This is about tagging your audio files on your computer and the benefits it brings to you and others.
Tag your music with MusicBrainz IDs
Using MusicBrainz IDs helps you:
- Avoid duplicates in your library
- Keep metadata complete and up to date
- Use artist location/area for geographic playlists
- Share and collaborate on tags and music discovery
🏷️ Use genre tags instead of playlists
If you don't need a specific track order, tags can replace playlists.
For example this is an ID3 genre tag:
bpm100;trumpet;jazz;dnb
You can:
- Add multiple tags to artists, albums, or tracks
- Combine tags:
jazz + trumpet,dnb + trumpet. As an example you can launch our Gypsy violin radio - Build a genre taxonomy:
EDM → Drum & Bass → Neurofunk - Deduplicate tags:
dnb = drum and bass = drum & bass - Share or import tags from MusicBrainz
This makes your collection easier to explore, share, and collaborate on.
🛠️ Tools & tips
- Syncthing — edit tags on any device and keep them synchronized
- Vanilla Music + Vanilla tag editor — tag music on Android
- On Quod Libet — press F2 to edit the genre tag
🚧 What's still missing?
- A modern iOS / Android app for editing tags while listening
- Players that can play multiple tags (see https://www.reddit.com/r/androidapps/comments/1wuuj55/music_player_that_supports_multiple_tags_and/)
- Players that understand genre hierarchies (parent/subgenre)
- Players that combine tags with artist geographic data
The goal: turn your music library into a shared, structured, and flexible collection — not just a pile of playlists or a folder based hierarchy. 🎶
If you want to add something here, feel free to reach out.