To clarify, if the files are imported (as are all of my cover art files) then we have to keep doing it manually? This only applies to non-imported files?
Yes, only non-imported files. Because imported files should be in the tool.
I'm not sure how this change is useful. Most people want to hit rename on an album, give it a new location, and have all files in the directory move with it, whether they are imported or not.
If that folder contains: Tracks, Cover Art, Liner Notes etc. which may be imported but not selected in the current view, it doesn't help.
The problem is that people want the rename function to behave as if you simply renamed the folder in Windows, not as it currently operates by moving the selected files to a new folder with that name.
We need an option to move all files in a folder, imported or not, for that functionality.