After decades of digital music, it's not unlikely if you've amassed quite the collection of music on your computer's hard drive. If your iTunes library is taking up too much space, you can move it off of your local drive and onto an external hard drive without breaking your music collection.

You can also transfer your entire iTunes library from one computer to another if you are migrating to a new Mac.

Before you start: Back up your Mac

Before making major changes to your computer, it's always a good idea to back up your data: The best way to back up your Mac is with a Time Machine routine in place, but you can choose an alternate backup option that's right for you.

What you will need

Jan 04, 2020 Open iTunes, then click the Edit Menu (or the iTunes menu on a Mac) and select Preferences Advanced. Click the Change button for your iTunes Media folder location, then navigate to and select. Feb 16, 2013 iTunes Library Locations & How To Quickly Find iTunes Songs on a Computer Feb 16, 2013 - 9 Comments Assuming you keep iTunes on the default setting and let the app manage your music files and songs, iTunes will store all of your media nicely in the Music directory of your home folder, with each song kept in a folder according to the album. When you open iTunes, click on the “Choose Library” button. A pop up window will appear, which will show you your Music/My music folder. However, if you had decided to store your iTunes Library in someplace other than these folders, just navigate to that location, and click on the folder to select that new folder. May 23, 2018  Despite “iTunes Music Library.xml” files no longer being created in iTunes on Mac OS or Windows by default, you can actually still generate an iTunes Library XML file if it is needed by another app or for some other purpose. Read on to learn how to create an iTunes Music Library.xml file in the latest versions of iTunes for MacOS or Windows. Mar 04, 2016 If all of your songs are currently in iCloud only (not stored locally), show your iTunes music library song list and select all of your songs at the same time ( Select All from Edit menu or Cmd-A on keyboard), then right-click the selection and Download. I've never had a need (or desire) to do that on an iOS device. Oct 07, 2019 Switch to another iTunes library. Hold down the Option key, then open the Music app or Apple TV app. In the window that appears, click Choose Library. Select a library, then click Choose. To begin creating multiple iTunes libraries on your computer, follow these steps: Quit iTunes if it's running. Click the iTunes icon to launch the program while holding down the Option key (on Mac) or the Shift key (on Windows). Keep holding the key down until a pop-up window appears, and then click Create Library.

You will, of course, need the computer your iTunes library is currently on. You will also need the following:

  • An external hard drive (and power source, if applicable)
  • A USB cable to connect the hard drive to your original Mac
  • A power source for your original Mac
  • If you're moving to a new computer, your new Mac (and its power cable)

Step 1: Consolidate your library

Over time, it's easy for your music, movies, apps, and other iTunes content to end up stored in various places throughout your computer's hard drive. To ensure that you copy everything from iTunes over to an external hard drive, you should first consolidate your library. Even if you think your library has all your information consolidated already, it can't hurt to do a manual check before moving any data.

  1. Launch iTunes on your Mac.
  2. Click File in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.

  3. Hover your cursor over Library in the dropdown menu.
  4. Select Organize Library from the secondary menu.

  5. Tick the box for Consolidate Files in the window that appears.
  6. Click OK.

This process makes a copy of all files in the iTunes media folder, and leaves the original files in their current location.

Step 2: Move your iTunes Library to an external hard drive

  1. Quit iTunes.
  2. Connect your external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable.
  3. Click on Finder to open a Finder window.
  4. Select your Mac's hard drive.

  5. Click on the Music folder.
  6. Select iTunes and drag it to the external hard drive.

  7. Click Authenticate when prompted to give permission to move the iTunes folder.
  8. Enter your administrator password.
  9. Click OK.

This process could take upwards of an hour or two, depending on how much data stored in your iTunes library.

Step 3: Redirect iTunes to the new location

Once you've transferred a copy of your iTunes library onto an external hard drive, you will need to set a new path for the iTunes app by redirecting it to search the external hard drive for content, rather than your local drive.

