# Running Mp3Gain album analysis makes mp3 tags disappear in Mp3tag only
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [July 21, 2025, 1:53am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163 "2025-07-21T01:53:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 1:53am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/1 "2025-07-21T01:53:34Z")
I have no idea what happened here. I have been running Mp3Gain on all my mp3s for over 20 years and I have never had a problem.
I just generated these mp3s so they are brand new files made this afternoon from FLAC files using CueTools. The tags are perfect using Tag&Rename and Foobar2000 but all of a sudden the tags just don't show in Mp3Tag.
If I right click on a file and show the extended tags this is all I get:
I remade a directory of mp3s and did not run Mp3Gain on them and these tags show and this is what I get when I display extended tags:
I really have no idea what is going on. I even reinstalled Mp3Tag and nothing changed. The tags are there according to every other software that access the tags that I use, just not Mp3Tag.
This is frustrating because I use Mp3Tag to reconcile artist collections to verify that the tags are consistent across multiple instances of the same album albeit different pressings or remasters.
Any healp would be appreciated.
---
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/2 "2025-07-21T02:14:39Z")
What is stranger is that I just had to recreate my collection of mp3s I have on my phone due to a failing Micro SD card and less that two weeks ago after assembling the collection in a master directory I ran Mp3Gain on the entire collection and then applied gain changes across the entire collection and those mp3s show their tags in Mp3Tag.
This is crazy.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 3:04am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/3 "2025-07-21T03:04:52Z")
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> This is crazy.
There is nothing crazy, everything is where it should be. However after running MP3Gain, it has stored the gain tags as APE values. All of your other tags are in the id3 format tags. You can see this indicated in the top bar of your first screenshot in post #1.
There are plenty of other threads here with suggestions for handling this issue with MP3Gain.
[https://community.mp3tag.de/search?q=Mp3gain%20ape%20order%3Alatest](https://community.mp3tag.de/search?q=Mp3gain%20ape%20order%3Alatest)
---
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 4:22am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/4 "2025-07-21T04:22:23Z")
Well that isn't an answer, the other thread I read basically says this is unfixable. The tags are perfect in all other software the only problem is Mp3Tag.
Riddle me this then, why do the tags show in the mp3s I ran through Mp3Gain two weeks ago but not the ones I made today? I have done nothing to those other mp3s since running them through Mp3Gain.
Seems the problem is Mp3Tag since all other software has no problem with the tags and it sound like it should automatically copy the fields over from the APE tags since it is the only one with the problem.
---
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 5:25am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/5 "2025-07-21T05:25:28Z")
OK I love Mp3Tag for certain uses but not all so I have been playing with this and I cannot find a way to have the replay gain info from the APE tags written to the id3 tags and then delete the APE tags. If anyone knows how to do this and if it will retain the replaygain function please let me know.
So I just simply deleted the APE tags I just wrote in Mp3Gain and the id3 tags show again. So until I find a better option I am not going to run any mp3s through Mp3Gain until I have used Mp3Tag to verify all my tags are consistent across all albums etc, and then I can run Mp3Gain because once the tags are done I never need to revisit this process and thus I do not need to use Mp3Tag.
If I find later I have a reason to do some editing I will have to either only work in subsets of my collection and either use Tag&Rename of delete the APE tags and rerun them through Mp3Tag again.
What a pain, I don't understand why Mp3tag makes the id3 tags invisible if APE tags are present. This seem like something that should be fixed because it is a great program but creating havoc for me and obviously others.
My mp3 collection is over 120K tracks so I am constrained at the moment because all, or most, have been run through Mp3Gain and I am not going to redo them all just to have to redo them just for Mp3Tag.
What I cannot understands is why do some of the mp3 files that have been through Mp3Gain show the tags in Mp3Tag and others do not.
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 6:09am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/6 "2025-07-21T06:09:06Z")
Maybe this thread can help you?
> [@APE tag hides ID3 tag](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/ape-tag-hides-id3-tag/64467/2):
>
> You can't. In MP3tag APE tags are displayed if present and selected to be read and all other tags are not displayed. This is also documented: The workaround would be to use a replaygain program that writes the data to ID3 tags instead of APE tags. Or use a program that copies the contents of ID3 tags to APE tags when creating new fields.
