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transfer playlists to new computer

How can I transfer my playlists from my old PC to my new Mac. I have successfully transfered my music library but not the playlists.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011)

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 12:54 PM

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20 replies

Jun 27, 2017 12:54 AM in response to b noir

Thank you for a simple and easy explanation, finally. Have been looking everywhere. Haven't tried yet, but getting a new computer next week and am very nervous about getting my iTunes across because I have 140GB of music and a lot of playlists. Do you know if this works for ratings too? (And I assume it works for Smart Playlists like My Top Rated?)

Apr 20, 2012 3:30 PM in response to camhoward

Okay ... I've done this successfully PC-to-PC (just tested the procedure), so I'll give you instructions for that. Fingers crossed, they'll be enough of a guide for a PC-to-Mac move too.


First on the PC, find your "iTunes Music Library.xml" file. See the following document for instructions on where to find it (note that it's the .xml file you're looking for):


iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?


Transfer a copy of that file across to the Mac. (Via email or thumb drive, etc.)


Launch iTunes on the Mac and import the iTunes Music Library.xml file from the PC. To do that on iTunes for Windows, you go "File > Library > Import Playlist" as per the following screenshot:


User uploaded file


Browse to the location of the iTunes Music Library.xml file from the other PC, select it and then open it. (Fingers crossed, the import procedure should be pretty similar on the Mac.)

Feb 17, 2013 6:39 AM in response to camhoward

Just did this from my old (c. 2004) iMac to my new one, very easy and worked perfectly. In old computer / library, go to File > Library > Export Library. This creates a text file of your playlists, small enough to easily email to yourself or drop into Dropbox, onto a thumb drive, etc. Go to your new computer and put the Library txt file onto your local desktop. Then in new computer's iTunes, go to File > Library > Import Playlist. A minute or so later you've got all of your old playlists. Hope this helps.

Mar 5, 2013 11:22 AM in response to b noir

I transferred the entire itunes file from a PC to an external drive and then transferred onto my MAC. Included in the itunes file was the iTunes Music Library xml file, but when I opened it I was taken to Microsoft Messenger, so I still have not been able to transfer my playlists. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

transfer playlists to new computer

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