Music isn't importing all songs

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Level 1

17 points

Music isn't importing all songs

When I import a group of song files, Music imports the data but not the audio files on about half of each group of files. What's up?

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 12, 2020 4:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

ed2345

Level 9

63,626 points

Jun 29, 2020 7:06 PM in response to edsass

Sarah, The best way to add files to the library is to drag the MP3 files, one album at a time, into your Automatically Add to Music folder, which is inside the Media folder. (Do this while Music is running.)

If the file is compatible it will be added to your library.

If it is not compatible, it will be placed in a Not Added folder.

The advantage is that unlike other ways to import, it tells you if there is a problem with the file, such as a corrupted MP3.

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Answer 2

rose_10

Community Specialist

Jun 16, 2020 1:22 PM in response to edsass

Hello edsass!

Thanks for touching base here in Apple Support Communities. Based on your post, it sounds like you’re unable to import music files into the Music app on your Mac. Is that right?

How long has this been an issue? Have you tried restarting your Mac?

Does this seem to happen with any file you import, or are there specific files having the issue?

Where are the files being imported from?

Have you tried importing one file at a time from the affected group to see what happens?

Do you know if you’re running the latest version of macOS?

Testing in and out safe mode is also a good idea. Take a look at the articles below.

Import music from a computer to Music on Mac

If songs are missing from your music library after you turn on Sync Library

How to use safe mode on your Mac

Cheers!

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Answer 3

sterling r

Community Specialist

Jun 29, 2020 4:05 PM in response to edsass

Hello edsass,

Thanks for the updated information.

Do you exprecince the issue when you import without dragging the entire file?

Have there been any recent changes to the affected files or library?

If you continue to run into the issue only while dragging and dropping the file, I would recommend reaching out to Apple Support directly to help take a closer look.

Import music from a computer to Music on Mac

Contact Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 4

edsass Author

Level 1

17 points

Jun 27, 2020 6:58 PM in response to rose_10

sarah_s1:

Thank you for your reply. I am able to import music files into the Music app on my iMac but when I drag a folder containing a complete album into the app to import the track files they don't all import. Well, technically they don't import completely. The track names all import along with the other metadata but when I go to play a track, a number of the tracks' actual audio files do not get imported. So I get a "locate?" prompt and I re-import. Then I go through every track from the album to see which other files didn't get imported properly. And I then go and delete the bad listings. I know I could click "Locate" each time but that won't necessarily re-import the file and place it in the Music library in it's correct folder. I choose to find the mistakes and then batch import.

This has only been an issue for the last 5-6 weeks. And honestly I might not have even noticed if it was happening before that. I haven't gone back and checked all the music I have imported for the last few months to make sure.

The files that are creating this issue are mp3 files, all contained in various folders that represent various albums. I have checked and re-checked all of my settings and preferences. I am indeed using the latest Mac OS 10.15.5.

My music library is enormous. If you hit play and let it just run it would take approximately 88 days (24/7) to run its course. I have no need to sync my library between numerous devices but it is hugely important that the files I import actually get where they are supposed to go, not just the metadata.

Needless to say this is irritating.

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Music isn't importing all songs

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