After 18 years, Apple is finally getting ready to break up iTunes into individual, dedicated apps. While it's hard to imagine iTunes being no more, nixing the app makes a lot of sense with the addition of the dedicated apps for podcasts and video content like TV shows and movies — not to mention the rise in popularity of music streaming on Apple Music. With iTunes going away the question remains, where does all your music, movies, and TV shows go?
There are a few ways to transfer your iTunes library from one computer to another: When you get a new Mac, use Setup Assistant (or Migration Assistant, if you’re switching from Windows) to move files—including your iTunes files—from your old computer to the new one. See the Apple Support article Back up and restore your iTunes Library. Oct 10, 2019 So, macOS Catalina is upon us and iTunes is gone! So the question is: how are you going to use its features, like backup to a computer, restore and so much more? Well, today I’ll teach you how! Aug 03, 2019 Loving the OS so far, and while I will miss iTunes, the new change will be interesting. I'm having trouble importing my iTunes library though. Apparently an upgrade from Mojave will automatically convert the library to an Apple Music suitable format, but what about importing after a clean install?
Apple's official upcoming changes to iTunes on Mac
Apple's support webpage was updated to include information on the upcoming changes to iTunes on Mac in macOS Catalina. While most of the information is the same as we had previously heard, there a great list of important changes that Apple published.
- Music that you've imported or purchased will be in the new Apple Music app.
- The iTunes Store will still be available to buy music on Mac, iOS, PC, and Apple TV.
- iPhone, iPad, and iPod backup, restore, and syncing will move to Finder.
- Movies and TV shows that you purchased or rented from iTunes will be in the new Apple TV app.
- Use the Apple TV app for Mac for future movie and TV purchases or rentals.
- Podcasts that you subscribed to or added to iTunes will now be in the new Apple Podcasts app.
- Audiobooks that you purchased from iTunes will now be in the updated Apple Books app.
- Use Apple Books for Mac for future audiobook purchases.
- iTunes Gift Cards and iTunes credits will be maintained and can be used with the new apps and the App Store.
Where's your iTunes library in macOS Catalina?
The good news is macOS Catalina should roll your entire iTunes library into the Music app. There you should be able to see any music you've purchased on iTunes, tracks you've ripped from CDs, MP3s you've imported into your library from outside sources, and any other files (like recordings) that you've had in your library. Nothing should be lost, just moved to a new centralized location in Music.
New Mac Os And Itunes Library Transfer Program
Same goes for your movies and TV shows, but in the TV app. You have a Library section in the TV app on Mac in Catalina that stores all of your purchased movies, ripped DVDs and Blue Ray discs, and movies you downloaded by other means. If it was in iTunes, it's now in the Library section of your TV app.
Syncing your iPhone or iPad to macOS Catalina
In prior versions of macOS, when you'd connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, iTunes would launch and you could check for updates, sync your information with your Mac, manage your data, and create backups. Instead of doing all this in iTunes, macOS Catalina instead moves this to Finder.
In Finder you'll see your iPhone or iPad pop up in the sidebar when you connect it to your Mac, and when you click on it, you'll see an interface very similar to the one that was in iTunes before. Here you can sync your iPhone or iPad, create backups, manage your data, and all of the other things you used to do through iTunes.
What happens to iTunes on Windows?
iTunes was so popular and big that many people did and still do use it with Windows, so it begs the question how iTunes shutting down in macOS would affect those users using the software on other platforms. According to Ars Technica, they asked Apple at WWDC and there's wasn't a ton of information.
'Apple says users of iTunes under Microsoft Windows will not see any changes. It won't be broken up into several apps; it will work just like it does now. However, Apple did not provide any clarification about what support will be like for future features.'
It appears for right now, iTunes in Windows will remain unaffected, but there's no clear indication of how long iTunes will continue to be supported on other platforms, now that Apple has decided to kill off the program for its own operating system.
Sad about iTunes leaving?
Are you sad about iTunes leaving? Let us know in the comments down below!
Updated September 2019: Updated for release of macOS Catalina.
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Here are some things to know
Your iTunes library, a database that's made up of all of the music and other media that you add to iTunes for Windows, is organized into two iTunes library files and an iTunes Media folder.
Transfering Itunes Library To Windows 10
Before you back up your media:
- Consolidate your iTunes library.
- Redownload any previous purchases, like music, movies, TV shows, and more. The only way to back up your purchased media is to download your purchases to your computer.
iTunes and Store availability and features might vary by country or region. Learn what's available in your country or region.
If you have a Mac
In macOS Catalina, your previous iTunes media library is now available in the Apple Music app, Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts app, and Apple Books app. And when you back up your Mac, your media library is automatically included in that backup.
Consolidate your iTunes library
- Open iTunes.
- From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen or at the top of the iTunes window, choose File > Library > Organize Library.
- Select Consolidate files.
- Click OK.
When you consolidate, copies of any files that were outside of your iTunes Media folder are added to your iTunes Media folder. To save space on your hard drive, you might want to delete the original files after you make sure that the copies are in your iTunes Media Folder.
Find the iTunes Media folder
By default, your iTunes Media folder is in your iTunes folder. To find it, go to User > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media.
If you don't see your iTunes Media folder in the above location, here's how to find it:
- Open iTunes.
- From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, choose Edit > Preferences.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Look in the box under 'iTunes Media folder location' for the location of your iTunes Media folder.
Back up your library and media files
After you consolidate your media files, you can back up your library and media files to an external drive.
- Quit iTunes.
- Find your iTunes folder.
- Right-click on your iTunes folder, then choose Copy.
- Go to your external hard drive, then right-click and choose Paste.
New Mac Os And Itunes Library Transfer 2017
Restore your library from a backup
Itunes To Pc Transfer Free
You can restore your iTunes library from your external drive to your computer. If you're restoring an iTunes Library from a different computer, make sure that your new computer has the latest version of iTunes.
- Quit iTunes.
- Go to 'This Computer,' then click your external drive.
- Select your iTunes folder, then right-click and choose Copy.
- Go to the location on your computer where you want your iTunes library, then right-click and choose Paste.
- Hold down the Shift key while opening iTunes.
- When you see a message that asks you to Choose iTunes Library, click Choose Library.
- Choose the location where you copied your iTunes folder.
- Click Open.
- Choose the iTunes Library.itl file inside.