when you move a track in serato to a different location serato will be going where's that track that use to be here? then it will mark that track as missing,
Then it will show up in orange,

you have to keep the track in the same location so you don't confuse serato,

if you want to move the track to another location on Serato, I just create a duplicate of the track and have it in a different folder. I know you will have 2 duplicate files, that way you wont have any issues that your currently having,

Serato works differently to other DJ software,

If you want to make a permanent change in ID3 tags of a track then you need to do this outside of Serato using a program like "MP3 Tag" which is a free software to use, if your on mac then you have to get it through the Apple store.

this is my way of dealing with this issue maybe someone else has a different way:)

PS dont forget you have to add that duplicate file back into Serato, so serato can recognize that file and that its imported into your serato library,

PS I always edit my id3 tags outside of serato, works better for me and I have no issues.

Thanks for your reply, DjSyndic8!

I understand that Serato handles ID3 tags differently from other DJ software. I just wanted to explain my workflow so it’s clear why I’m experiencing this issue with lost tags.

I organize all my tracks into folders based on their production year—for example, all tracks from 2024 go into a 2024 folder, 2023 tracks into 2023, and so on. When I receive new tracks, whether downloaded or sent to me, they first go into a separate pool. In this pool, I check all ID3 tags, set the correct production year, assign the appropriate genre, and make sure everything is properly tagged. Only after that do I move them into their respective year folders.

Once the tracks are in the correct folders, I use Smart Crates to automatically organize them further. Based on the genres I assigned, the tracks are sorted into the correct genre folders. Additionally, they are also placed into the appropriate key folders and energy folders, ensuring that everything is structured properly and easy to access when I need it.

Having a clean library is very important to me, so I delete duplicate tracks immediately. I don’t want to work with duplicate files—I want my ID3 tags to be permanently stored without extra copies. That’s where my issue with Serato comes in. It seems like the software doesn’t reliably save changes to the tags when I move files afterward.Within Serato I move the file to the correct folder, so SDJ knows where to find it, without importing the files afterwards again. This can be done if you go in SDJ to files > drag the file you want to move in the correct folder and mark "remove original references from library".

BR

I tested a file out, dragged that file into a crate, edited, year, genre, closed Serato.
Open Serato again, the id3 edits to year, genre that I made wasn't there on the track, (the issue you are having)

I then analysed that track through serato, The id3 edits I made Year, Genre, shows up

so I guess you have to analyse your tracks first, before you can move it.

Thanks for testing and confirming.

Theres another way to store the ID3 data:

- edit the track
- load another random track
- then re-load the track you edited
- the changes also are stored
- then move the song to the desired folder

So my question to Serato is: Is this a bug or wanted behavior of the software?

BR

I do something similar to you @DJMartin i.e. I put new tracks into a temporary folder, do some initial edits, then move it from inside Serato to it's final directory. In general this seems to work fine.

The only time I have issues is if I accidentally move a track that I still have open in Serato (i.e. it's loaded for playing, even if I'm not actually playing it). I'm pretty sure changes only get written when you unload the track (you see the status bar at the bottom show up briefly). My theory is that if I move the track while it's still open, that write fails.