Why Do My Rekordbox Tags Disappear?
A troubleshooting checklist for Rekordbox tags, library databases, duplicate files, and metadata that looks different between apps.
A comment is visible in Rekordbox but missing in another player. Or a track you tagged yesterday looks untouched today. Before editing it again, check which file you are looking at and which field held the information. Two copies of the same recording can look identical in a track list while carrying different metadata.
Check the source of truth
- Open the library and user profile where you made the edit. Find one affected track and check the original field or column.
- Reveal the file in Finder or Explorer and note its full path. Compare that path with the file opened by the other app, including the drive and extension.
- Check the value in a file-tag reader. This helps distinguish information embedded in the audio file from information held by an application.
- Back up the library before changing tags or reloading them. Test any repair on one track and compare the result in both apps.
Why a second app can look different
A title or artist field, a My Tag label and a cue point serve different purposes. An app that reads file tags may have no equivalent for part of your DJ preparation. Rekordbox also has a setting for showing My Tag in Comments; its manual explains that setting. Check the specific field rather than assuming every value will travel in the same way.
In Tape, saving an edit in the catalog and writing supported tags into the file are separate choices. Choose Update file when you want those values on disk, then refresh the receiving app's tags and inspect the same file again. That gives you a small, repeatable check before changing a whole collection.
For listening to that collection from your phone, see the DJ library workflow.