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Notice in how many paragraphs above it says, "If you subscribe to Apple Music..." I have thousands of hours of CDs on my Mac, but the new Music app can't find them (unlike iTunes). I called Apple Support, but they said I needed a subscription to Apple Music or iTunes Match: both of them paid. So, the music that I bought on CDs, that is resident on my personal Mac, is now behind an Apple paywall?
That should work. By "downloaded" music do you mean from your discs as distinct from iTunes purchases downloaded to your Mac?
If you copy the whole iTunes folder over it should be readable by the Music app. The database for that library is in that folder. I don't think it will work if you copied over just the Music folder (with your CD music).
That should work. By "downloaded" music do you mean from your discs as distinct from iTunes purchases downloaded to your Mac?
If you copy the whole iTunes folder over it should be readable by the Music app. The database for that library is in that folder. I don't think it will work if you copied over just the Music folder (with your CD music).
If you want to access the Apple Music catalog of about 70 million songs, you need to subscribe. If you only want to play your local files, you do not need tp..
However if you want to do cloud syncing between multiple devices, then a subscription is required.
Is a subscription to Apple Music mandatory?
Certainly not.
Your question suggests that you have upgraded your Mac from an earlier system with iTunes to at least Catalina, in which iTunes has been retired and replaced by Music (and functionalities in other applications).
If the Music application on your Mac can't see your music library then it has lost track of where it resides and you need to tell it where your music library is located. You can do this by holding the Option key while you launch Music. This will display a box which will ask you to choose a music library, to create a new one or to quit Music.
Choose the first option then navigate to your music library. The usual place for this is Macintosh HD [or the name you give to your Mac's HD] > Users > [your user account name] > Music > Music > Music Library
David: thanks for your reply. You’re right, I just upgraded our desktop to Catalina, with no iTunes. I’ve tried what you suggested, but have the same results: I can see my purchased songs, but none of my downloaded music. In my User Name > Music > Music Library file it only lists the purchased songs.
I’ve searched the SSD for the song files from the CDs I’ve ripped, but can’t find them. I do have this collection on another computer: do you recommend copying it onto a drive and reloading them on my desktop?
An excellent outcome. Welcome to the forums. I've been a member for nearly 20 years and its the first place I turn to if I have a problem. I learn too by researching others problems to see what can be done. Keep coming back - it's a great place to learn.
I learnt this trick about iTunes some years ago from other users who had taken their music collection off their Mac and parked it on an external drive. The computer just has to be told where to look for it. This is true of any database, which is what iTunes/Music is after all.
David! I can’t thank you enough. Apple support told me I couldn’t do this. I really appreciate your help: we have our holiday music back just in time!
Is a subscription to Apple Music mandatory?
