Restore very old iTunes Playlists?

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Restore very old iTunes Playlists?

I am trying to find some old iTunes playlists of mine from 2007. I have the original .itl backups from that time, but the new Music app does not recognize those files. (I have tried closing Music, then holding Option while I open it again and it prompts me to choose a new library, but it gives the error "does not appear to be a valid library.")

I am currently running Big Sur.

I still have all of the music, but I want the original playlist listings. I am happy to pore through code if I have to, but I don't know how to view the contents of the .itl file. It opens nonsense in TextEdit, for example.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 19, 2021 7:54 AM

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Answer 1

SnickZ.

Community Specialist

Oct 20, 2021 9:34 AM in response to juliefromrochester

Hey juliefromrochester,

It appears that you're trying to recover an old playlist you created in 2007. The problem is, your Mac is currently on macOS Big Sur and the Music app doesn't recognize the iTunes file holding your playlist information. We're glad to glad to provide assistance.

The *.itl extension is a specialized database file for iTunes specifically. If you have a friend or family member that's still using iTunes on their Windows PC or Mac (on Mojave or earlier), you could create a new user account and import all of the files associated with iTunes which also includes the *.itl file.

How to make a playlist in the Apple Music app - Apple Support -- Otherwise, you'll need to do your best to create the playlist again by memory.

All the best.

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Restore very old iTunes Playlists?

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