Duplicate track entries for the same album in Roon (ref#TINJ5V)

[Michael_Roche]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· App interface looks or behaves oddly

Tell us what's going on

· Duplicate track entries for the same album

Tell us about your home network

· NETGEAR orbi

[Michael_Roche]

I have wiped the album’s metadata. I’ve even deleted Roon and done a fresh install. But every time I add this album (and a couple others), I get the mess seen in the screenshot

[alex_h (Alex)]

Hello @Michael_Roche,

Thanks for sharing this issue with us.

To resolve this, could you please try adjusting your display settings?

1. Navigate to Settings → General.
2. Locate the option "Show hidden tracks and albums".
3. Disable this toggle (set it to No).

   

Please let us know if that clears up the view for you.

Thanks.

[Michael_Roche]

This is already disabled. Toggling it off and on does nothing.

[vadim]

Hello @Michael_Roche

We noticed that these are not exact duplicates in the database. While the metadata (Artist and Track Title) might be identical, the track durations are different.

Could you please check the “Versions” tab for one of these albums and share the screenshot here?

[Michael_Roche]

Not sure what you mean, but here’s a screenshot of the “Versions” tab…

[vadim]

Hello @Michael_Roche

It might be helpful to have both folders for testing on our end as well, can please upload them here and let us know?

https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/collection/nocvrfc5b2ddab55140af8640f1d7ce13291e/external

[connor]

Hi @Michael_Roche,

We’ve reopened this thread to continue troubleshooting. We’re sorry for the inadvertent closure.

Please navigate to the 2014 Stereo Remaster edition (the primary version from your Versions tab screenshot). From there, click the three dots (…) and select “Edit.”

Click on “Fix Track Grouping” and share a screenshot here.

Additionally, under the Edit Album tab, scroll down to Multi-Part Composition Grouping. Please also share a screenshot here.

We’ll watch for your reply. Thank you!

[Michael_Roche]

So sorry for the delay. I will share screenshots in a moment…

[Michael_Roche]

[Michael_Roche]

Another album with the same problem. There is only one version of this album in my library - “I Hear A Symphony (Expanded Edition) by The Supremes.

[benjamin]

Hey @Michael_Roche,

Thanks for the update! A fresh Roon Server diagnostic report is showing us that your /iTunes storage backend (ID 5ae3118a) is repeatedly cycling, tracks are being deleted and re-imported over and over (157 import events across the logs). Every time tracks are re-imported, Roon assigns them new internal album IDs, which means:

• The same album gets treated as a "first-time album" again and again
• Roon creates duplicate/ghost album entries before it can merge them back

The most extreme example: The Doors – The Complete Studio Albums generated 64 separate ghost album IDs, each containing just 1 track, alongside the legitimate 79-track boxset. The logs show these appearing in rapid succession during re-import storms. This is the same mechanism causing your Supremes and Who Sell Out duplicates.

Some next steps for you to try:

In Roon → Settings → Storage, check what path you’re watching. If it’s inside your iTunes/Music library folder (e.g., ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media), iTunes is constantly writing to those files and triggering Roon’s re-import loop.

Options:

• Best fix: Set iTunes/Music to "Keep Music folder organized" OFF, then point Roon at the actual media files folder only, not the iTunes library package.
• Alternative: Export/copy your lossless files to a separate folder that iTunes doesn't touch, and watch that folder instead.

DRM m4a files

We’re also seeing skipped audio_stream_format_not_supported files are DRM-locked iTunes Store purchases. Roon cannot play them. You have two options:

• Remove them from your watched folder (they'll never play anyway)
• If you own them, re-download as DRM-free from Apple Music (requires Apple Music subscription) or repurchase from another store

Also, if you haven’t yet, Disable multi-part composition grouping per album

For each affected album:

1. Go to the album → ⋯ menu → Edit
2. Under EDIT ALBUM tab → Multi-Part Composition Grouping
3. Select "Disable multi-part compositions on this album"
4. Save

This is exactly what Image 1 is showing, do this for The Who album too if you haven't yet.

Let me know if any of the above help

[Michael_Roche]

Thank you for the suggestions. Roon was pointed to the iTunes folder instead of the actual media folder. I have changed it and I am waiting for Roon to complete it’s “Adding music to library” process. I would like iTunes to continue to keep the Music folder organized if possible but I will turn it off if necessary to see if that helps. I will explore keeping separate folders for iTunes and Roon. I need to find some storage space though.

How do I figure out which files are DRM-locked? I thought I upgraded all my iTunes purchases to lossless, but a few may have slipped by.

[Michael_Roche]

Disabling multi-part compositions seems to have done the trick!