Choose Itunes Library Mac

  1. Open Itunes Library
  2. Itunes Library Mac

Though we store more and more of our music online these days, a hard-copy backup is still the gold standard for keeping your data safe. And if you use Apple Music or iCloud Music Library, the best way to do that is still iTunes.

There are a few ways to back up your iTunes library; it's important to choose one and regularly back up so that you won't have to worry about your local copy getting lost or damaged. My music — at least for me — is one of those must-backup items; I don't want to have to manually re-build or re-buy thousands of tracks.

First: Make sure your entire library has been locally downloaded

If you use iCloud Music Library or the iTunes Store, you may have some or all of your music stored in the cloud. But to truly make sure your purchased and owned content is backed up, you'll want to download a local copy to your Mac. Here's the best way to do so:

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. Limited-time offer; offer may end at any time. Free Apple TV+ access for students ends when you no longer qualify or do not renew your Apple Music Student subscription. Offer good for verified college students only and does not extend to a Family Sharing group.

To download specific items in your iCloud Music Library right now to your Mac's drive, do the following:

  1. In the Choose iTunes Library dialog, click Choose Library and select the iTunes folder on your external drive. This can be enough for iTunes to properly associate itself with the copied library.
  2. Jul 28, 2017  On a Windows PC, hold down the Shift key as iTunes starts up to get the box for choosing an existing media library or creating a new one. Mac users should hold down the Option key as iTunes.
  3. Jan 04, 2020  In the Open iTunes Library window, navigate to and select the iTunes Library.itl file in the iTunes folder on your network and then click the Open button. Test Your Handiwork.

  1. Launch Music (or iTunes on Mojave and earlier) on your Mac.

    Source: iMore

  2. Find the Artist, Albums, or Songs that you want to download.

  3. Click the .. button to bring up a pop-up menu.

    Source: iMore

  4. Click Download to initiate the download of these items.

    Source: iMore

And if you want to start automatically downloading everything that you add to your Apple Music library from this point forward, then it's easy peasy! Here's how:

  1. Launch Music (or iTunes on macOS Mojave and earlier) on your Mac.

    Source: iMore

  2. Click Music in the menu bar.

  3. Click Preferences (or press ⌘, on the keyboard).

    Source: iMore

  4. Make sure you're in the General tab.

    Source: iMore

  5. Click the box for Automatic Downloads to turn it on.

    Source: iMore

Once that is turned on, any music you add to your Apple Music library will be downloaded automatically to your Mac's hard drive.

How to back up iTunes via Time Machine or another backup service

If you have Apple's Time Machine backup system enabled — or any other cloud — or system-based backup — your iTunes library should automatically be covered. This way, if you ever need to restore, you can just pop back in Time Machine's History (or a past backup from CrashPlan or Carbon Copy Cloner, for example) to retrieve it.

How to manually back up your iTunes library

If you're not employing a Mac-wide backup service (really, you should get on that), or if you just want to manually back up your iTunes library separately, here's how to go about that.

Consolidate your library

To ensure that all of your iTunes files are in the same place when you make a manual backup, you should first consolidate your iTunes library.

Open Itunes Library

  1. Make sure you've downloaded a local copy of your music to your Mac.

  2. Launch Music (or iTunes in macOS Mojave or earlier) on your Mac.

    Source: iMore

  3. Click File in the upper left corner of your Mac's screen.

  4. Hover your cursor over Library in the drop down menu.

    Source: iMore

  5. Select Organize Library from the secondary menu.

    Source: iMore

  6. Tick the box for Consolidate Files when the Organize Library window appears.

    Source: iMore

  7. Click OK.

    Source: iMore

This will make a copy of all files in the iTunes media folder, leaving the originals in their current location.

Copy your iTunes library to a backup source

  1. If you are using an external hard drive, connect it to your Mac using a USB cable.
  2. Click on Finder to open a Finder window.

  3. Select your Mac's Hard drive.

    Source: iMore

  4. Click on Music in the sidebar.

    Source: iMore

  5. Select the Music folder (or iTunes on macOS Mojave and earlier) and drag that folder to the external hard drive icon on your desktop or copy it to your online backup service.