Including the linked documentation part:
> # Mpeg
>
> These configuration options are affecting audio formats which are using ID3v2 tags (currently MP3 and TTA).
>
> ### Read
>
> The order below, is the **order in which Mp3tag reads different tag formats** (that means that displaying APEv2 tags is prioritized over displaying ID3v1 tags). Mp3tag only displays the contents of one tag format at a time. The read tag format is denoted in the **Tag** column of the File List.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 6:36am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/7 "2025-07-21T06:36:53Z")
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> What I cannot understands is why do some of the mp3 files that have been through Mp3Gain show the tags in Mp3Tag and others do not.
It depends if your other software has written the other tag versions in sync with the others.
If you use programs that write only one tag version (in this case MP3gain writes only some fields in APE format) and create new fields and MP3tag is set to read these tags, then you see only the contents of the fields from that tag version.
If you really need those Gain fields, check out Foobar2000 which does not use the more exotic APE tag format to store the information but ID3V2 tags. This would reduce the amount of confusion.
---
### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/8 "2025-07-21T12:05:25Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> If you really need those Gain fields, check out Foobar2000 which does not use the more exotic APE tag format to store the information but ID3V2 tags. This would reduce the amount of confusion.
There is a difference between the handling of Mp3Gain and Foobar2000 regarding gain-tags:
Foobar2000 analyzes the files and writes tags with the analyzed values to the files. It does not change the audio-part of the files and it is up to the player to adjust the play-level according to the files.
Mp3Gain analyzes the files, writes values as tags to the them and also changes the audio-part of the files, so that even players without the ability to change the play-level according the the gain-values will work with gain. Mp3gain writes an undo-tag which makes it possible to change the audio-part to the origin again. Changing the audio-part and undo-this is lossless.
There is a stripped frontend-version of Mp3Gain, called wxMP3gain, which is also able to write ID3v2-tags
> **[wxMP3gain](https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxmp3gain/)**
>
> Download wxMP3gain for free. wxMP3gain is a free front-end for the MP3gain. Author website:
> https://cfgnunes.com
>
> Website:
> https://cfgnunes.com/wxmp3gain
>
> GIT repository:
> https://github.com/cfgnunes/wxmp3gain
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/9 "2025-07-21T12:16:16Z")
Thanks @poster for this information!
Don't forget to set the Tags settings to ID3v2 to store the Gain information:
(the default setting is APEv2)
German:
English:
For those who are interested:
The underlying command-line `mp3gain.exe` **v1.5.2** from 2009 is the patched version that stores MP3 gain information in the ID3v2 tag with the `/s i` parameter:
_(default is `/s a` and using APE tag)._
The [latest official mp3gain.exe](https://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/download.php) **v1.4.6** - confusingly included in the `mp3gain-win-full-1_3_4.zip` from Sourceforge does not offer this option!
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### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/10 "2025-07-21T16:48:59Z")
> [@poster](#):
>
> There is a stripped frontend-version of Mp3Gain, called wxMP3gain, which is also able to write ID3v2-tags
Thanks but that is of no use for me since it does not do album analysis and album gain. Doing simple track gain is horrible on real music. Certain songs on albums are quieter for a reason and doing just track gain destroys that. It's fine for the garbage music produced these days since it is all brickwalled to begin with almost no dynamic range but it is terrible for the music from the album rock days...you know when people just listened to the whole ablum instead of 1 or 2 songs
It looks like I will just have to stop using Mp3Tag since I don't feel I should change my whole regimen and spend countless hours making over 120K files compliant with tagging software when it is the only one that has a problem.
I can still use it when I create the mp3s in any given discography but once I use Mp3Gain it is going to be too much work, but at that point there is very little reason to use tagging software anyway.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/11 "2025-07-21T17:18:36Z")
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> ... I don't feel I should change my whole regimen and spend countless hours making over 120K files compliant with tagging software when it is the only one that has a problem.
There is no problem here. mp3tag intentionally shows the tags this way to make sure you are aware that they are saved in different formats. The APE ones come up first, assuming you have configured mp3tag to read all of the APE, id3v1 and id3v2 tags. You can change the options to have mp3tag only read the id3 tags and ignore those APE values. You will find similar problems using many players as well, when mixing the APE and id3 tagging formats for your mp3 files.
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> ...but at that point there is very little reason to use tagging software anyway.
