If I subscribe to Apple Music or iTunes Match, I can use iTunes to import the contents of a physical CD to my iTunes library, whence I can sync it to all my devices. Having downloaded the new Apple Music app on my windows computer, I cannot see how to import a CD. Do I have to keep iTunes on my computer solely for this purpose?
Windows, Windows 10
For anyone looking for a temporary workaround whilst Apple add this feature back in for Windows version of Apple Music - CDs can be imported as follows;
For anyone looking for a temporary workaround whilst Apple add this feature back in for Windows version of Apple Music - CDs can be imported as follows;
It took a while for me to figure this out, but even when Apple Music and Apple Devices are installed (which means that iTunes is crippled to only display audiobooks and podcasts), CDs can still be ripped in iTunes.
Open iTunes, put a CD in your CD drive, iTunes will prompt you to rip it (say yes) and wait until it's done. Once it's all done, go into "Recently Added" and you'll see everything you just ripped, but under "Audiobooks". Select everything and then drag-and-drop into Apple Music. That will then copy everything to the music folder in Apple Music (i.e. you old iTunes media folder). Then delete what you just ripped in the "Audiobook" folder.
It took a while for me to figure this out, but even when Apple Music and Apple Devices are installed (which means that iTunes is crippled to only display audiobooks and podcasts), CDs can still be ripped in iTunes.
Open iTunes, put a CD in your CD drive, iTunes will prompt you to rip it (say yes) and wait until it's done. Once it's all done, go into "Recently Added" and you'll see everything you just ripped, but under "Audiobooks". Select everything and then drag-and-drop into Apple Music. That will then copy everything to the music folder in Apple Music (i.e. you old iTunes media folder). Then delete what you just ripped in the "Audiobook" folder.
Very much extra work, but it does work. Apple needs to fix this so we can do it all in Apple Music.
I was stumped by this issue. And stuffed by my iPhone not taking all songs from an album I had ripped from a CD (that I bought from a record shop, yes, old school), as it would only import some of the album to the phone yet show me via Apple Music that the phone contained all of those songs.
So I uninstalled iTunes, and installed Music and Devices as instructed by Apple Support to my Windows computer. And with these installed we cannot import from CD to Music app.
As per Brocktoon623 reply above, I ripped the CD using Media Player on Windows (thanks Brocktoon623, great tip) and then drag and dropped the album to Music. Then I have to sync the phone using the Devices app, and finally the album is imported to my phone.
Come on Apple, it was so much easier with iTunes.
I "ripped" my music CD using the old iTunes app, which placed the files in the Podcasts bucket. I found the music files via Explorer in Win 11, created a folder that was named according to the name of the CD, and moved the music files to that folder. Next, I found the appropriate location in the C-drive Music-->iTunes-->iTunes Media-->Music folder for the new folder and moved it to that location. Finally, I used Apple Music app to add the new folder to the Apple Music app. Regrettably, the album artwork didn't follow. So I found the artwork JPG file using my Internet search engine, saved the file to an artwork folder in my Documents folder, and then used the Apple Music app to add the artwork to the album. This involved a right click on the place where the album artwork should appear and a left click on Properties. I selected "...edit information for multiple items..." and then selected the Artwork tab and added the JPG artwork file. The artwork immediately appeared with each individual song but took a little time to appear on the Apple Music album desktop. Although the iTunes situation has been quite trying for some time now, the new Apple Music and Apple TV apps show promise.
You can still install iTunes even though you are using Apple Music on Windows. And iTunes still has the ability to rip CD's. Yeah it's anoying to have to use 2 pieces of software. but it works.
I have exactly the same issue.
I contacted Apple support directly and asked them where the ‘import from CD’ function had gone and the person on the other end of the phone was just as annoyed. They said that it’s generally agreed that the version of Apple Music they rolled out this year for Windows is very bare bones and very half baked.
Customer support said that although he thought the function would be included in a future update - he suggested letting Apple know directly through one of their feedback forms and/or leaving a review for Apple Music on the App Store as apparently that’s the best way to make them take notice. That’s what I’ve done since and that’s what I’d advise other do.