  1. Launch iTunes and hold down the Option Keyat the same time.
  2. Click on Choose Library when the window appears.

  3. Select your external hard drive under Devices in the Finder sidebar.
  4. Click on iTunes.
  5. Click Open.

Note: Until you delete the iTunes file on your local hard drive, you can switch which libraries iTunes uses by launching the app and holding down the Option key at the same time.

Step 4: Make sure it worked

If you performed the first three steps correctly, when you open iTunes, it should look the same as it did before. You can double-check to make sure the migration worked by checking the info of any content.

  1. Launch iTunes.
  2. Select a song, podcast, movie, app, or other content.

  3. Right-click or Control-click on the song.
  4. Select Get info from the drop down menu.
  5. Click on the File tab in the info window.

  6. Look under Location to ensure that the content is now being stored under /Volumes/external hard drive name/.. instead of Users/local hard drive name/..

Step 5: Delete the old iTunes library

Once you have transferred a copy of your iTunes library onto an external hard drive and redirected iTunes to the new location, you can delete the iTunes folder on your local hard drive, freeing up space on your Mac.

Note: If you are making a copy to transfer to a new computer, you don't need to perform step 5 unless you want to remove your iTunes library from the old computer.

  1. Quit iTunes.
  2. Click on Finder to open a Finder window.
  3. Select your Mac's hard drive.

  4. Click on the Music folder.
  5. Select iTunes and drag it to the trash.

Make sure your external hard drive is connected to your Mac when you launch iTunes from now on. Otherwise, iTunes won't be able to find the files. If that happens, quit iTunes, connect your external hard drive to your computer, and reopen iTunes.

Step 6 [optional]: Move your iTunes library to a new Mac

Once you have your iTunes library on an external hard drive, you can relocate it to a new Mac.

  1. Quit iTunes on your new Mac.
  2. Connect your external hard drive to your new Mac using a USB cable.
  3. Open the external hard drive once it appears on your new Mac's screen.
  4. Click on Finder on your new Mac to open a Finder window.
  5. Select your new Mac's hard drive.

  6. Click on the Music folder.
  7. Drag the iTunes folder from your external hard drive into the Music folder on your new Mac.

  8. Launch iTunes and hold down the Option Keyat the same time.
  9. Click on Choose Library when the window appears.
  10. Select your local hard drive under Devices in the Finder sidebar.

  11. Click on the Music folder.
  12. Click on iTunes.
  13. Click Open.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions or issues with moving your iTunes library onto an external hard drive or onto a new Mac? Let us know in the comments and we'll help you out.

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iTunes is going places.

Download macOS Catalina for an all‑new entertainment experience. Your music, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and audiobooks will transfer automatically to the Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books apps where you’ll still have access to your favorite iTunes features, including purchases, rentals, and imports.

You can always download iTunes 12.8 for previous versions of macOS,
as well as the iTunes application for Windows.

Hardware:

  • Mac computer with an Intel processor
  • To play 720p HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras, a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor is required
  • To play 1080p HD video, a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor and 2GB of RAM is required
  • Screen resolution of 1024x768 or greater; 1280x800 or greater is required to play an iTunes LP or iTunes Extras
  • Internet connection to use Apple Music, the iTunes Store, and iTunes Extras
  • Apple combo drive or SuperDrive to create audio, MP3, or backup CDs; some non-Apple CD-RW recorders may also work. Songs from the Apple Music catalog cannot be burned to a CD.

Software:

  • OS X version 10.10.5 or later
  • 400MB of available disk space
  • Apple Music, iTunes Store, and iTunes Match availability may vary by country
  • Apple Music trial requires sign-up and is available for new subscribers only. Plan automatically renews after trial.

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The latest entertainment apps now come installed with macOS Catalina. Upgrade today to get your favorite music, movies, TV shows, and podcasts. You can join Apple Music and stream — or download and play offline — over 60 million songs, ad‑free.

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iTunes

Download the latest version from the Microsoft Store.

The latest entertainment apps now come installed with macOS Catalina. Upgrade today to get your favorite music, movies, TV shows, and podcasts. You can join Apple Music and stream — or download and play offline — over 60 million songs, ad‑free.

