Enhance Artist Handling and Add Compact View Layout

[Akash-Sriram]

Description

Currently, the app displays album artwork as a placeholder for artists who do not have a thumbnail. This can lead to confusion and inconsistencies, as artists and albums are distinct entities. Additionally, the large thumbnail view is used across many areas of the app, which may not be suitable for users with extensive music libraries, as it limits visible content per screen.

Solution

Improve Artist Thumbnails:

1. For artists without thumbnails, display a blank or generic icon (e.g., a silhouette or music note) instead of album artwork.
2. Ensure artist thumbnails are distinct and not linked to album art by default.

Introduce Compact View Layout:

1. Add a compact view option for all areas where thumbnail views are currently used (e.g., Artists, Albums, Playlists, Folders).
2. The compact view should resemble the layout in the "Songs" tab, prioritizing text information and minimizing thumbnail sizes.
3. Provide a toggle in the app settings to switch between the thumbnail and compact view layouts.

Alternatives

Keep the current layout but allow users to disable thumbnails entirely for artists or other sections. Provide a small, simplified thumbnail instead of the full album artwork for artists without thumbnails.

Additional Context

Compact views can enhance usability by displaying more entries on a single screen. An example of a blank/generic artist icon could be a simple silhouette or music note. Screenshots or mock-ups can be attached later if required.

Contribution Guidelines

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[glaicodes]

Adding to this, option for pulling artist pictures from a source could be a solution for this. For example oto music does this and it looks pretty clean.