE SPACE BEFORE AND AFTER THE DASH).

Dependent on the tag editor, this tag could also be named "Title".

For example:

Chopin - Mazurka in F Sharp Minor, Op. 6, No. 1


Attached are some images of how correct ID3 tags should be entered in various tagging software.

I understand why it's important to have the correct filenames. But can you explain for us why the exact format for the tags matters so much? In particular, I'd be very reluctant to write "Bach" as a composer name with no initials. (I don't mind it in the filename, but I think the tags should identify the composer by their full name.)

It's because these tags go through a whole battery of Unix shell scripts and C programs, which would all need to be laboriously changed.
In fact things like duplicate composer names (i.e. Bach, Halffter, Scharwenka) and names with spaces or hyphens (Vaughan Williams, Villa-Lobos) are stll causing me grief sometimes. But I'm not going to touch any of it anymore unless I absolutely have to.