Not sure what this is supposed to address, as most of the details in the metadata info has nothing to do with your gain adjustments. This is exactly what mp3tag manages best. And since it is only the MP3Gain values written to APE fields that cause any kind of grief, I would suggest that writing the values to id3 is something the developers there should consider instead. Most users on this side of the fence concur that APE fields are generally not advisable for maximum compatibility. YMMV
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> It looks like I will just have to stop using Mp3Tag since I don't feel I should change my whole regimen
Your call on this. Personally I am far more interested in a better tagging tool. Any gain values are secondary IMO.
It is understandable that you have already made a commitment to using MP3Gain tags. But I suggest you at least try out using Replaygain tags to keep everything in the id3 tag structure. RG is also applicable to more audio file formats including FLAC. Plus RG is supported on a very wide variety of desktop and mobile players (Android and iOS) as well. I use dbPoweramp (paid) to analyze my library, and it can easily perform the calculations for both Album and Track gain levels for you in a single batch for all of your 120k files. I believe foobar2000 likely works just as easily but I cannot provide any feedback on this as I don't use it myself.
---
### Author:  [@Doug\_Mackie](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Doug_Mackie)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/12 "2025-07-21T19:41:55Z")
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> This seem like something that should be fixed because it is a great program but creating havoc for me and obviously others.
I'm not so sure about that.
Mp3Gain has not been updated for many years. The author (Glen Sawyer) has posted that there will be no more updates or fixes of any kind.
So should Mp3tag of 2025 be altered to support a program that has not been updated for fourteen years _and_ one that itself has a long list of unfixed issues? I see 53 listed [here](https://sourceforge.net/p/mp3gain/bugs/).
---
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/13 "2025-07-21T19:54:03Z")
> [@MotleyG](#):
>
> The APE ones come up first, assuming you have configured mp3tag to read all of the APE, id3v1 and id3v2 tags. You can change the options to have mp3tag only read the id3 tags and ignore those APE values.
That does not work. I have set Mp3Tag to not read APE tags but the problem still persists so those settings don't seem to change anything.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/14 "2025-07-21T19:55:57Z")
After you changed the settings you have to reload the files.
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### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/15 "2025-07-21T20:01:32Z")
> [@MotleyG](#):
>
> The APE ones come up first, assuming you have configured mp3tag to read all of the APE, id3v1 and id3v2 tags. You can change the options to have mp3tag only read the id3 tags and ignore those APE values.
I did, I tried refreshing and that does not work, so I tried loading a different directory and then going back and nothing changes....
But, the only thing that works is actually clicking on a individual track then it shows the tag AND if you go to display extended tracks it does show the gain tracks. The problem here is I really don't want to click individually on 10K tracks.
What am I doing wrong here?
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/16 "2025-07-21T20:03:02Z")
> [@Ronstang](#):
>
> AND if you go to display extended tracks it does show the gain tracks.
Could you show us a screenshot of such an extended tags dialogue with gain tags?
And also a screenshot of the Options\>Tags\>Mpeg settings?
---
### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/17 "2025-07-21T20:10:40Z")
Here you can see some of the tracks are showing the tags, the ones I have clicked on
But now it does not show the gain tags, I had to refresh several times and change directories several times and that went away.
But I still have to click on one track at a time to get the id3 tags to show.
Progress!!
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/18 "2025-07-21T20:13:35Z")
I am still missing the screenshots.
Could you select the files and press Ctrl-T and see if that helps?
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### Author:  [@Ronstang](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Ronstang)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/19 "2025-07-21T20:17:37Z")
Ok, what screenshots? I have it set not to read APE tags and finally it is not doing that anymore after a dozen times to change the directory.
But selecting a list of files with blank tags and hitting CTRL-T then shows the tags and they continue to show if you switch directories and then come back
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163/20 "2025-07-21T20:20:41Z")
> [@ohrenkino](#):
>
> Could you show us a screenshot of such an extended tags dialogue with gain tags?
>
> And also a screenshot of the Options\>Tags\>Mpeg settings?
These screenshots.
Switching directories is very similar to reloading files.
F5 should reload the currently loaded files.
Ctrl-T reloads only the tags.
[Next page](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/running-mp3gain-album-analysis-makes-mp3-tags-disappear-in-mp3tag-only/69163.md?page=2)