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Can I have MacBook Pro local playlist and have my files located on external drive?

I have a dilemma I'm not sure how to fix. I have too many music files to have them on my local MacBook Pro. So they are on an external drive. But I need some playlist for a DJ opportunity I've been asked to provide. How can I have both a home with enough room for my music but also create playlist that will play after I disconnect and go mobile? thanks

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Jun 13, 2023 1:31 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 18, 2023 1:38 PM

Eferrigan2 wrote:

When you refer to iTunes do you mean Apple Music? I no longer have an iTunes app in the latest version of Apple OS.


No, I was referring to iTunes. Your post is in the "iTunes for Mac" forum and your signature line did not identify the version of macOS you are running, so I assumed you were running iTunes on a pre-Catalina OS.


It looks like the way things work with the Music app is not as good as the way they worked with iTunes. While you can change where Music stores new songs, "Songs you’ve already imported stay in their current location" and Apple discourages you from moving ~/Music/ (or its subfolders) as a way of moving your existing files.

Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support



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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 18, 2023 1:38 PM in response to Eferrigan2

Eferrigan2 wrote:

When you refer to iTunes do you mean Apple Music? I no longer have an iTunes app in the latest version of Apple OS.


No, I was referring to iTunes. Your post is in the "iTunes for Mac" forum and your signature line did not identify the version of macOS you are running, so I assumed you were running iTunes on a pre-Catalina OS.


It looks like the way things work with the Music app is not as good as the way they worked with iTunes. While you can change where Music stores new songs, "Songs you’ve already imported stay in their current location" and Apple discourages you from moving ~/Music/ (or its subfolders) as a way of moving your existing files.

Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support



Jun 17, 2023 8:17 PM in response to Eferrigan2

Hold down the Option key while launching iTunes, and you'll get a dialog that lets you create, and move between, iTunes Libraries. Apple doesn't provide an easy way of working with two iTunes Libraries at once. You may need to do something along the lines of:

  • Creating a "DJ" folder on your Desktop
  • Dragging and dropping songs and albums from your main iTunes Library to the "DJ" folder
  • Switching to the "DJ" iTunes Library
  • Importing the songs from the "DJ" folder


Jun 18, 2023 1:15 PM in response to Servant of Cats

When you refer to iTunes do you mean Apple Music? I no longer have an iTunes app in the latest version of Apple OS.


The way I ended up solving the issue was to create a new redirect folder back to my local machine drive. Then I had to completely disconnect my MacBook Pro from the external hard drive. Even though I had redirected to a new local filing system the OS did not recognize that until I completely disconnected the external drive. Wasted 8 hours sorting this. Should be simpler. Lesson learned. Disconnect and test before I manually download 5000 songs.

Can I have MacBook Pro local playlist and have my files located on external drive?

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