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User profile for user: cpfromthe413
cpfromthe413 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Music help!

I have so many cd's that I used to have synced in my iTunes library (and thus on my iPhone) but somewhere along the way it was all stripped from my library. Anyway, what is the best way to make sure that I can keep all of that music once I re-import it to my library on my mac? I guess I'm not sure if I need Apple Music or iTunes Match (or neither) to do this.


Unrelated, if I have an Apple Music subscription, and download songs to my phone, will they disappear if/when my subscription ends?


Thank you for your help.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 29, 2020 6:11 PM

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User profile for user: ed2345
ed2345
User level: Level 9
62,858 points

Posted on Jun 30, 2020 4:09 AM

cpfromthe413 wrote:

Sorry if this is super dumb, but to keep a separate physical backup, would I go to Library--> Export Library-->(and then select the hard drive I want to save to)?

Thank you so much for your time and help.

CP, The Export will only give you a listing of the library, not the actual library. For some methods to back up the library, see this guide: Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC - Apple Support Note sections for PC and Mac.

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User profile for user: ed2345
ed2345
User level: Level 9
62,858 points

Jun 30, 2020 4:09 AM in response to cpfromthe413

cpfromthe413 wrote:

Sorry if this is super dumb, but to keep a separate physical backup, would I go to Library--> Export Library-->(and then select the hard drive I want to save to)?

Thank you so much for your time and help.

CP, The Export will only give you a listing of the library, not the actual library. For some methods to back up the library, see this guide: Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC - Apple Support Note sections for PC and Mac.

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User profile for user: ed2345
ed2345
User level: Level 9
62,858 points

Jun 29, 2020 6:59 PM in response to cpfromthe413

what is the best way to make sure that I can keep all of that music once I re-import it to my library on my mac?

Keep a backup on separate physical and/or non-Apple cloud media.


To your second question, yes. The Apple Music songs that you download for offline listening will become unplayable if the subscription ends. If you want "permanent" copies, buy the songs as downloads, and -- I forget if I mentioned this before -- keep them backed up.

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Music help!

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