How can I delete all the "unlinked" songs from my Music library?

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How can I delete all the "unlinked" songs from my Music library?

Am using Apple Music 1.4.2.83 on my Mac Sonoma

Had an incident where somehow music was lost. When I imported the music file, it added music but did not delete the unfound link.

I have tried to tell Music to create a new folder for my library (figuring it would be empty) then I could import my old folder. But that didn't work.

Sure there must be a way to delete unlinked files? If I could sort by unlinked files, this would be easy, but I don't see a way to do that.

Also, I did find some links about how to create smart playlists that in the end would work, but I want to be able to clear these listing from my "song" section.

Is there a way? Cause this is ridiculous.

I'd even take a solution that make a brand new instance of Music, with no folder. Then I could import from my old folder.

Please help,

Thanks.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.2

Posted on Dec 20, 2023 7:59 PM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 21, 2023 10:53 AM in response to SergioQ

I realize this is a little bit late, but for anyone else with the same issue this has the advantage that it preserves your ratings, playlists, play counts, date added, etc.

Lost & Found Playlists

Create a playlist called Found, select everything in the Songs view (cmd+A) and drag it into the Found playlist. Create a smart playlist called Lost with the rule Playlist is not Found. Your lost tracks will be in this playlist. You can select from this list and delete from the library, or alternatively attempt to repair broken links if you still have the original files saved somewhere.

tt2

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Answer 2

SergioQ Author

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12 points

Dec 21, 2023 10:05 AM in response to SergioQ

So here's what I did, not sure it's the proper way, but it worked for me.

I copied my music folder to a new location
From music, I deleted all songs
Imported all my songs from the copy, and now the unlinked songs no longer appear

Kludgy? Yes.

My issue resolved quickly? You bet!

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Answer 3

SergioQ Author

Level 1

12 points

Dec 21, 2023 11:12 AM in response to turingtest2

I did find a video on YouTube that suggested this route. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJO_-w8uFa0

While it worked, it worked on only about 95% of the unlinked files. Maybe I didn't follow the directions properly as I am using the latest version of Music and the video was older.

At the same time, this is a functionality issue with the app itself. Certain things should be easy to do. i.e. sort all titles by "unlinked"

but I don't want to go beyond the scope of this post.

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

278,149 points

Dec 21, 2023 11:55 AM in response to SergioQ

The method in that video should potentially work if there are no loved (and lost) tracks to start with. The lost and found lists work in a similar way, in that you can only drag an item to a regular playlist if iTunes or Music can find it. After that it is about an efficient way of gathering up the lost items so they can be selected and deleted.

tt2

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How can I delete all the "unlinked" songs from my Music library?

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