Embed album art in MP3 file

album-artmp3

I need to add album art to an MP3 file and upload it. I will add the album art (I tried both iTunes and Windows Media Player) but when I upload the MP3 the art is lost.

Is there a way to embed the album art image within the MP3 that will keep the image when uploaded off a computer?

Best Answer

Both programs you mentioned already do this. However, once you upload the file somewhere else, you cannot prevent the server from removing album art again, if it decides so.

Also, ID3 tags are a finicky beast, and it could be that the server doesn't recognize the specific format you're trying to use:

Try different image formats – JPEG vs. PNG;
Use iTunes or foobar2000 to convert the ID3 tags between different versions (e.g. iTunes writes ID3v2.4, but quite a few tools only support v2.3);
Use mp3Diags to make sure the ID3 tags aren't corrupted (though note that it sometimes gives false positives for v2.4).

Related Solutions

Linux – How to Embed Album Art in OGG Through Command Line

i've just written a script that export / import images from OGG/Vorbis files using vorbiscomment. It is part of a music library conversion tool.

The revelent script is in the 'mussync-tools-transfert_images' function of this tool:

https://github.com/biapy/howto.biapy.com/blob/master/various/mussync-tools

Basically, i've written a reader and a writer for the metadata_block_picture format.

The code is quite complex:

      OUTPUT_FILE="/path/to/my-ogg-file.ogg"
      IMAGE_PATH="/path/to/my-cover-art.jpg"
      IMAGE_MIME_TYPE="image/jpeg"
      # Export existing comments to file.
      local COMMENTS_PATH="$(command mktemp -t "tmp.XXXXXXXXXX")"
      command vorbiscomment --list --raw "${OUTPUT_FILE}" > "${COMMENTS_PATH}"

      # Remove existing images.
      command sed -i -e '/^metadata_block_picture/d' "${COMMENTS_PATH}"

      # Insert cover image from file.

      # metadata_block_picture format.
      # See: https://xiph.org/flac/format.html#metadata_block_picture

      local IMAGE_WITH_HEADER="$(command mktemp -t "tmp.XXXXXXXXXX")"
      local DESCRIPTION=""

      # Reset cache file.
      echo -n "" > "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"

      # Picture type <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" 3 | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Mime type length <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" $(echo -n "${IMAGE_MIME_TYPE}" | command wc -c) \
                | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Mime type (n * 8)
      echo -n "${IMAGE_MIME_TYPE}" >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Description length <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" $(echo -n "${DESCRIPTION}" | command wc -c) \
                | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Description (n * 8)
      echo -n "${DESCRIPTION}" >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Picture with <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" 0 | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Picture height <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" 0 | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Picture color depth <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" 0 | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Picture color count <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" 0 | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Image file size <32>.
      command printf "0: %.8x" $(command wc -c "${IMAGE_PATH}" \
                | command cut --delimiter=' ' --fields=1) \
                | command xxd -r -g0 \
              >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Image file.
      command cat "${IMAGE_PATH}" >> "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"

      echo "metadata_block_picture=$(command base64 --wrap=0 < "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}")" >> "${COMMENTS_PATH}"

      # Update vorbis file comments.
      command vorbiscomment --write --raw --commentfile "${COMMENTS_PATH}" "${OUTPUT_FILE}"

      # Delete cache file.
      command rm "${IMAGE_WITH_HEADER}"
      # Delete comments file.
      command rm "${COMMENTS_PATH}"

Universally fix/re-embed embedded album art

So, you want to fix embedded album covers by exporting and re-importing them? Here we go:

MP3tag has a rarely used feature called Actions which is designed for such tasks.

Export cover to file

Exports the cover art from the tag of the file to the relative or absolute filename specified by the format string. You can use placeholders like %artist% and %album% in the format string.

Remove fields

This action type removes the fields entered in the edit field (e.g. COMMENT;PICTURE). Removing embedded cover art. Please use PICTURE as field name if you want to remove cover art from the tags.

Import cover from file

Imports the cover art specified by the absolute or relative filename into the tag of the file. You can use placeholders like %artist% or %album%.

In your case, you want to

Export all embedded covers to file
- Open mp3tag and insert all your music files
- Select all files and go to Menu bar » Actions » Actions (quick)
- Choose Export cover to file
- Enter %_filename% as format string for image filename
  You get a nonsense message but all covers are exported to their respective folders
Delete all embedded covers
- Select all files and go to Menu bar » Actions » Actions (quick)
- Choose Remove fields
- Enter PICTURE as fields to remove
  Don't be confused if you look at Windows Explorer after it. He doesn't update the file covers.
  You have to copy (not renaming) a file to check the successful removal.
Re-Import all file covers
- Select all files and go to Menu bar » Actions » Actions (quick)
- Choose Import cover to file
- Enter %_filename%.jpg as format string for image filename

Got some errors on the last step? Thought so. Me too. I realized that some embedded pictures are saved as .PNGs rather than .JPGs. Ok, back to the import dialog and enter %_filename%.png for our second import try. This time, all .PNGs are imported

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Linux – How to Embed Album Art in OGG Through Command Line

Universally fix/re-embed embedded album art

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