How To Get iTunes Album Art Without Using iTunes
A friend shared with me an interesting tip, which allows one to get iTunes album art without using iTunes, but instead from a web browser. Since I always want to add album art to my music when I rip CDs, and don’t always find it in iTunes (select the tracks, Control- or right-click and choose Get Album Artwork), this technique, which is brilliant yet simple, will save me a great deal of time.
Start by doing a Google search for the album whose art you’re seeking. Do the search like this: [artist] [album name] site:itunes.apple.com. This restricts the search to Apple’s iTunes web site, where you can see information about items on the iTunes Store via a web browser.
You’ll get results such as the following:
Click on the link that corresponds to your album. You’ll see a web page. In most cases, the page will attempt to redirect you to iTunes. There are two ways to prevent this. The first is to press the Escape key as soon as the page loads, but before the redirect occurs. The second is to use, if you have Safari, the NoMoreiTunes extension. This blocks the redirect, but, as you can see below, provides a button you can click if you do want to switch to iTunes.
Next, Control- or right-click on the album art you see. Choose Open Image in New Tab, or Open Image in New Window.
Click in the URL in the address bar; you’ll find a section at the end of the URL like this:
170×170-75.jpg
Change the 170s to 600, so the URL ends like this:
600×600-75.jpg
Press Return. A larger image will now load:
Control- or right-click on the image and either copy it, by choosing Copy Image, or download it, by choosing Save Image to Downloads. You can now add this 600 pixel image as album art.
Note: in some cases, 600 pixel images are not available, but 700 pixel images are. If you don’t find a 600 pixel image, try using 700 in the modified URL above.
Posted: 11/26/2011 by kirk | Filed under: iPod & iTunes | Tags: iTunes | 28 Comments »
A quicker method is to install this script:
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=findalbumartwork
You still may have to do some adjusting to the image file, but the search process is much simpler.
No, Doug’s solution is totally unrelated. Apple’s iTunes images don’t show up in Google image searches, and Doug’s script only searches Google Images. I do use Google images for many of my searches, but there’s a lot of art I don’t find that way, or not in large enough sizes.
This process could be completely automated, though. I guess Doug needs to update his script.
You’re right–I read your post too quickly.
Nice Tip! It just tried it with a movie and it also works to get DVD cover artwork.
You can cut out a couple of steps. After you have done your initial Google search, click on images at the top of the page. It will throw up a page of images mostly for the album. Just roll over them with your cursor and they will expand with the size data underneath. Much easier to find the right one.
I’m sorry, it’s not clear what you’re saying. Are you suggesting doing a Google images search? That doesn’t work, as it only finds the 170px images.
I don’t know what you mean by “it only finds the 170px images.” I search Google often for album art, and just as winc06 says, hovering over the image thumbnail reveals pixel dimensions and I find the largest ones I can find, often 600 or 700 px square–sometimes larger–and I copy those.
If you search Google images and limit it to the iTunes web site, it only finds 170 px images. You’ll find plenty of different sized images if you don’t limit it like that, but it’s often a pain to find what you want in a decent size. Grabbing the iTunes images means they are at least 600px.
i just do this with Amazon.com. Or, use Songbird for the sole purpose of cleaning up music. It will grab album artwork and embed it in the idv3 tag where it belongs…. iTunes keeps it in its own little database (dumb)
iTunes embeds artwork in files, if you add it manually (ie, if you don’t have iTunes get it on its own).
As an avid exploiter of this technique, it has come to my attention that unfortunately since the publication of this article 4 days ago the method is now void.
Apple must have caught on; for now entering 600×600 on a URL (I’ve tested even with previously acquired artworks) results in the message:
“An error occurred while processing your request.
Reference #50.5dba58db.1322633333.503b4daf”
Not pointing any fingers, but can’t be coincidental. Same thing happened with that dude’s “album art grabber” a few years back…
Really wish you hadn’t shared that around.
I just tried it on a random album and it works fine. Have you tried with several albums? Did you try 700 as well?
Hmm. Just tried with 10+ artworks I acquired last week. Same error message (different code)… I’ve never had to try 700×700 as you mention in your article, but neither does this actually work now.
What album works for you kirk?
E.g. for me:
Eurythmics http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/047/Music/2e/71/97/mzi.gkkumlce.170×170-75.jpg
Assassin’s Creed II
http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/011/Music/59/01/e5/mzi.chxcnsns.170×170-75.jpg
Aphrodite Live http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/108/Music/ca/c2/5c/mzi.kxqrrxlv.170×170-75.jpg
etc… will not show in 600×600 for me now. Yet I have the files on my computer from last week :/
I got one for this:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/schubert-lieder/id4643220
But trying a bunch of others now, I’m getting similar errors… Sigh.
I’m able to view that one as well.
Back to ID tagging a blank MP3 with store details to “Get Album Artwork” I’ll be…
Actually, I think that the album artwork thingie is intact for URls that contain Features instead of Music.
This one works http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/042/Features/c6/7a/1e/dj.ubmdkufs.170×170-75.jpg
While this one http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/011/Music/59/01/e5/mzi.chxcnsns.170×170-75.jpg doesn’t
i really have no clue what’s the deal with this
For instance, for Led Zeppelin’s CODA, here’s the 600×600 artwork (using the Features DIR):
http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Features/81/15/5b/dj.avclwtgm.600×600-75.jpg
while if you try to access it the usual way (http://a5.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/028/Music/8c/db/40/mzi.qqjztvge.170×170-75.jpg) it will fail.
So the trick here is to find a way to relate these two URLs.
So yes, there is actually a way to link these two, I have found it. Drop me a mail if you would like to know, I’m not gonna post it here.
Hey Ignacio,
Please get in touch with me: http://scr.im/jacobbrett
Hey Ignacio,
please contact me here:
http://scr.im/thomian
Ignacio please mail me for instruction
http://scr.im/carad027
tnx a lot
Yes, please, tell me how the two URLs are linked each other!
P.S. Maybe you already know, but I just found that the “old” way still allows you to get 200×200 and 225×225 images.
Ignacio, please, tell me how the two URLs are linked each other!
fabioYOU_KNOW_WHATstefanobenni.it
(sorry for the previous replay without the e-mail)
P.S. Maybe you already know, but I just found that the “old” way still allows you to get 200×200 and 225×225 images.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/panjaa-ep/id481786131
An error occurred while processing your request.
Reference #50.2cb51160.1322892349.1ba1c512
how to get out of this rid ?
I already found this tip by myself long before you shared it here. And probably because you shared it in such an open space, now Apple blocked it. Blame on you.
This has been blocked now. iTunes won’t let you do it anymore. I hope someone can figure out how to get around this — I’ve tried, with no luck.
Hey, this process works for me. In fact, in some of the picture urls Apple specifies if there is a 1200×1200 version of it.
For instance, search for “Keane Strangeland iTunes” to get http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/strangeland/id517144108. The url for the picture, however, turns out to be http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/079/Music/v4/90/e1/7b/90e17b77-a93d-99e1-7f7e-1568a26cbfd3/UMG_cvrart_00602537013739_01_RGB72_1200x1200_12UMGIM09420.170×170-75.jpg.
Notice where it says “1200×1200″?