(I'm using Windows XP)

I use both Yahoo Music Engine (love the unlimited subscription service - it IS the future, at least for me) and iTunes (it's what I started with and have a lot of song ratings saved there).

I don't know if these are the best options for MP3 files on my hard drive (I'm sure they're not), but they're easy to use and work well for me. I wish I could just use Yahoo since I listen to subscription music 70% of the time and saved music 30% of the time - but here's my problem.

I used iTunes for a few years and ripped my CD's with that (I know now that was not the best choice) and then as I listened, rated each song and categorized them according to MY custom category (often not the same as the downloaded category - mine were more specific or just different).

My problem is that this user info seems to be stuck inside of iTunes. Is that true or is it somehow tagged to the MP3 files? (I'm learning about tagging, but I'm only 24 hours into this.) I sure wish I could keep my user data (categories and ratings) - that's really almost as important to me as the quality of the import - as that's how I end up choosing what I'm going to listen to...

Is there any way to export this info from iTunes into another player? If not, is there a player that does allow that info exported? It takes a long time to categorize and rate (a lot longer than it does to burn) songs and I can't afford to loose that information...

Please help if my problem makes any sense whatsoever to you! I know it's probably a really basic issue, but I'm a NEWBIE!!!

Thanks.



p.s. Moderator - sorry if I posted this in the wrong place - I couldn't find an area where players were discussed.

I haven't exported ratings / playcounts from iTunes personally but it should be possible. If I remember correctly there's a way to export the iTunes data as XML and then you can import this data to any player or service that supports XML import. Look for iTunes help for more info. I could be as easy as looking for a File > Export menu.

AT LEAST Winamp (which is much more verstile player than iTunes) has the ability to import iTunes metadata. Also MusicIP Mixer (MIP)(formerly know as Predixis Music Magic Mixer) has an automated way of importing iTunes data. I've used MIP for a few weeks now and stongly recommend it for any audiophile.