Why does iTunes display a different total play length and size in the status bar in different views?

Question

In iTunes 12 (.4.0.119) different total play length times and total media sizes are displayed in the status bar when in different views of the same media type, music.

For example; when in album grid view the status bar displays as below (line one is normal, line two is after being clicked) —

:

630 albums, 16.5 days, 50.97 GB
630 albums, 12:12:05:43 total time, 50.97 GB

When switching to artist or songs (list) view the status bar will display as below (again; line one is normal, line two is after being clicked) —

:

10,287 items, 29.2 days, 88.69 GB
10,287 items, 29:05:09:55 total time, 88.69 GB

Also, when switching from album grid view to album list view the status bar will also change to as it is in the artist and songs list views.

My only theory is that for some reason in album grid view compilations are not included in the results for the status bar though the number of albums (630) must include these still.

Answer 1

One way to figure out what’s causing the difference involves creating a couple of playlists.

1. In each library (Albums and Songs), select all, and press command-shift-N (new playlist from selection). Name them anything you like, but let’s call these Playlist 1 and Playlist 2.
2. From the File menu, create a new Smart Playlist with the following rules:
   • Playlist is Playlist 1
   • Playlist is not Playlist 2
3. If the resulting playlist is empty, swap around the is/is not.

You should now see everything that appears in one view but not the other. Like David’s comment said, it’s most likely due to around 37 GB worth of tracks with a blank album tag, but now you should be able to figure out if it’s something else.