File naming and storage conventions are paramount over here. Everything must conform
I have all the digital music in a single main folder on the server - simply titled Music. Within this folder are the 26 folders representing the letters of the alphabet (A-Z). Within each letter folder is the artist name by alpha. So with the A folder we could have ABC , A Flock Of Seagulls, AC/DC, The Animals and so on.
Then beneath each artist folder are folders to store each specific release
Example:
Aerosmith
-> Get A Grip
-> Greatest Hits
-> Rocks
For artists specific releases - all tracks take the form of [Track Number] [Track Name]
So
01 Taxman
02 Eleanor Rigby
03 I'M Only Sleeping
Etc etc
For compilations - containing Various artists - all albums are stored under the Assorted folder within the A master folder. All tracks conform to the following conventions - [Track Number] - [Artist] - [Track Name]
All 60000+ tracks in our current library conform top this structure. All rips from MC or adds from online sources (HD Tracks etc) are run thru a specific set of rules defined under MC's "Rename, Move, & Copy Files applet.
Nothing is allowed in that has not been comformed.
This structure really shows it's benefits when doing in place upgrades (Better version of current entry). I do this alot where say I ripped an original CD 2 years ago and it's got a lot of play stats, ratings and so oin - and then a high res version comes along from HD Tracks. Using this schema - I simply "force comply" the new purchase into the exact conventions using MC and then send the new track out to replace the old ones on the server. This preserves all my metadata in the MC library and keeps everything tidy.
And the same applies to backups. I keep two sets of 3 drives totally 6TB in total in constant rotation to ensure we have three copies of everything (one on the server, one copy on local backup and another copy on offsite backup). Having this specific unified naming convention for all files and folders makes my SyncBack scripted backups go with ease.
MC makes all of this so easy - I am not sure why everyone would not take the time it use these tools to full capacity.
Cheers!
VP