Managing your Mac media libraries
This user tip aims to set out the typical locations and layouts of the various media libraries on a Mac from Catalina onwards, and how you might reorganize the structure of any legacy content after migrating your iTunes library.
Migrating from iTunes
See What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support (archive copy) for a brief overview of changes that took place with the release of macOS 10.15 Catalina. If you are moving your iTunes library from an older version of macOS to Catalina or later and want to retain ratings, play counts, playlists, etc. that are not stored in tags then you can hold down Alt/Option as you launch the Music and TV apps for the first time. You can use the Choose Library function to select your old iTunes Library.itl file and convert to the new library format for each app. This only needs to be done once for Music, and again for TV if you have video content. The conversion will leave everything stored in the old iTunes Media or iTunes Music folder. You may want to rationalise your media library so that it would look the same as if it had always been built using the newer apps, and you can remove or archive any legacy content not managed by either app. This should also make migration easier in future. These library conversions should happen automatically if you upgrade a computer running Mojave or earlier to Catalina or later, but can be performed manually if required.
Moving files
The officially supported method of relocating content with the Music and TV apps is to declare the media folder you want used under Music|TV > Preferences > Files, then consolidate to this new location. The drawback with that method is that files are copied not moved, so you're left to manually clean up the original files, and this process can fail if you don't have enough room, at least temporarily, to store two copies of each file. Thankfully Macs are very forgiving if you move files around within the same volume. This means that you can, for example, take an old iTunes Media folder that forms part of a working library, rename it as Media, and move it to the conventional path of ~/Music/Music/Media, provided of course this all happens on the same volume. If you take this approach there may still be some legacy content from iTunes that you might want to clean up.
Music
A Music library created from scratch in a new user profile will have the following layout:
~\ User's Home folder
Music\ Default location for all music related content
Music\ The Music library folder
Media\ The Music media folder
Artists\ Multiple artist folders...
Albums\ ... containing album folders, which contain tracks
Previous Libraries\ May show after an upgrade to Music that updates the library format
Music Library.musiclibrary The library package, a folder that appears as a file
Special folders
Apple Music Only present if you have a subscription to Apple Music
Automatically Add to Music Drop files in here to add to the library, rejected files will be
moved to a Not Added subfolder
Compilations Tracks marked part of a compilation go to album folders here
Downloads-Music Normally visible only when downloading, can be deleted
when Music is closed if it remains present
Music [Optional] Artist folders and Compilations may be nested into
a Music subfolder, typically when a library has been migrated
from iTunes. See iTunes Media Organization below for more
iTunes legacy folders
Album Artwork Redundant, can be deleted
Automatically Add to iTunes Redundant, can be deleted
Audiobooks In the Books app use File > Import... or Add to Library... to
import your audiobooks. You may wish to add files to Music
first to correct metadata. See Organizing audiobook
chapters - Apple Community for details
Books Import to Books with File > Import... or Add to Library...
Home Videos Migrate to the TV app, see below
iTunes U Legacy content, not supported since iTunes 12.7, discard
Mobile Applications Legacy content, not supported since iTunes 12.7, discard
Movies Migrate to the TV app, see below
Music See iTunes Media Organization below
Previous iTunes Libraries Historic .itl files from old iTunes updates, discard
Podcasts Podcast subscriptions are now stored in the cloud. It may not
be possible to import legacy files
Ringtones or Tones No longer part of the media library. See Create and manage
TV Shows Migrate to the TV app, see below
Voice Memos Voice Memos are now stored in the cloud. It may not be
possible to import legacy files
iTunes Media Organization
The iTunes media folder, originally called iTunes Music and later renamed to iTunes Media, was the initial target for artist folders. iTunes 9 introduced the new name and added a subfolder for music such that the media folder was broken up into a number of subfolders for each media kind. With the Music app only managing music this additional layer isn't required, but there is no obvious way to remove it if Music decides to include it or it is inherited from iTunes. You can check the current location of the media folder under Music > Preferences > Files. To remove this additional folder if required first use shift+cmd+. to show/hide hidden files, then open the hidden file .Media Preferences.plist inside the media folder with TextEdit and change the integer value from 1 to 0. Save the change, restart Music and turn the Keep Music Media folder organized preference off and on again to enforce the new layout. To go in the other direction, adding the /Music subfolder below the media folder when it doesn't currently exist, use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange Files.
Books
The Books app can be used to view Apple iBooks, eBooks, PDFs, and listen to audiobooks. It should automatically include any unhidden purchases once you are signed into your Apple ID, may include other content synced via the cloud, and allows for local content to be imported. The Books app stores its files in a hidden location as noted below. The arrangement of files and folders is obscure, but with luck you can copy the whole folder from one computer to recreate the library. Files imported into the library are copied into this folder and no longer referenced on the original path, but should be archived in case they ever need to be reimported.
Books library location
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.BKAgentService/Data/Documents/iBooks
Podcasts
In macOS 10.15 Catalina and later podcast subscriptions are associated with your Apple ID and sync with any iOS devices you have through the cloud. There does not appear to be a way to import any legacy content you might have from a previous iTunes library. As with Books the library is stored in a hidden location and is not designed to be directly accessed, although it may be possible to copy individual files out with a bit of effort if required.
Podcasts library location
~/Library/Group Containers/243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts
TV
A TV library created from scratch in a new user profile will have the following layout:
~\ User's Home folder
Movies\ Default location for all video content
TV\ The TV library folder
Media\ The TV media folder
Automatically Add to TV\ Drop compatible media in here to add to library
Home Videos\ Local video files you add generally end up here
Movies\ Movies downloaded from the store go into folders here
TV Shows\ TV shows from the store go here, organized by show and season
Previous Libraries\ May show after an upgrade to TV that updates the library format
TV Library.tvlibrary The library package, a folder that appears as a file
Special folders
Automatically Add to TV Drop files in here to add to the library, rejected files will be
moved to a Not Added subfolder
Downloads-TV Normally visible only when downloading, can be deleted
when TV is closed if it remains present
Support Articles
Use multiple libraries in Music on Mac - Apple Support
Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support