Q: Gracenote CDDB is not recognizing the two different disks of a two-disc set. When I insert the CD into iTunes, Gracenote lists the tracks from disc 2 for both discs. In other words it will not import Disc 1 with the correct tracks and this is making me crazy as I want Disc 1 in my laptop and in my iPod. Please help me override Gracenote somehow!
– Steve
A: Much of the information in the Gracenote CD Database (CDDB) is based on user submissions, and unfortunately this means that the information in Gracenote’s database is not always accurate.
The good news, however, is that you can edit the track information for any given CD yourself prior to importing it into iTunes. This is done in much the same way that you would edit track information for a track you’ve already imported: Once you’ve inserted the CD that you wish to import, simply go to the listing of tracks by selecting the CD from the iTunes source list, and edit each track by selecting the track you wish to edit, and choosing File, Get Info, or right-clicking on the track in question and choosing Get Info from the context menu.
In the track info properties, simply enter the correct information for each particular track. Note that you can also use the Next and Previous buttons to move through the listed CD tracks in order so that you can correct the information for each one.
An even faster way to do this is to simply use CTRL-N/CTRL-P (on Windows) or CMD-N/CMD-P (on a Mac) as the keyboard shortcuts to the Next and Previous buttons, respectively.
If there are properties such as artist, genre, or album name that you want to change for several tracks at once, you can edit multiple CD tracks as well simply by selecting multiple tracks before choosing the Get Info option.
As an added bonus, once you’ve updated this information, iTunes will store it in your database, so if you ever insert this CD again in the future, iTunes should remember the changes you’ve made and display the track information correctly.
After you’ve entered the correct information for your CD, you can also share this with the rest of the world by uploading it back to the Gracenote database.
