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User profile for user: Ntonal
Ntonal Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

Convert iTunes Library to .itl?

I've been struggling for some time to figure out a way to get Apple Music to read my old iTunes Library, having recently gone from a 2014 MacBook Pro using Mojave to an M2.


My iTunes lives on an external SSD hard drive. I want Apple Music to read local copies (by 'local' I mean downloaded to the external drive, not 'streamed') that already exist in that iTunes folder. All the music I purchase in iTunes goes there, and I want to keep using this as my primary music library tool, as I use third party DJ software that requires local files instead of streaming.


I followed the very helpful steps by turingtest2 (and others) to try to locate the .itl in my iTunes library. Unfortunately, it is only available in my Previous iTunes Library? I would like to know why, and if there's some way to create a .itl for my current iTunes library so that I can point Apple Music to it and have that has my main music library under the Ventura OS?


Thanks in advance for your assistance.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jun 9, 2023 12:37 PM

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
274,198 points

Posted on Jun 20, 2023 1:52 AM

Hi there,


See Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for some general background. The .itl file with the most recent modified date (or perhaps a file called simply iTunes Library) will be your active library. You can add the .itl file extension by hand if needed. The file may be in the Previous iTunes Library folder if you've use a file in there to regain access to your library following some sort of issue. Once you've located the best file to use you can press and hold down option as you launch Music to open the .itl file and convert to the .musiclibrary format. The linked user tip will give you advice on how to arrange the parts for best results, i.e. place the converted library at <External>/Music and then at some point move/consolidate the media into <External>/Music/Media.


tt2

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
274,198 points

Jun 20, 2023 1:52 AM in response to Ntonal

Hi there,


See Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for some general background. The .itl file with the most recent modified date (or perhaps a file called simply iTunes Library) will be your active library. You can add the .itl file extension by hand if needed. The file may be in the Previous iTunes Library folder if you've use a file in there to regain access to your library following some sort of issue. Once you've located the best file to use you can press and hold down option as you launch Music to open the .itl file and convert to the .musiclibrary format. The linked user tip will give you advice on how to arrange the parts for best results, i.e. place the converted library at <External>/Music and then at some point move/consolidate the media into <External>/Music/Media.


tt2

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User profile for user: Ntonal
Ntonal Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

Jun 20, 2023 9:01 AM in response to turingtest2

@Turingtest2,

You're right on the money...

Prior to reading your response, I contacted a Mac geek friend of mine and he pointed out that my iTunes Library file was missing the .itl extension (for whatever reason?). Adding it back and opening Music by pointing to it solved everything.


I'm very grateful for you taking the time to assist me here.

Thank you,


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Convert iTunes Library to .itl?

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