I have exactly the same issue.
I contacted Apple support directly and asked them where the ‘import from CD’ function had gone and the person on the other end of the phone was just as annoyed. They said that it’s generally agreed that the version of Apple Music they rolled out this year for Windows is very bare bones and very half baked.
Customer support said that although he thought the function would be included in a future update - he suggested letting Apple know directly through one of their feedback forms and/or leaving a review for Apple Music on the App Store as apparently that’s the best way to make them take notice. That’s what I’ve done since and that’s what I’d advise other do.
Yes and no. In their infinite wisdom Apple have hobbled iTunes while Apple Music is installed. Remove the Apple Music for Windows Preview app and use iTunes as intended. The replacement really isn't ready yet.
tt2
I found a software package from NCH Software in Australia that can read CDs into a variety of file formats. Apple lossless is not among them, but FLAC is. I would expect that if you put a CD into your iCloud library and Apple already knows about the title, they will play it back in lossless format; but I would also expect that if you were to import it in FLAC form in the first place, it would be more likely to be lossless on playback.
I did successfully read a CD that I had purchased into .m4a format and imported it into my Apple Music library, and when I played it back, it showed up as being lossless. I did the same thing with another, much more obscure (i.e., self-published by my cousin) CD, and that one did not show up as lossless, so I am pretty sure that they're doing something like matching against the database of commercial CDs they know about.
Missread your initial post 😅 But yeah, sadly enough you have to keep iTunes ripping CD's for now. Also, Apple Music adn Apple Devices is crazy unstable...
My old answer:
Wierd... I'm ripping a CD right now, so yes, it should work. The only issue is that the files don't show up automatically in Apple Music as they are imported to the Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Audiobooks folder.
And yeah, I have iTunes and Apple Music installed. As well as Apple Devices. My iTunes have support for Podcasts, Audiobooks and importing CD's.
As someone who still believes in physical media and manages 1000s of songs in itunes from ripped CDs, this is a potentially big issue.
For years I've been using iTunes downloaded from apple.com (not the windows app) to manage my music and apple devices on various PCs. From reading the new Apple Music for Windows guide, it doesn't look like there is any ability to rip CDs into your music library like iTunes could. It also looks like when you install Apple Music/TV/Devices, you can no longer use iTunes for your music library.
Since Apple mentions iTunes is still needed to access podcasts and audio books, can iTunes still rip CDs once Apple Music is installed?
In theory if you're running Win 10 or 11, you should be able to rip a CD using the newer updated Windows Media Player (replaced Groove). Then use the new Apple Music app to import the ripped files into your music library, and then the Devices app to transfer to your Apple device. But I wouldn't recommend being the guinea pig.
For now I'm sticking with iTunes 12.13.1.3. But I'm concerned that we'll eventually be forced to use the Apple Devices app to stay current and manage our iphones and ipods which will then require the music/tv apps and shut out iTunes ... meaning no way to rip our physical media libraries.
If iTunes currently allows ripping and listening to CDs, how was it omitted from the Music app ??
Nope. Installing the Apple Music app automagically changes the behavior of iTunes so that the only thing it will let you do is listen to podcasts. You can't even use it to back up your device any more--you have to use the Apple Devices app for that purpose.
And removing the Apple Music app does not change the behavior of iTunes back to how it worked previously.
It isn't--even after uninstalling Apple Music, Apple Devices, and iTunes (noting that I never installed Apple TV), and then reinstalling iTunes, iTunes is still limited to podcasts.
However, it looks like I can rip a CD into .m4a files using third-party software and then import those files into my Apple Music library. I don't know for sure, because to test it, I need a CD that is not already part of my library.
Once I installed the Apple Music app on my computer, iTunes stopped letting me do anything but listen to audiobooks and podcasts. This is true even though I didn't uninstall or otherwise change iTunes.
On a Windows computer, can I use the new Apple Music app to add a CD to my library?
