Any iTunes experts out there?

[Olorin]

So, I got a new computer yesterday and have been busy installing my various programs and files. I was most worried about iTunes, because my library is so huge...over 2600 albums...that if the transfer didn't happen right, it'd be unthinkable to have to start over from scratch. So, I got all my music files copied over just fine, and got iTunes itself installed...but it simply refuses to load my library. I think what happened is that unfortunately I installed and ran iTunes first, and logged into my account. Now it will only recognize the 2 dozen or so songs I actually bought from iTunes over the years. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling iTunes, re-transferring my music library, all to no avail.

Any suggestions?

[John Vehadija]

Not sure I can help, I noticed iTunes getting worse over the years and only function correctly with purchased music

There are a few alternatives to iTunes but you might just have to add the folders in instead of loading the library file

Also try to google if someone had a similar issue as you

[Chris2210]

Are you talking ‘Music’ (as it’s now called) rather than iTunes? I’m a long time user and this software is the biggest pile of shit Apple has ever produced. That’s mainly because it’s designed for Apple’s benefit rather than its users. The newer version of the software is annoying in continuously prompting the user to take out a paid account to the subscription service.

Having said all that have you tried updating (signing in/out) to your iCloud account? You also need to make sure your current device is ‘authorised’ (there’s a limited number of devices - five I think), so you may need to delete older ones.

If all the obvious things fail, it’s a call to Apple support. Those things are never painless, but they usually get to the bottom of issues eventually.

[pianozach]

that's a shame about iTunes.

I'm running an older version, and won't be upgrading for several reasons, even though it means I cannot load any music to my iPhone SE, as the older version of iTunes and the newer OS on the iPhone won't "talk" to each other.

So the only music on my phone is music I've bought from Apple, which is an odd assortment of random stuff.

[Close to the Edge 72]

It's bad enough I still use Itunes but also my Ipod Classic for tunes at the pool or beach. If you have that much aggravation call Itunes/Apple support. They will likely help you but you have to be very patient, like when you call Comcast/Xfinity or SiriusXM lol.

[True]

If you are using a desktop/PC - I think if you quit out of the iTunes application - and then re-start the application while holding the shift key, an option will come up allowing you to select an existing library or create a new library.

If you are unable to locate the library you had previously been using, you can create a new library and add all of your folders into the new library.

It's been awhile since I have done this, I hope that is still the method.

I also still have a desktop iTunes application and I use it to load music onto my phone. I've just been doing it that way for a long time and it's the best way I know to load unofficial releases of live material, for example, or music I have created and recorded myself.

On the iPhone itself, I think you have to disable the "Apple Music" features within your settings - otherwise the device may offload any of your custom music, such as the '78 Wembley show and the like! I would frequently have issues such as, for example, ordering an actual CD (they still make those) from another country, loading the files into my desktop iTunes library and then onto my phone - and then a few days later that new album would not play and I'd get an error message saying "song not available in your region" . This was corrected by disabling the Apple Music feature.

I have been meaning to look into alternative programs for music file management. I'd also welcome any advice , if someone here is using an alternative program.

[Olorin]

To set the mood for this tale of victory, play this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ2YB4TQ_J4

Now then, I want to thank everyone who posted and gave tips and moral support, but above all I want to thank Chris2210 because it was your suggestion to log out of iCloud that unlocked the puzzle. You rock! That was what the problem was, apparently. Even though I was signing out of iTunes, I was still signed into iCloud and of course it's all connected. Once I did that and made sure my library file was in the right place, success!

I've heard frequently over the years that iTunes is a somewhat poor music system but I guess I am locked into it. My induction into the Empire of Apple happened as it no doubt did for many people, by getting an iPod (back in 2010, when those were still a thing). In the days of my youth, I had a Walkman and later a Discman, and later when those were passe, I wanted a media player with a lot of capacity. The iPod was the 800-lb gorilla, so it's what I went with. Later on, I got an iPhone, and an Apple TV. Though I truly loathe the misappropriation and misuse of the term "ecosystem," once you're in one, it's a very comfortable place to be. My immense media library lives on my computer (Dude, I've got a Dell! Even I can't afford a Mac, LOL). My Apple TV accesses the computer and my home theater system pumps the music throughout the house. The music also lives on my iPhone (a terabyte of storage really outclasses the old 90-minute cassette tapes) and so it goes with me wherever I go, and all my music is at my fingertips (or voice command) as I cruise down the highway (sometimes listening to Bryan Ferry crooning about cruising down the highway).

