Why doesn't Music see all of the music in my iTunes Media/Music folder?

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Why doesn't Music see all of the music in my iTunes Media/Music folder?

I have a ton of music in the iTunes Media/Music folder on my computer. When I'm in the Music app, I can search for a lot of it, but there's a ton of music that's missing. If I use my MacBook's search tool to look for a particular song or artist, it will locate it in Finder. When I click on it in Finder, it will open in Music and then Music will see it and identify it when I search within the app, but only after I first search for it in a Finder window. This is a pain to do this for each and every song that Music refuses to see. How do I fix this?

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Mar 2, 2023 11:46 AM

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Answer 1

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Phil0124

Community+ 2024

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206,177 points

Mar 2, 2023 1:21 PM in response to NaiveBae

As I said, it does not automatically scan the folder for new Music.

There should be an "Automatically add to Music" folder which is scanned automatically and music added from there directly if that's what you want to do.

Yes, dragging its into the Music App or using the import feature, will also import the music into the Library database as you have seen.

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Answer 2

Mar 2, 2023 11:55 AM in response to NaiveBae

How did this music get into the Music folder?

Unless it was directly imported into the Music App, it will not see it just because it's added to the folder. The Music app does not scan the folder for new music. It must be imported into the Music App so it adds it to the music library data base file and knows where it is.

click here ➜ Import music from a computer to Music on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

NaiveBae Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 2, 2023 12:43 PM in response to Phil0124

I dropped them in there from an external drive. When I go to Preferences --> Files --> music media folder location, the location indicated there is the folder that I dropped all the music into. Expected behavior was for Music to then recognize all the music in that folder without requiring any further steps.

I solved the problem just by selecting everything in the folder in Finder and physically dragging it into my Music library. That step just feels superfluous and counterintuitive though.

Thanks for your response!

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Answer 4

Apr 5, 2023 8:50 AM in response to Phil0124

I have the same issue, however I do the import and it doesn't add to Music. Also won't play if I select the song.

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Why doesn't Music see all of the music in my iTunes Media/Music folder?

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