User profile for user: Mitochondrion
Mitochondrion Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

How to properly migrate from iTunes music library to Music library on a new Mac?

On my old Mac running macOS Sonoma 14.7.1 (23H222), I have a Music library which was upgraded from iTunes library years ago.


I want to transfer it to my new Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 (24B2091). I copied the Music and iTunes folder to the new Mac Music folder and launched Music app using (⌥) option key and selected the Music Library.musiclibrary file.


I noticed that my media are stored in iTunes folder rather than Music folder:


~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Mobile Applications
~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music
~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Tones
~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Voice Memos


I am kind of pedantic about these things. I believe these folders should be in:


~/Music/Music/Media


Initially what I did was copied the iTunes folders into Music media folder, I found that not all album artworks was loaded. I don't know if it is because of copying the media folders into a new location or maybe it takes time to populate the library and I was impatient.


I also tried to (consolidate) organise the library by File > Library > Organise Library... and ticked Consolidate files.


I also tried updating the Music Media folder location to:


/Macintosh HD/Users/XXX/Music/Music/Media


If I didn't do that and continue as it were on my previous Mac, everything works as expected. Should I let go of my pedantry and continue as it is on my previous Mac or fix it by re-organising the folders structure?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 27, 2024 8:56 AM

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
278,351 points

Posted on Nov 27, 2024 9:33 AM

With iTunes the artwork cache was stored in the same location and could be migrated easily. With Music it is stored in a different location, and there is no guarantee that copying it over will work, but you can certainly try. The artwork cache should be stored at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.AMPArtworkAgent/Data/Documents where ~ is your user's home folder. You can also try deleting the cache that you do have which will force it to be rebuilt, which may sometimes be neccessary.


See Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for, hopefully, all the tips you need on moving parts of your old iTunes library into the proper layout for Music.


Note that consolidate only works for content that Music is able to successfully locate. It will create a copy inside the media folder of anything it can reach that is outside of the media folder. The originals don't get deleted, leaving a housekeeping task. It may be better, if you can, to move things around within the same volume once Music has connected to them. Just be careful not to overwrite any folders which could cause files to be lost.


tt2

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
278,351 points

Nov 27, 2024 9:33 AM in response to Mitochondrion

With iTunes the artwork cache was stored in the same location and could be migrated easily. With Music it is stored in a different location, and there is no guarantee that copying it over will work, but you can certainly try. The artwork cache should be stored at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.AMPArtworkAgent/Data/Documents where ~ is your user's home folder. You can also try deleting the cache that you do have which will force it to be rebuilt, which may sometimes be neccessary.


See Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for, hopefully, all the tips you need on moving parts of your old iTunes library into the proper layout for Music.


Note that consolidate only works for content that Music is able to successfully locate. It will create a copy inside the media folder of anything it can reach that is outside of the media folder. The originals don't get deleted, leaving a housekeeping task. It may be better, if you can, to move things around within the same volume once Music has connected to them. Just be careful not to overwrite any folders which could cause files to be lost.


tt2

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User profile for user: Mitochondrion
Mitochondrion Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Nov 27, 2024 11:58 AM in response to turingtest2

I think I fixed it. It was much simpler.


  1. Copy the iTunes and Music folder from the old Mac to the new Mac.
  2. Option (⌥) click Music.app on the new Mac and select the Music Library.musiclibrary file.
  3. Quit the Music.app.
  4. Move Mobile Applications, Music, Tones and Voice Memos folder from iTunes/iTunes Media folder to Music/Media folder.
  5. Open Settings window and click on Files tab and click on the Reset button.
  6. Then I think there is an alert dialogue asking if you would like to copy or move, something like that. Click cancel.


And that's it. All album artworks load perfectly and play count and favourites, playlists etc. are preserved.

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How to properly migrate from iTunes music library to Music library on a new Mac?

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