Cannot permanantly sort items in Windows Explorer

I am doing some file moves which require me to move many files from one directory to another. These are all music files which are being moved into smaller directories due to Windows Explorer constantly re-reading/re-indexing the directory every time I change the column sort order.
What I want to achieve is to have each directory sorted by the column title "Contributing Artist". I can click on the ascending/descending column, get it sorted by that column and change directory. When I return, the previously sorted view has reverted to "Name" order. I could have removed the column "Name" temporarily (from "choose details") to get the sort as required but that is the only column which you cannot remove.
I had initially moved the column order, expecting the first column in the view to be the one it sorted by - alas not!

All I want is to fix the directory view sort order, so that EVERY time I look at a music directory contents, it is sorted, alphabetically by the column "Contributing Artist". It must also retain that same order criteria every time files are added or removed from that directory (so, when files are added, they are not tagged onto the bottom or inserted into the top but placed alphabetically into the directory. Can it be achieved?
I have been playing with this for 3 hours now and cannot get it to work, even trying other Explorers!!!

^Thanks, but I'm not closing the Explorer window down - just switching between. So, I change the view that I want, move to another Explorer window, then when I go back to the first one, the order reverts back to the column "File" - every time! It drives me nuts!

Each time I go back to a directory (whether it be within the same or different windows), it reverts back to sort by column "File".
So, I click on a directory and sort by the column required. I then click on a different directory, look at that, then go back to the first and it has reverted the sort, as above.

((changing the setting, as per your image, has zero effect)

Shift+<Close> is Voodoo ( sorry)
When things are working properly, folder's retain the last view setting, period.

When folders seem unable to remember view settings, it usually means you've reached the max (5000). To check, copy & paste the following code into PowerShell:

Code:

((gp "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count

If that command returns 5000, you have to delete all saved views:

Code:

'BagMRU', 'Bags' | ForEach{ri "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\$_" }
gps explorer | spps

Sign out & back in.

Then make good use of Apply to Folders to set your preferred sort for music folders.

Done all that before - still doesn't work I'm afraid

So how many sved views?

Think it was 19