Move some iTunes music files to a different folder

Personally, I would advise against moving the files because doing so would cause iTunes to lose track of where the files are. As a consequence of that, each song would become unplayable (and you would not be able to copy them to portable devices) until you restore the link to the correct file.

When you need eventually to move your iTunes Library to another computer, you only need to copy the entire iTunes Media folder to the new computer for everything to work. Since the iTunes Media folder contains both the sub-folders that you mention, as well as the iTunes .itl file, which tells iTunes where to find the files, there is no real need to move files into the parent folder. After all, iTunes is managing the files, so that you don't have to. And if you replace iTunes, the files will still all be in the iTunes Media folder or its sub-folder. (Some of use have experienced iTunes using a completely different file path which means I have files in multiple locations, not all of which are on the same drive - which is especially annoying.)

If you ever need to know where the files for a particular song (or album) are located, you can right-click the song and choose Show in Windows Explorer, which opens the folder and shows everything else in it. Alternatively, select the song and click on iTunes' top bar menu Edit / Song Info> File > location. This only tells you where the files is, it does not open the folder.

You may see an answer from another long term user that suggests that you do move them, in which case, he will give you instructions on how to do it. I'll leave you to decide which option to use. You will easily recognise the user I mention, he's a level 10 and has a huge number of points against his name.

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If you decide to move the files, my method is to simply use Windows Explorer to drag them to the new location. Remember though, that you need to re-establish the connection between the iTunes entry and the file itself.

The default layout for music content is in the <Media Folder>\Music subfolder so that each media type gets its own subfolder within the media folder. If you really want artist folders up at the <Media Folder> level locate a hidden file caller .iTunes Preferences.plist in your media folder and edit the integer value from 1 to 0, save the changed file, relaunch iTunes, then under Edit > Preferences > Advanced turn Keep organized off and then back on again to reorganize the media folder to your chosen layout.

tt2