Artist information folder

Requires v12.2+

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The Artist Information Folder in Symfonium enables you to centrally store and manage metadata and artwork related to artists in your media library. By using this feature, you can enhance your music browsing experience with rich metadata, images, and tags associated with each artist.

Folder Structure

For Symfonium, your Artist Information Folder must follow a specific structure:

MediaLibraryRoot/
└── ArtistInfo/
    ├── ArtistName1/
    │   ├── artist.nfo
    │   ├── fanart.jpg
    │   ├── thumb.jpg
    │   └── ...additional images...
    └── ArtistName2/
        ├── artist.nfo
        ├── fanart.jpg
        ├── thumb.jpg
        └── ...additional images...

ArtistInfo: Must be located at the root of your media library.
Artist folders: Each artist must have their own folder, named as they appear in your music library. (The folder name does not need to match perfectly, but the name inside the NFO file must).

Supported Files

Symfonium supports several types of files within each artist folder:

NFO File

An artist.nfo file contains metadata about the artist in XML format. Symfonium supports the majority of tags used by Kodi, with an additional support for the tag element, functioning similarly to genre to categorize artists further.

Example NFO XML structure:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<artist>
    <name>Artist Name</name>
    <musicBrainzArtistID>MBID-Here</musicBrainzArtistID>
    <genre>Rock</genre>
    <tag>Alternative</tag>
    <tag>Indie</tag>
    <mood>Happy</mood>
    <biography>Detailed artist biography here.</biography>
    <style>Rock/Pop</style>
    <instrument>Vocals</instrument>
    <instrument>Guitar</instrument>
    <thumb aspect="thumb">https://assets.fanart.tv/fanart/music/64b94289-9474-4d43-8c93-918ccc1920d1/artistthumb/joel-billy-541603848114c.jpg</thumb>
    <thumb aspect="fanart">https://www.theaudiodb.com/images/media/artist/fanart/uwqtup1521206367.jpg</thumb>
</artist>

Using Hyperlinks in Artist Biography:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<artist>
    <name>Artist Name</name>
    <gender>Gender</gender>
    <biography><![CDATA[Detailed artist biography here
  <a href="URL">Visible (Hyperlink)Text</a>]]></biography>
</artist>

Supported NFO entries

entry	Description
`sortname`	The artist sort name
`type`	The artist type (Singer, Band, Orchestra, …)
`gender`	The artist gender
`biography`	The artist biography
`genre`	The artist genres
`style`	The artist styles
`mood`	The artist moods
`tag`	The artist tags
`instrument`	The artist instruments
`thumb`	The artist images, use the aspect attribute “thumb” or “fanart”

Artwork

Symfonium supports various artwork types placed directly within the artist folder:

Filename	Description
`fanart.jpg/png`	Fanart of the artist
`thumb.jpg/png` or `folder.jpg/png`	Artist picture

Additional images can also be specified via URLs in the artist.nfo file.

Image inside the folder have priority over urls inside the nfo file. Only the first entry of each image type is used from the nfo.

Matching artist info with your library

To avoid wrong matching Symfonium use the following rules:

If there’s a name and a musicBrainzArtistID value in the the NFO then the artists in your tags must have them both too.
If an artist does not have an musicBrainzArtistID in the NFO then it must not have one in your tags.

If the artist.nfo contains a value, like sortname or tags then they will take precedence over your tags.

Usage Recommendations

Keep artist name in the nfo exactly matching the names in your tags by Symfonium.
Include high-quality artwork for optimal visual presentation.
Use comprehensive and detailed metadata in the NFO files for richer library browsing and discovery.

By following these guidelines, you can significantly enhance your media library experience within Symfonium.

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