Select Itunes Library Mac Download

Hardware:

  • PC with a 1GHz Intel or AMD processor with support for SSE2 and 512MB of RAM
  • To play standard-definition video from the iTunes Store, an Intel Pentium D or faster processor, 512MB of RAM, and a DirectX 9.0–compatible video card is required
  • To play 720p HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras, a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor, 1GB of RAM, and an Intel GMA X3000, ATI Radeon X1300, or NVIDIA GeForce 6150 or better is required
  • To play 1080p HD video, a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor, 2GB of RAM, and an Intel GMA X4500HD, ATI Radeon HD 2400, or NVIDIA GeForce 8300 GS or better is required
  • Screen resolution of 1024x768 or greater; 1280x800 or greater is required to play an iTunes LP or iTunes Extras
  • 16-bit sound card and speakers
  • Internet connection to use Apple Music, the iTunes Store, and iTunes Extras
  • iTunes-compatible CD or DVD recorder to create audio CDs, MP3 CDs, or backup CDs or DVDs. Songs from the Apple Music catalog cannot be burned to a CD.

Select Itunes Library Mac To Pc

Software:

  • Windows 7 or later
  • 64-bit editions of Windows require the iTunes 64-bit installer
  • 400MB of available disk space
  • Some third-party visualizers may no longer be compatible with this version of iTunes. Please contact the developer for an updated visualizer that is compatible with iTunes 12.1 or later.
  • Apple Music, iTunes Store, and iTunes Match availability may vary by country
  • Apple Music trial requires sign-up and is available for new subscribers only. Plan automatically renews after trial.

iTunes is going places.

Visit the iTunes Store on iOS to buy and download your favorite songs, TV shows, movies, and podcasts. You can also download macOS Catalina for an all-new entertainment experience on desktop. Your library will transfer automatically to the new Apple Music app, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. And you’ll still have access to your favorite iTunes features, including your previous iTunes Store purchases, rentals, and imports and the ability to easily manage your library.

Music, TV, and podcasts
take center stage.

iTunes forever changed the way people experienced music, movies, TV shows, and podcasts. It all changes again with three all-new, dedicated apps — Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts — each designed from the ground up to be the best way to enjoy entertainment on your Mac. And rest assured; everything you had in your iTunes library is still accessible in each app. iCloud seamlessly syncs everything across your devices — or you can back up, restore, and sync by connecting the device directly to your Mac.

The new Apple Music app is the ultimate music streaming experience on Mac.1 Explore a library of 60 million songs, discover new artists and tracks, find the perfect playlist, download and listen offline, or enjoy all the music you’ve collected over the years. And find it all in your music library on all your devices.

It's year 2019 and I encountered the same problem on iOS 12.4.Here is how I solved it just now:. Turn on iCloud Photos. Am I overlooking any other clever solutions? Goto Apple ID iCloud Photos;. Turn off icloud photo library mac.

On the other hand, if iCloud is not your cup of tea then do not worry as there are enormous other ways like you can also use iTunes or another third-party cloud service that helps you to sync your photos between your computer and your iPhone/iPad. How to transfer photos from icloud library to mac. Contents.Transfer photos from your computer or Mac to an iPhone or iPad with/without iTunesIf you want to rely on Apple to store your photos then Mac app and Library is the best option.

The Apple TV app for Mac is the new home for all your favorite movies, shows, premium channels, and — coming soon — Apple TV+. Watch everything directly in the app or enjoy it offline, and discover the best of what’s on in the Watch Now tab. You can even pick up where you left off on any screen, across all your devices. And for the first time, 4K2 and Dolby Atmos3-supported movies are available on Mac.

More than 700,000 of the best entertainment, comedy, news, and sports shows are now available on your Mac with Apple Podcasts. Search for podcasts by title, topic, guest, host, content, and more. Subscribe and be notified as soon as new episodes become available. And in the Listen Now tab, you can easily pick up where you left off across all your devices.

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