diff --git a/src/common/fileanalyzer.cpp b/src/common/fileanalyzer.cpp
index d4ab9bd7..53d3cfd2 100644
--- a/src/common/fileanalyzer.cpp
+++ b/src/common/fileanalyzer.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-    Copyright (C) 2014-2024, Kevin Andre <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
+    Copyright (C) 2014-2026, Kevin André <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
 
     This file is part of PMP (Party Music Player).
 
@@ -183,31 +183,6 @@ namespace PMP
         return extensionEnum != Extension::None;
     }
 
-    bool FileAnalyzer::preprocessFileForPlayback(QByteArray& fileContents,
-                                                 QString extension)
-    {
-        /* only need to do something for MP3 files */
-        if (getExtension(extension) != Extension::MP3) return true;
-
-        /* strip the ID3v2 tag because DirectShow chokes on ID3v2.4 */
-
-        TagLib::ByteVector scratch(fileContents.data(), uint(fileContents.length()));
-        TagLib::ByteVectorStream stream(scratch);
-        TagLib::MPEG::File tagFile(&stream, TagLib::ID3v2::FrameFactory::instance());
-        if (!tagFile.isValid())
-        {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        tagFile.strip(TagLib::MPEG::File::ID3v2); /* strip the ID3v2 */
-        scratch = *stream.data(); /* get the stripped file contents */
-
-        QByteArray strippedData(scratch.data(), int(scratch.size()));
-        fileContents = strippedData;
-
-        return true; /* success */
-    }
-
     FileAnalyzer::Extension FileAnalyzer::getExtension(QString extension)
     {
         auto lower = extension.toLower();
diff --git a/src/common/fileanalyzer.h b/src/common/fileanalyzer.h
index 3b7fa62a..77ad737e 100644
--- a/src/common/fileanalyzer.h
+++ b/src/common/fileanalyzer.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-    Copyright (C) 2014-2021, Kevin Andre <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
+    Copyright (C) 2014-2026, Kevin André <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
 
     This file is part of PMP (Party Music Player).
 
@@ -55,9 +55,6 @@ namespace PMP
         static bool isExtensionSupported(QString const& extension,
                                          bool enableExperimentalFileFormats = false);
 
-        static bool preprocessFileForPlayback(QByteArray& fileContents,
-                                              QString extension);
-
         void analyze();
 
         bool hadError() const;
diff --git a/src/server/preloader.cpp b/src/server/preloader.cpp
index a513318b..28214ea5 100644
--- a/src/server/preloader.cpp
+++ b/src/server/preloader.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-    Copyright (C) 2016-2025, Kevin André <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
+    Copyright (C) 2016-2026, Kevin André <hyperquantum@gmail.com>
 
     This file is part of PMP (Party Music Player).
 
@@ -398,12 +398,6 @@ namespace PMP::Server
         qDebug() << "Preloader: read" << contents.size() << "bytes from"
                  << originalFilename << "for queue ID" << queueId;
 
-        if (!FileAnalyzer::preprocessFileForPlayback(contents, extension))
-        {
-            qWarning() << "Preloader: failed to preprocess file" << originalFilename;
-            return failure;
-        }
-
         QString tempDir;
         if (QDir::temp().mkpath("PMP-preload-cache"))
             tempDir = QDir::temp().absolutePath() + "/PMP-preload-cache";