Importing local files works, but most don't display

[sasilk]

Plan

Premium

Country

Australia

Device

iMac 2017

Operating System

MacOs Big Sur 11.2.3

My Question or Issue

I have imported my local files into Spotify, and according to the number displayed all but about 200 are there (which is fine). The problem I'm finding is that most are not displaying, so I can't select them for playlists, or to play.

Things I've Tried

Deleting the local files source and reimporting (Multiple times)
Trying the default sources. Downloads and My Music found the few files I expected them to; iTunes seemed to find nothing (my itunes library is in a non-standard location).
Deleting the local_files.bnk file and reimporting
Deleting the local_files.bnk file, clearing the Spotify cache and reimporting
Doing a full clean install of Spotify and reimporting

But after each import I get exactly (or as much as I can tell) the same files displayed, plus a large number of blank entries. 

I've left it overnight, in case there was further processing that needed to be done, but CPU usage had dropped from 199-159% to 3-4% before I left it, and afterwards  nothing had changed.

General Info

All files are MP3s

They are on an external USB drive

The directory structure is Volume/Audio/iTunes/Music/Artist/Album/Track(s) (This is my old iTunes library)
They were imported using a newly created source, and with the default sources disabled.

None of the files are locked or write-protected at the file level, or have DRM

I am an Administrator on the Mac and have full rights and permissions on all drives, directories, and files. (Barring the usual system ones)

Spotify can play the files that can be seen and can transfer them to my iOS devices successfully, which can then play them
The external source drive and the internal cache drive have plenty of space (in the multi-terabyte range each)

I admit to being stumped. The only thing I can think of is that it needs a lot more time to process all of the metadata.

Stephen Silk

[Alex]

Hey there @sasilk,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

We'd recommend checking the names of the files that don't load up. Make sure they don't contain any special symbols like: !;#;%;`;* etc. and any letters outside of the standard roman alphabet. This may be causing issues on some systems.

You can also try running a clean reinstall of the app, to ensure you're running the latest version and that there is no corrupted cache/app data which could be hindering the performance of the app. Follow this Spotify Guide.

Keep us posted on how you get on.

[sasilk]

You know, one of the keys to answering a question is actually reading it.

What part of

All but about 200 of them have loaded (but that's fine)" or
"I have deleted the cache and reimported" or
"I have done a full clean install and reimported"
was unclear to you?

I didn't spend 4 hours of searching here and the web for an answer, 6 hours of initial analysis and then 40 minutes writing a full, proper problem report just to be fobbed off with some trite cut and paste that I'd found in the FAQ 9 hours before, by someone who couldn't be bothered even reading the question fully.

You obviously didn't even read the post title, where it states that the problem isn't with the import, it's with the display.

And then you have the gall to beg for praise.

No, I will not accept this as the solution, because you haven't even started to understand the problem.
No, I will not give you a "like". If there was such a thing as a "dislike" I'd give you one of those for insulting my intelligence and wasting my time.

And yes, I realise that this response is likely to result in me getting no further reponses. But if this is the level of help available, that's probably no great loss.

Stephen Silk

[Alex]

Hey @sasilk,

Thanks for the reply.

We do read your posts and try to offer relevant advice.

There are multiple factors which could be causing your local files to not load up properly. As this issue does not affect all users on all platforms there is no magical fix.

Some users have reported that special characters in the file metadata will cause the tracks to not be displayed properly or be grayed out. That's why we've suggested checking that.

Furthermore, we need to make sure that you're running the latest version of the software and the only way to do this is to ask you to confirm that you've reinstalled the app as per the Community guide, which proves most successful.

Hope this makes sense.

[sasilk]

Every one of those questions was answered in the initial report, except for a specific answer to the one about the special characters but I had said that the few unimported files were not a problem.

You obviously did NOT read the question, or even the title. (Of course there is the possibility that you simply didn't understand it.) The advice you offered bore no relevance whatsoever. It answered a question that hadn't been asked and wasn't an issues and completely ignored the actual question as well as every bit of information you'd been given.  

I know you're used to answering thousands of the same questions asked by people who don't bother to search or read, but you should have been able to tell by the problem report that I actually know what I'm doing - I've been working in IT as a developer for 40 years, starting in mainframes. I gave you every bit of information that you might need, and you blew it.

So unless you actually have something  useful to offer in relation to this issue, just give up while you're behind, and let someone who actually knows what they're doing take over.