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How do I add mixtapes and other albums that don't exist on my iTunes library to my iPhone?

So I have a very frustrating problem on my hands. I have been an avid iTunes user for the past 5-6 years. With the recent update to an Apple music focused iTunes (8.0) I have come across several problems that are making my iTunes experience less than pleasant. The largest of these problems is the inability to add music that comes from online (mostly mixtapes of the like of the most recent Chance the Rapper/ Lil B Freestyles and mixes from my favorite dj collective and label Soulection), to my iPhone. I have tried creating new playlists and syncing from there and I get a message saying that I can only have playlists that allow for iTunes match. I have tried the right click/ add to device path and that does not work either. I have even tried removing the playlists and starting from scratch to no avail. I can not add things like mixtapes that are not on iTunes match to my iPhone. This is incredibly frustrating because in my field of Djing and reviewing I need to be able to listen to all of the mixtapes that I have downloaded and as of now with the new Apple Music update iTunes is not letting me add these mixes and albums to my phone. Any help with this would be much appreciated.

Here's hoping Apple changes their policy because at this rate they are going to force Djs by the hundreds off of iTunes because of its current inability to interact with mixtapes and other music downloaded from the internet.

iPhone 6, iOS 8.4.1

Posted on Aug 26, 2015 5:46 PM

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5 replies

Aug 26, 2015 8:08 PM in response to Ajcrumb

Explain what a mixtape is. Presumably a mixture of tracks, but are they all strung together in a single audio file and that is why they are not being matched? If that is the case then you are in a relatively small special category and I bet Apple is content to lose a couple of hundred DJs compared to gaining a couple of million Apple Music subscribers. Matching is done slightly differently for Apple Music and Match but I believe there is still a duration limit to sound files that are not matched but which are instead uploaded to iCloud. This is what happens with tracks from albums Apple does not have.


You could, of course, disable Apple Music and iCloud and return to simple syncing with iTunes as you used to do.

Aug 27, 2015 12:02 AM in response to Limnos

When I say mixtape I am merely referring to an album released by an artist under their own supervision separate from a distributer (and sometimes a label) and made available via online downloading (datpiff, megashare, utorrent bundles, bandcamp etc.). These mixtapes are not recognized by the iTunes match database because they do not exist inside of iTunes. This is where I believe my problem to be stemming from because prior to the Apple Music update and the forced use of iTunes match and (practically) Apple Music, I had no problems adding my mixtapes that I had acquired through the years to my iphone via playlists. I am trying to find a solution that will allow me to use the new iTunes like the older (better) iTunes while also allowing me to use the features of Apple Music that i enjoy (discovery, custom playlists, large database, offline downloads etc.).

How do I add mixtapes and other albums that don't exist on my iTunes library to my iPhone?

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