# Action Question: Multiple Artist, Genre Tags
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206
**Category:** General Discussion
**Created:** [June 28, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206 "2011-06-28T14:53:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@emalvick](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/emalvick)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206/1 "2011-06-28T14:53:43Z")
As a general question how could one create actions to take (for instance) multiple artist tags and copy them to multiple composer tags...
i.e.
```
ARTIST = Pearl Jam
ARTIST = Neil Young
to
COMPOSER = Pearl Jam
COMPOSER = Neil Young
```
I've recently moved to FLAC files and am trying to fill and organize my composer tags amongst other things. When I tried using a format value action on something like I've described only the first artist tag gets moved to a composer tag rather than all of them.
As a secondary question, if I try to do an action on ARTIST tags (let's say swap first and last names) will the action work on all artist tags or just one? I hadn't gotten this far, yet and it may get taken care of by the solution to the first question.
I appreciate any thoughts or guidance on this matter.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206/2 "2011-06-29T04:30:29Z")
> [@Erik Malvick](#):
>
> As a general question how could one create actions to take (for instance) multiple artist tags and copy them to multiple composer tags...
> ... only the first artist tag gets moved
If you create an action of the type "Format Tag Field" and set the contents of COMPOSER to
$meta(%artist%,0)//$meta(%artist%,1)
Should write the contents of the two artist tags into composer. The separator "//" is MP3tags separator for multi-value fields so that you implicitly create a multi-value composer tag.
---
### Author:  [@DetlevD](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/DetlevD)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 8:34am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206/3 "2011-06-29T08:34:29Z")
> [@Erik Malvick](#):
>
> ... how could one create actions to take (for instance) multiple artist tags and copy them to multiple composer tags ...
Try this action ...
_Actiontype 5:_ **Format value**
_Field \_\_\_\_\_\_:_ **COMPOSER**
_Formatstring:_ **$meta\_sep(ARTIST,'\\')**
From:
ARTIST = Pearl Jam
ARTIST = Neil Young
To:
COMPOSER = Pearl Jam
COMPOSER = Neil Young
> [@Erik Malvick](#):
>
> ... if I try to do an action on ARTIST tags (let's say swap first and last names) will the action work on all artist tags or just one? ...
You can find the answer by trying out for yourself.
As 'ohrenkino' has already pointed out, you can refer to one value of a multiple value tag-field by the function $meta(x,n), see further description about "meta" functions in the help manual.
DD.20110629.1235.CEST
---
### Author:  [@emalvick](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/emalvick)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/action-question-multiple-artist-genre-tags/12206/4 "2011-06-30T14:10:49Z")
Thanks for the ideas. I will test things out. I'm hoping I can automate it in such a way that it will work in cases where the number of artists could be variable. Ultimately, I'll be using such actions to automate my organization of the composer fields as I try to organize that aspect of my collection, which will mean trying to get COMPOSER to COMPOSERSORT.
I'll look closer at that meta function, and I am guessing the IF function will help as well.
Aside... I love this scripting ability of MP3Tag, but once I get things automated, they work so well that the next time I need an action I forget some of the details.