    Source: iMore

  6. Click Authenticate, if prompted, to give permission to make a copy of the iTunes folder.
  7. Enter your administrator password.

  8. Click OK.

    Source: iMore

The copy process will begin. This could take a very long time, depending on how big your Music/iTunes library is. So, sit back, relax, watch a movie, or whatever you do to pass the time.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

If you are about to do something wild with your Music or iTunes library and don't have a way to back it up on an external drive or online backup service, you can make a temporary backup that you store right on your Mac. This is, by no means, a solid backup plan, but can be useful in a pinch.

Note: After making a copy, it is a good idea to move the copied folder to an easy-to-find location that is separate from any folder you plan to make changes to (like the Music folder). This copied folder should be deleted immediately after it is no longer needed because it takes up extra space on your computer's hard drive unnecessarily and could cause confusion with your most current Music or iTunes folder.

  1. Click on Finder to open a Finder window.

  2. Select your Mac's Hard drive.

    Source: iMore

  3. Click on Music in the sidebar.

    Source: iMore

  4. Right-click or control-click on the Music folder (or iTunes folder if you're still on macOS Mojave or earlier).

    Source: iMore

  5. Select Duplicate from the drop down menu.

    • The copy process will begin. This could take a very long time.

      Source: iMore

  6. Move the copied iTunes or Music folder to a new, easy-to-find location.

  7. Delete the copied iTunes or Music folder once you no longer need the temporary backup.

Any questions?

Running into issues making an iTunes backup? Pop them in the comments below.

March 2020: These are still the current steps for how to back up your music.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

Backing up: The ultimate guide

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Home > AnyTrans > iPhone Transfer >How to Delete iTunes Library on Windows/Mac

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“How To Clear existing iTunes Library and Start Over? I have removed all my files on my hard drive and moved them to an external drive which I have cleaned up. How can I clear what is in my iTunes and start over? Thanks.”

A user from Apple Community

Just like this user, you may also want to delete your iTunes library on Windows or Mac computer of you are reading this page. By deleting iTunes library, all your music, playlists and apps will be removed from your iTunes library. But you’d better make a backup for your iTunes Library content to external hard drive for safekeeping before the start.

Part 1. How to Delete iTunes Libray on Windows

Step 1. Shut down iTunes and launch Windows Explorer.

Step 2. Click on Music folder > Choose iTunes.

Step 3. Delete these two files: iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml

Part 2: How to Delete iTunes Libray on Mac

Step 1. Turn off iTunes on Mac and run Finder on Mac.

Step 2. Click on Go > Now click on Home.

Step 3. Browse Music folder and click on iTunes.

Step 4. Find and delete these files: iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml

How to Delete iTunes Libray on Mac

Part 3: How to Back Up Music in iTunes Library Selectively

If you want to backup some music in iTunes library to computer or iPhone before deleting the whole iTunes library, AnyTrans for iOS is exactly what you need to transfer music from iTunes library to computer or iOS device within steps. In addition, it can also help you manage other iOS data like photos, contacts, messages, videos, call log, apps and more. Now let’s follow the steps below to backup music in iTunes library:

Step 1: Free download and install AnyTrans for iOS to your computer and run it. Connect your iPhone to computer if you want to backup music to iPhone. Click on iTunes Library.

How to Back Up Music in iTunes Library Selectively – Step 1

With the release of Mac OS X Lion way back in 2011, Apple removed easy access to the user’s Library folder. Although arguably well-intentioned, this change was frustrating for longtime Mac power. Can't see library folder mac.

Itunes Library Mac

Step 2: Click on Music and select the music you want to backup > click To Computer or To Device button to backup music from iTunes library.

How to Back Up Music in iTunes Library Selectively – Step 2

The Bottom Line

That’s all for how to delete iTunes library on Windows or Mac computer, and AnyTrans will be your great helper to backup music in iTunes libray. What’s more, it also supports transferring data from iPhone to iPhone, iPhone to computer and from computer to iPhone. Just get it to your computer and have a free trial now >