Trying to import iTunes Library to Apple Music on new computer

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Level 1

4 points

Trying to import iTunes Library to Apple Music on new computer

I have my iTunes library backed up on an external 1TB drive. I have long used a 2009 MacBook Pro running El Capitan 10.11.3. I recently purchased a new MacBook Air, running Sonoma 14.5, and am trying to get Apple Music to recognize the iTunes library. I have tried starting Music with Option held down, “Choose Library,” and then selecting the .itl file that is my iTunes library on the external drive. (I would prefer to run it from that drive rather than moving all the files to the new computer’s hard drive, since it takes a significant amount of space.) I then receive the error reading, “‘iTunes Library.itl’ does not appear to be a valid library. Please choose a different library.” I have tried re-copying the .itl file from my current iTunes library on the old computer to the external drive, but it still brings up the same error message. How can I use my old iTunes library on the new Macbook?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.5

Posted on Sep 11, 2024 6:16 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 11, 2024 7:36 PM in response to BlueFlute05

I also wanted to import the contents of an old iTunes Library to an external drive.

Rough outline:

Got a large external drive, and created folders on it in which to store my Music library.
Copied my iTunes Library to another folder on that drive.
Held down the Option key while launching Music, and created a new Music Library file on the external drive. I don't know that you need to put the Library file itself on the external drive, but I did.
Went into Music > Settings… (Files tab), and changed the Music Media folder location to a place on that drive (leaving [X] Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to library checked).

In Music, I did a File > Import…, pointing it at a directory near the top of the copied iTunes Library. (I don't recall having any success with selecting .itl files and the like.).

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

Import music from a computer to Music on Mac - Apple Support

Import songs from CDs into Music on Mac - Apple Support

There were problems:

There was a fair amount of artwork missing. I asked Music to get artwork and that brought back some of it.
Upon inspection, it was evident that the imported library was missing a lot of music. It looked like any particular album was copied completely, or not at all. Since I still had the iTunes Library, I did imports of individual albums, or small groups of albums, to pull in the stuff that was missing. (Doing a methodical comparison to find out what had to be imported was "fun"; but the small imports, themselves, proceeded without problems.)

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

274,228 points

Sep 12, 2024 7:59 AM in response to BlueFlute05

See Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community for general advice. Based on a number of threads here is seems Music on Monterey fails to convert iTunes libraries as intended, and Music may fail to convert any iTunes library generated prior to Mojave. Feel free to email your library to me and I will convert it to a Sonoma compatible library for you. Email in profile.

tt2

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