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Change music library!

I seem to have two different music libraries. One I have been using regularly and downloading both my CDs and purchased music to, and one much older one. I had to change users on my mac recently and I now have the old library as the main one. I can access my new library or access my later songs for anything other than to play them. I can access my old user and download the music there etc but that doesn't seem a good long term solution. I don't just want to access my new music, I want my new library to be the main one in my new user. Could anyone tell me if this is possible, and if so how please?

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 27, 2020 1:36 AM

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Posted on Feb 1, 2020 4:17 PM

Hello, sueinspain.


Thanks for getting back to us here in Communities. First make sure you have a backup of your Music. Then you can follow these steps without using an external device: Move your iTunes library to another computer Basically copy all the music either into the same folder or create a new folder. Once that's done, follow the steps in the article to add the library: Switch libraries with the Music app or Apple TV app in macOS Catalina


Best regards.

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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 1, 2020 4:17 PM in response to sueinspain

Hello, sueinspain.


Thanks for getting back to us here in Communities. First make sure you have a backup of your Music. Then you can follow these steps without using an external device: Move your iTunes library to another computer Basically copy all the music either into the same folder or create a new folder. Once that's done, follow the steps in the article to add the library: Switch libraries with the Music app or Apple TV app in macOS Catalina


Best regards.

Jan 29, 2020 5:13 PM in response to sueinspain

Hello, sueinspain.


Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.


From what I understand is that you want to have only one music library instead of multiple ones. I'd like to help and I got an article to share that will help you with this by consolidating your music, check it out: Change where your music files are stored on Mac


"Consolidate your files in the Music folder

Depending on how you imported items into Music, some items in your library might be stored in different locations (for example, in another folder or on another storage device).

You can consolidate all the files in your library in the Music folder—for example, to make it easier to move your library to a new computer.

  1. In the Music app  on your Mac, choose File > Library > Organize Library.
  2. Select “Consolidate files.”
  3. Files remain in their original locations, and copies are placed in the default folder".


Before making any changes, always make sure you have a backup of your music: Backup your Mac


Cheers!

Jan 30, 2020 12:51 AM in response to sterling r

Hi Sterling R

Thanks for your reply. What I'm actually trying to do is get rid of one music library (which is an old one) from the user I am now using on my mac. And replace it with the one I was using on my other user on the same mac. Both are under the same iTunes/Music account. Would you know how to do this? I'm concerned because I changed some permissions recently resulting in my mac becoming very slow, so I want to be careful what I do!!! Many thanks

Change music library!

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