Organize Music Library

Question

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Organize Music Library

I am trying to understand how music works in iTunes, etc.

My iPhone 11 displays my entire music library, including playlists.
My iMac running High Sierra shows the library in iTunes, but not the playlists.
My MacBook Pro running Catalina doesn't show anything in Music.

Where do I start to get all of this synced?

On the iPhone, everything must be in the cloud somewhere, but I don't know how to find it?
On the iMac, the library is located on an external drive, referenced accordingly in iTunes preferences. I don't know how to connect the playlists, or even where it might be.
On the MacBook Pro, I'm guessing I need to 'share' somehow, but don't see how to do that.

Any help is appreciated.

Posted on Aug 6, 2020 6:55 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 8:08 AM in response to jgwalter

The Edit function might have been useful if playlists were hidden somehow, but I see you have the default lists and nothing else. In some cases it may be possible to export playlists from a connected device as XML files, then import these into iTunes. Success somewhat depends on whether or not you're using the same library (or a descendent) of the one original used to copy media to the device, which is perhaps unlikely. I have a Windows script that can match up the two sets of data and rebuild the lists, but no idea how I might implement that in AppleScript. You could try option-starting iTunes to access the files in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder to see if one of them has the lost playlists. If so you can export as XML then return to your current library and import.

tt2

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 1:16 PM in response to jgwalter

That would suggest you've tried to enable the option Sync Library under Music > Preferences > General, which is only a valid action if you have an active subscription to Apple Music or iTunes Match. See Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using your computer - Apple Support for how to set up syncing. Note that syncing is library to device, so you probably don't want to do that yet.

tt2

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 7:08 AM in response to jgwalter

Depending on the version of iTunes it may be that playlists are merely hidden in iTunes. Check your view options to make sure that the sidebar is displayed. However to the right of the word Library in the sidebar to see if you can edit the components of it.

Assuming you find the playlists see Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community for advice on copying the library over. Conversion from iTunes to Music is one way.

tt2

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 12:35 PM in response to jgwalter

For Catalina see What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support. Syncing duties have been moved into Finder. I suspect the ability to export playlists from the device has been lost along with other useful features of iTunes.

tt2

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 8:39 AM in response to jgwalter

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - Apple Community.

tt2

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Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 1:28 PM in response to jgwalter

If you have an Apple ID you have iCloud. Are you paying for the monthly Apple Music service or the annual iTunes Match service? Come to think of it temporarily paying for Apple Music is a potential way to get your playlists and ripped media from your device into iTunes or Music, although is a risk that not every match is perfect. E.g. explicit versions of tracks on your device could be delivered to iTunes as clean copies.

tt2

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Answer 7

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 12:33 PM in response to jgwalter

For iOS 12 or later you need iTunes 12.8.0.150 or better running on OS X 10.11.4 or better. See How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan - Apple Support if required. iOS 13 likely requires iTunes 12.8.2.3 or better.

Assuming a suitable version of iTunes is in place then in Finder use the menu item Go > Go to Folder..., copy the following text, paste it into the dialog box and press enter:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileDevice.framework/Versions/Current/Resources

Unlock your device and connect it to USB. Double click on MobileDeviceUpdater in the folder that has opened. It should notify you of a software update. Install it and iTunes should hopefully recognize your device.

tt2

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Answer 8

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Aug 6, 2020 1:25 PM in response to jgwalter

The patch to iTunes isn't an OS update. Your High Sierra system would stay on High Sierra but iTunes would be able to talk to your iPhone. You can also try reinstalling iTunes as a possible workaround to this connection issue, but I think, when that works, it just prompts for the same update that the earlier steps I gave you should trigger when you connect your device.

tt2

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Answer 9

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 6, 2020 7:33 AM in response to turingtest2

Thanks for the quick reply.

Let's start with the iMac.

It is running iTunes version 12.8.2.3 OS is 10.13.6 I am unable to upgrade the OS until I address a non-compatible device (scanner)

I am able to edit the Library in the sidebar as you suggested. However, I am not sure why I would need to do that? I've attached a screenshot.

For this computer, I need to know how to include the playlists that I have created, which are viewable in my iPhone 11?

The music library is houses on an external drive, which is correctly referenced in the iTunes preferences.

There is an iTunes Library.itl file in the /music/iTunes folder in my user folder. I don't know if it contains anything, but there are three previous libraries in another folder as well, the newest from 12-2018. I haven't created or edited any playlists since then.

I'm not going to be upset if the best approach is to simply recreate the playlists, but I'd kind of like to know how to reconnect the existing playlists (which appear on my phone) if possible.

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Answer 10

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 6, 2020 8:30 AM in response to turingtest2

Thank you.

None of the three 'old' libraries contain any playlists, and appear to be similar to the latest, which contains only a fraction of the songs that are on my iPhone. Also, the old libraries reference a different location than the current.

And, the current library does not display in iTunes all of the music that it is referencing in the preference location. None of the 'Miles Davis' recordings appear in iTunes, but do appear on my iPhone.

I'm beginning to think that I need to learn how to import the music and the playlists which appear to be correct residing on my phone.

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Answer 11

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 6, 2020 12:12 PM in response to turingtest2

I appreciate your patience, but I am even more confused now than before.

From further investigation of my three devices, it appears that none of the music apps (iTunes or Music) contain music that I recorded from CD's etc., only music that was purchased from Apple.

I can only locate the playlists on my iPhone 11, those playlists do not contain references to recorded music.

I don't understand from the provided link, what it means to connect a 'device'? In the case of iTunes (on my High Sierra iMac), if that means actually physically connecting my iPhone to it, then that is impossible since the iPhone 11 will not connect to the High Sierra without an update, and I cannot update at the moment.

On the Catalina MacBook Pro, there is no reference at all to 'Devices' in the Music app. That app contains no library at all, and I don't understand how to get my library into it? Plugging my iPhone into it did not seem to work at all.

Near term, I am really only interested in getting the library working on the laptop, so I think this is where I need to concentrate my efforts, but I still don't see how to do that, let alone how to get the recorded CD's, which are present in the finder on the iMac, but not in iTunes (although I was able to import an album as a test), into that library along with downloaded music.

Very, very confusing.

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Answer 12

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 6, 2020 12:49 PM in response to turingtest2

As I mentioned earlier, this does not work. I have the suitable iTunes in place, but I cannot connect the iPhone 11 because I get this error. As much as I'd like to, I cannot update the OS at the moment because of an incompatability issue with a connected device (scanner).

So for the time being, I need to forget about syncing the iMac, and concentrate on syncing the laptop. But, I have not been able to get Music to recognize my iPhone.

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Answer 13

jgwalter Author

Level 1

9 points

Aug 6, 2020 1:16 PM in response to turingtest2

Again.... I cannot update the OS at the moment. If I do, my scanner will not work. I need to address this, probably by moving it to another older iMac that I have and don’t use much. Until then, I need to concentrate on getting my Catalina laptop to sync music.

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