iTunes music file location

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iTunes music file location

So all of my music is stored locally on my computer. When I would click on my info for any song, the location was listed as my Mac. But today I noticed the download symbol next to all of my songs and when I click on the my info for any song, it now says the location is the cloud even though all of my music is still stored locally on my computer. I did not change the location and don’t know how it changed to the cloud. How do I change it back so that when iTunes on my Mac is playing my music, it uses the files stored locally and not from the cloud?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Aug 10, 2021 9:04 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,155 points

Aug 11, 2021 7:30 AM in response to Jasom777

When the songs are on your computer but now iTunes states that they are in the cloud that is a pretty sure sign that the library has been corrupted. What is your most recent file in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder? Are there any hidden .tmp files in the iTunes folder? Is the iTunes folder backed up by Time Machine? Do you have a subscription to either Apple Music or iTunes Match?

You can potentially import the locally stored media into the library but you may lose information you previously had such as ratings, date added, playlists, etc. A surgical restore of your database is best if it can be done.

tt2

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,155 points

Aug 12, 2021 3:48 AM in response to Jasom777

Given. you have Apple Music you should see your playlists. You can use File > Add To Library and import the local media folder. The local and cloud content should merge together eliminating duplicates. Once finished close iTunes and make a backup copy of the iTunes Library.itl file. Copy it into the Previous iTunes Libraries folder and date it in a similar way to the files that are already there. You'd then have a slightly faster way to recover if this happens again.

tt2

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

278,155 points

Aug 11, 2021 3:17 AM in response to Jasom777

See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash - Apple Community.

tt2

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Answer 4

Jasom777 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2021 6:18 AM in response to turingtest2

Thank you for the response. However I am not very computer savvy so I don’t quite understand most of what you posted. I did not upgrade my computer and I don’t believe it crashed so I don’t understand why the file location changed. What would happen if I were to take the file on my computer that has all of my music and copy it into iTunes? Would that fix my problem? Thanks

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Answer 5

Jasom777 Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 11, 2021 4:55 PM in response to turingtest2

Under previous libraries the most recent date is 11/03/18. But under album artwork there is an iTunes library.itl dated 11/15/19. There is a greyed out file under previous iTunes labeled temp file.tmp. Is that what you mean by hidden? The folder is not backed up by time machine. I do have a subscription to Apple Music. And I don’t care about ratings , date added but I do care about my playlists.

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iTunes music file location

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