How to back up data on iTunes or Music library

There are several ways to back up your iTunes library; It is important to back up regularly so that you don't have to worry about data being lost or corrupted.

Make sure your entire library is downloaded

If you use iCloud Music Library or the iTunes Store, your music might be stored in the cloud. But to really make sure purchased content is backed up, you'll want to download another copy to your Mac. Here's how to do it:

1. Open Music (or iTunes on versions from Mojave and earlier) on the Mac.

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 1

2. Open the Artist , Albums or Songs section you want to download.

3. Click the … button to bring up the menu.

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4. Click Download to download the items.

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And if you want to start downloading automatically everything you add to your Apple Music library. Here's how:

1. Open Music (or iTunes on macOS Mojave dropdown) on your Mac.

2. Click Music in the menu bar.

3. Click Preferences (or press Command on your keyboard).

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4. Go to the General tab .

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 5 Select General

5. Click on Automatic Downloads to pop up.

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 6 Check the Automatic Downloads box

When turned on, any songs you add to your library will automatically download to your Mac's hardware.

How to backup iTunes via Time Machine or other backup services

If you have turned on Apple's Time Machine backup system, other cloud service, or system-based backup, your iTunes library will automatically load. This way, if you need to restore, you can go back to Time Machine's History (or a previous backup from CrashPlan or Carbon Copy Cloner) to get it back.

How to manually backup iTunes library

If you don't use the extended backup service for Mac, or want to back it up manually, here's how.

Library consolidation

To make sure all iTunes files are in the same place when backing up manually, you should merge your iTunes library first.

1. Make sure you've downloaded all the music onto your Mac.

2. Open Music (or iTunes from macOS Mojave down).

3. Click File in the upper-left corner of the Mac screen.

4. Hover over the Library section to see the menu.

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 7 Select Library

5. Select Organize Library .

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 8 Select Organize Library

6. Check the box Consolidate Files when the Organize Library window appears.

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 9 Check the box Consolidate

7. Click OK .

The steps above will create copies of all files in the iTunes media folder, without moving the originals anywhere.

Copy iTunes library to a backup source

1. If you are using an external hard drive, connect to the Mac via a USB drive.

2. Click Finder .

3. Select the Mac hard drive .

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 10 Select external hard drive

4. Click Music in the sidebar.

5. Select the Music (or iTunes ) folder and drag it to your external hard drive or copy it to an online backup service.

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 11 Select Music

6. Click Authenticate , if needed, open the permissions for copying iTunes folders.

7. Enter the device password.

8. Click OK .

How to back up data on iTunes or Music library Picture 12 Enter your device password and press OK

The copying process begins. This may take a while (quite a while), depending on your iTunes library data.

Kareem Winters

Update 21 August 2020