Adding artwork to MP3 files can enhance your listening experience and help you to easily recognize your favorite songs. Most digital music players provide such an option. In this article, we will explore the different methods to add an album cover to your MP3 and other audio files, which can be a great way to personalize your music collection.
You don’t need to manually download album art for each track, because I will show you how to add artwork for all your audio files at once automatically. You can use the pre-installed apps on your PC or Phone, so you don’t need to install additional apps.
Method 1: Adding Artwork using Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a free media player application pre-installed on Windows 11/10/7. It is also capable of adding artwork to your MP3 files. Here’s how you can do it:
Step 1: Open Windows Media Player and navigate to the “Library” tab.
Step 2: Find the MP3 file to which you want to add artwork and right-click on it.
Step 3: Click on “Find Album Info” in the context menu.
Step 4: A dialog box will appear where you can search for the album and artist name. Once you have found the correct album with cover art, click on “Finish” to update the cover art.
Step 5: If you cannot find the album with artwork, you can manually download the artwork image and copy it.
Step 6: Right click on the track that you want to add artwork, and select “Paste Album Art”. Then you will see the album art updated.
Method 2: Add Cover art to MP3 on iPhone or Mac Automatically
On your iPhone or Mac, there is an app called Shortcuts for automation. You can create all kinds of automation task, which is called a shortcut. I have created a shortcut for adding artwork to audio files.
This shortcut will search iTunes store based on the audio file name and add artwork along with other metadata. Let me show you how it works step by step.
Step 1. Get this Add Artwork shortcut from Rountinehub. You should also install A-shell or A-shell Mini app from App Store.
Step 2. On your iPhone, select one or more audio files and tap the Share button. From the share sheet, select the Add Artwork shortcut.
On your Mac, right click on the audio file(s) and click Quick Actions. From there, select the Add Artwork shortcut.
Step 3. Select a location to save the artwork embedded audio files. If you select the original location, this will overwrite the original audio files.
You can also refer to the video above to see how to add cover for MP3 and other audio files on iPhone or iPad. If you explore more about Shortcuts, you can check my top Shortcuts collection.
Method 3: Adding Artwork using iTunes
iTunes is a popular media player application for Mac and Windows operating systems. It is also capable of adding artwork to your MP3 files. For latest macOS, the iTunes features are moved to Music and Finder app. Either way, you can refer to the steps below.
Step 1: Open iTunes and navigate to the “Music” tab.
Step 2: Find the MP3 file to which you want to add artwork and right-click on it.
Step 3: Click on “Get Info” in the context menu.
Step 4: Click on the “Artwork” tab.
Step 5: Drag and drop the image file of the artwork you want to use onto the artwork area.
Step 6: Click on “OK” to save the changes.
Method 4: Auto-Tag Missing Album Art Using MediaMonkey
MediaMonkey is a popular media player and media library application that also allows you to manage and edit metadata for your audio files, including adding artwork. Here’s how to use MediaMonkey to add artwork to multiple audio files automatically:
Step 1: Open MediaMonkey and navigate to the folder that contains your audio files.
Step 2: Select all the audio files to which you want to add artwork.
Step 3: Right-click on the selected files and click on “Auto-Tag from Web”.
Step 4: In the “Auto-Tag from Web” window, select “Album Art” and click on “Get Album Art”.
Step 5: MediaMonkey will search online for artwork for your selected files and automatically add it to the metadata.
Method 5: Download and Add Cover Art with MusicBrainz Picard
MusicBrainz Picard is a free and open-source metadata editor that allows you to tag and organize your audio files. Here’s how to use MusicBrainz Picard to add artwork to multiple audio files automatically:
Step 1: Open MusicBrainz Picard and select Options > Cover Art.
Step 2: You’ll see a list and 4 unchecked boxes under “Cover Art Providers”. Check at least one provider and click on “Make it so”.
Step 3: Navigate to the folder that contains your audio files.
Step 4: Select all the audio files to which you want to add artwork.
Step 5: Click on the “Cluster” button to group the files.
Step 6: Click on the “Scan” button to search for metadata for the selected files.
Step 7: MusicBrainz Picard will automatically search online for metadata, including artwork, and add it to the files.
Method 6: Adding Artwork using Foobar2000
Foobar2000 is a free and customizable media player software for Windows. Previously, I used it to convert FLAC to ALAC. It also allows you to add artwork to your MP3 files. Here’s how you can do it:
Manual Select Cover Image
Step 1: Download and install Foobar2000 from the official website.
Step 2: Open Foobar2000 and navigate to the folder where your MP3 files are located.
Step 3: Select the MP3 file to which you want to add artwork.
Step 4: Right-click on the selected file and click on “Properties”.
Step 5: Click on the “Artwork” tab.
Step 6: Click on the plus icon to add Front Cover.
Step 7: Select the image file of the artwork you want to use.
Step 8: Click on “OK” to save the changes.
Auto Download Album Artwork
If you want a better way to download and add artwork, you can also get the Discogs component. Once this component is installed, you can refer to the steps below to auto tagging your MP3 files.
Step 1. Rright click on any track and select Tagging > Discogs > Configuration.
Step 2. Under the Oauth tab, follow the steps to log in to Discogs and authorize the application.
Step 3. Under the Artwork tab, check the option “Embed in file”.
Step 4. Now, you can right-click the tracks you want to add album cover and select Tagging > Discogs > Write Tags to add artwork to your music files.
Step 5. Click Next to search the album.
Step 6. Select the match result and select Write tags. After that, you can always choose Update album/artist artwork.
Method 7: Batch Add Album Cover with Mp3tag
Mp3tag is a powerful and easy-to-use metadata editor for audio files that allows you to batch edit multiple files at once. This can only add artwork to multiple files in the same album. Here’s how to use Mp3tag to add artwork to multiple audio files:
Step 1: Open Mp3tag and navigate to the folder that contains your audio files.
Step 2: Select all the audio files to which you want to add artwork.
Step 3: Click on the “Extended Tags” button.
Step 4: In the “Extended Tags” window, click on the “Add Cover” button.
Step 5: Select the image file of the artwork you want to use.
Step 6: Click on “OK” to save the changes.
Conclusion
Adding artwork to your MP3 files can add a personal touch to your music collection and make it easier to identify your favorite songs. As listred, there are several methods you can use to add artwork to your MP3 files for free. Besides, you can also use paid tools like TuneUp and Bliss.
Additionally, you can also use VLC Media Player to add the artwork to your MP3 files by converting them to a different format. Choose the method that works best for you and enjoy your personalized music collection!