Moving iTunes files from Sierra to Big Sur

Hi,


I have a new iMac and I am restoring my iTunes library from a backup that was made on Sierra, May 2017. I gather that the folder structure for iTunes is different now. The iTunes folder is saved on my Big Sur iMac, containing the subfolders Album Artwork, iTunes Media, iTunes Music and the file iTunes Library.itl. Where should I save these items on Big Sur please? They're currently sitting in ~/Music/iTunes, just waiting to be rehomed. :)

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 24, 2021 6:04 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 24, 2021 7:30 AM

The default location for the Music library is ~/Music/Music. If this folder already exists you may want to delete or rename it before attempting to import your iTunes library. You can press and hold down option as you launch Music to get an option to choose or create a library. If you select an ITL file you are then prompted for a location to save the converted library. Use ~/Music/Music for the standard location. Once the library has been converted Music will be using the old iTunes path of ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media. You can reset the media folder to ~/Music/Music/Media and consolidate the library if you have space to temporarily double up on the space used, or if not you could try relying on macOS' generally ability to keep track of files moved around on the same volume and move and rename the iTunes Media folder from ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media to ~/Music/Music/Media, then update the path to media folder under Media > Preferences > Files.


You should follow similar steps to import the video content from your iTunes library into the TV app. If you have any audiobooks, books, or podcasts these can be imported directly into their respective apps. Books and Podcasts both make use of hidden library folders so once any content has been added to those it would be referencing the files in the old iTunes Media folder.


tt2

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 24, 2021 7:30 AM in response to pariate

The default location for the Music library is ~/Music/Music. If this folder already exists you may want to delete or rename it before attempting to import your iTunes library. You can press and hold down option as you launch Music to get an option to choose or create a library. If you select an ITL file you are then prompted for a location to save the converted library. Use ~/Music/Music for the standard location. Once the library has been converted Music will be using the old iTunes path of ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media. You can reset the media folder to ~/Music/Music/Media and consolidate the library if you have space to temporarily double up on the space used, or if not you could try relying on macOS' generally ability to keep track of files moved around on the same volume and move and rename the iTunes Media folder from ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media to ~/Music/Music/Media, then update the path to media folder under Media > Preferences > Files.


You should follow similar steps to import the video content from your iTunes library into the TV app. If you have any audiobooks, books, or podcasts these can be imported directly into their respective apps. Books and Podcasts both make use of hidden library folders so once any content has been added to those it would be referencing the files in the old iTunes Media folder.


tt2

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Moving iTunes files from Sierra to Big Sur

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