All that said, Apple doesn't make it easy, necessarily. iTunes was never meant to be a full-featured music editing program so if you want to do edits or whatever, it's somewhere between hard and impossible. There is also a definite tendency to drive everyone toward purchases instead of ripping your own music. And they've all but abandoned the Windows platform, after using music to hook us. You can still download iTunes and iCloud from Apple, but they actually push you toward the Microsoft store first. And strictly on the MacOS/iOS side of things, they don't even call it iTunes any more. It's Apple Music...which blurs the lines with their music service. Also, even though everything is also on my phone, you can't just restore from the phone. I guess that would make piracy too easy.

I finally ended up downloading it directly from Apple because by getting an actual install file and executing it, I was able to control where the program installed. My new computer has a half-terabyte solid state drive where the operating system and some of the other software lives, and any program that installs automatically without allowing user intervention automatically goes there. So early on in the process of setting up my new computer, that drive was full, and my 2-terabyte spinning hard drive was sitting empty. But now I was able to force iTunes onto that drive. Since that's where the music resides also, I figure there is less potential for the program to get confused about where to look for its media files.

So anyway, once I got iTunes to load the library file and all my stuff appeared...elation! I thought, ok I've got to check it and make sure it works...what to play? Things are in alphabetical order by artist, putting Herb Alpert near the top where I spotted him. 1980 has a very triumphant sound (though it was a sucky year) so I played it and lurched around my library doing end-zone antics. I was so afraid that I was going to be stuck with reimporting everything, which wouldn't be that hard, but then I would have to go one-by-one to reattach album art (the download option is very hit-and-miss), plus I would have had to recreate all my playlists from scratch. And I have a lot of those, and some of them are very long...24 hours for Van Morrison! (No, I couldn't stay awake that long or listen to the same artist that long, but my method is to create a master playlist of every song I like by an artist and then create shorter, more focused sub-playlists). It would have been a big, laborious, and joyless project, and one that should not have been necessary. And was not necessary, thanks to the help I received here. Count on fellow music lovers to help you out! 👍

[Ceasar’s Palace]

Glad it worked out! I couldn’t have been much help....

But I do use iTunes. Like some of you, I’m kind of stuck with it, because I’m used to it and it still sort of works.

[Chris2210]

Great, glad to hear you sorted it without too much pain.

Talking of being locked into an ecosystem I’m a designer and I’ve been using Macs since 1989, so I don’t have much choice. I do think for the most part they’re quite intuitive (Music is a big exception).

Apple’s stated ambition with its consumer focussed apps is to make the interface all but invisible. But if you want to do anything complex digging into the file structure is awful. They do also want to push their subscription model hard - they’re a very profit-centred company.

The new M1 Macs (the first gen at least) do look like pretty good value - the new Apple silicon easily outperforms most alternatives at the same price point. But they are necessarily even less upgradable than previous models and I’m sure there’s still a hefty profit margin there.

I’ve never been a mindless cheerleader though. I got that wrong when there was the big build up to the original iPod - I thought ‘what? It’s just an MP3 player’. It was of course THE MP3 player. They did the same with the iPad - there had been tablets aplenty before. Apple fanboys told me ‘it’s a niche product - just a giant iPod Touch’. But I could see it was all the computer lots of people would need with an operating system as simple as a smartphone.

It’s always been love/hate for me. I can’t stand the sort of people who insist Apple can do no wrong, but on the other hand those that insist only gullible fools with more money than sense buy Apple also strike me as tending toward zealotry of the religious kind. You don’t sell THAT much product just by smoke and mirrors.

I am however glad there’s a lot of competition. I dread to think what their pricing strategy would be like if they had a genuine monopoly…

[luvyesmusic]

I've downloaded one song ( and possibly a free down load of an album that came with a c.d.. I am a dinosaur.

[Esthe]

I've downloaded one song ( and possibly a free down load of an album that came with a c.d.. I am a dinosaur.

Be happy you figured out the maze that is the internet in the first place.

[Chris2210]

I've downloaded one song ( and possibly a free down load of an album that came with a c.d.. I am a dinosaur.

I always told myself I always wanted a physical copy of any music I bought. I got a subscription to Amazon music plus a few months back (£8pm). I held out for a few years before buying a mobile phone too (about 20 years ago). Surprising how some things become such a normal part of your existence…

[luvyesmusic]

Be happy you figured out the maze that is the internet in the first place.

Come on now, me and Al Gore invented the Internet. ;-)

[Old Frothingslosh]

Do you still have your old computer? If so hook back up and see if you can move/copy the iTunes library from the hard drive and then install on new computer. It worked for me a few years ago due to me not making backup in cloud prior. Good Luck!

[Esthe]

Come on now, me and Al Gore invented the Internet. ;-)

No. You’re lying. You are lying to me. YOU LIE!