Trying to import music from ipod to itunes

See turingtest2's user tip on Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for information on various 3rd party tools that can be used to recover content from iDevices to iTunes. You can also achieve a partial recovery (media only, possibly without artwork), as follows:

• Run iTunes with your iPod not connected, select Edit > Preferences > Devices and check the Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically box
• Connect your iPod, select the Summary tab and check the Enable disk use box
• Exit iTunes
• You should now be able to see your iPod as a disc drive in Windows Explorer. Make sure that you've configured Windows to show hidden files and folders (Organize > Folder Search and Options, View tab).
• Open the iPod_Control folder on your iPod, and copy the Music folder that you'll see there to your desktop
• Still using Windows Explorer, right click on the Music folder just copied to your desktop and make sure that both the Read-only and Hidden flags are cleared.
• Run iTunes, select File > Add Folder to Library..., navigate to and select the Music folder on your desktop
• The previous content of your iPod should now be added to your library. Any songs/albums for which you'd previously used the Get Album Artwork function will no longer have associated images, but these should be easily redone.

This should be regarded as an "emergency" procedure only. There's no excuse for not maintaining an up to date backup of your iTunes library (as with any data that you value) - computers, and in particular hard drives, always fail ... you just don't know when it's going to happen. See another of tt2's user tips - Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy - for a suitable/recommended method. Although cloud-based backups are the way things are headed, its probably still simpler to use an external hard drive - this may not be as high-tech as using the cloud but is more robust, at least as far as not having dependence on an internet connection.

I'm surprised ... that method normally works within its inherent limitations, in that you can't copy media selectively, may lose artwork, and doesn't transfer any details of playlists, counts, ratings, etc. On the occasions I've made use of this technique - normally as a quick "Band-Aid" solution when I don't have immediate access to my main system & backups. or helping out family members / friends / co-workers - it has been reliable.

I can't give any guarantees that the tools referenced in turingtest2's user tip are all 100% "safe", but this list has been around for a while, and builds on well--regarded sources, so I don't believe any would be of high risk. Of course, your should always have effective anti-virus / anti-malware installed, running and up to date before visiting any website or downloading anything from the 'net.

"something happens to the iPods and the customers are basically screwed and we can't do anything about it"

As far as iPods themselves are concerned newly-bought ones have a warranty and you can extend this by subscribing to Apple Care. However, iPods are essentially disposable, even though many have remarkably long life spans - I still regularly use my 2nd gen (2006) and 3rd gen (2007) nanos, far beyond the expected life of any portable device. You must recognize, though, that an iPod is not and never will be a reliable data storage device - they are small, easily lost, easily broken, a common target for thieves, and built down to a price. I don't see how it is Apple's problem if you don't create and maintain a backup of your data, any more than it would be valid to blame Microsoft if your hard drive fails and, having not predicted and remediated this risk, you lose your sole copy of your MS Office documents.

I can't help with finding a third party site for your current problem, but I would suggest signing up to something like https://www.backblaze.com/ so if anything like that happens again, you have your data is backed up in a completely different place. It's pretty darn cheap, so I would recommend using backblaze. And it offers you peace of mind.

... and, as they say "other cloud providers are available" 😐.

There are three issues, though, that limit the utility of a cloud service as the sole backup of your iTunes library.

• Volume - most low-cost cloud services offer relatively small amounts of storage, which is OK for a small iTunes library but won't be effective for a larger one. ITunes libraries of 1TB or more are common - you can probably buy a 2TB USB hard drive for less than the monthly costs of 2TB of cloud storage.
• Bandwidth - how long is it going to take to make the initial backup? Many people using domestic internet connections have a practical upload limit of around 10Mbps or less. At that speed its going to take up to two weeks, tying up your connection 24/7, just to make the first backup. There are commercial disaster recovery services that avoid this by using physical media for the initial backup, and the cloud for incremental updates, but I'm not aware of any affordable "consumer" services that do the same thing. The same issue applies if you need to do a complete restore after a system failure - why wait weeks to get your library back when you can do the same thing in a few hours using a cheap HDD?
• Accessibility - if your only backup is in the cloud, what happens when your internet connection is down, or the provider goes out of business, or you forget to pay your monthly bill?

It may seem low-tech, but a $100 USB drive is still the better option.