By Malcolm Owen
Monday, March 05, 2018, 10:51 am PT (01:51 pm ET)
Users looking for ways to reduce the amount of things they store on their Mac usually steer clear of doing anything to iTunes and their precious music collection. Even at a time when there are many popular streaming services available to use, deleting these files is not viewed as an option, making iTunes itself an obstacle for salvaging a Mac's drive.
Moving iTunes to an external drive is one compromise, one which still keeps the music available, but off the primary storage drive completely. Though daunting to users, possibly due to the sentimentality associated with music collection, moving an iTunes Library is a relatively simple procedure that is also quite safe to perform.
How to prepare for macOS Catalina by organizing your iTunes library. By William Gallagher Tuesday, June 04, 2019, 10:46 am PT (01:46 pm ET) You've got years upon years of music, film and TV. Jul 06, 2012 Unless you take deliberate steps to keep iTunes neat and organized, chances are your music library is a mess. Even if there are only a few things here. We are to see together how to reorganize iTunes library so as to assign the correct title to all the songs imported in the program (or almost) and organize the library in a single folder divided by album. All in a few clicks and without making the slightest effort.
Mar 23, 2013 Organize Your iTunes Music Library With TuneUp Deals. Is your iTunes Library teeming with duplicate tracks? Leaner and meaner iTunes Library. But this latest Cult of Mac. Hassle free Music organizer app for Mac OS, solution for tagging audio tracks effortlessly: Yate, the Music organizer for Mac OS, offers you the easiest way to create a metadata database, quickly importing information and even artwork from online sources. Rinse is a free piece of software for Mac OS X and Windows to help automate the organisation of your iTunes library. It removes duplicates, repairs misspelled songs, artists and albums details, adds missing album art work, and fills in the blank data. Mac computer with an Intel processor. To play 720p HD video, an iTunes LP, or iTunes Extras, a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor is required. To play 1080p HD video, a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or faster processor and 2GB of RAM is required.
Before the move
Transferring gigabytes of files between drives can take a considerable amount of time, with that length depending on a number of different variables.
First, make sure to select an external drive with a fast transfer speed, typically one that connects over USB 3.0, USB-C, or Thunderbolt. Using an older technology, such as USB 2.0, can severely prolong the amount of time it takes, purely from its slower transfer rates.
Once you have your selected drive installed, make sure it has enough storage capacity to hold your library, and for future expansion. Right click the desktop icon for the external drive and select Get Info, and make sure the Available listing has enough to cover the library's size.
The size of the iTunes library also dictates the length of the transfer, so it may be worth doing a little pruning beforehand. For example, check your podcasts to see if there are old and listened-to episodes that can be safely deleted.

If you are running iTunes 12.7 or later, there may be an archive of apps that are no longer usable within iTunes, that you may wish to remove. If you do, this AppleInsider guide will tell you how.
While it may be tempting to reuse an external drive already used for Time Machine backups, it is recommended to use a different drive completely. Backups are meant to be separately stored from the data it is duplicating, and keeping some of that data on the same drive as a backup effectively defeats the object of the exercise.
Now would also be a good time to make an up-to-date backup of your Mac before transferring any files.
Moving the library
We first need to collect together all of the content iTunes manages into one folder before making the move. Open iTunes, click File in the Menu Bar, then Library, then Organize Library.
Make sure the Consolidate Files checkbox is ticked, then select OK. Wait for iTunes to complete its consolidation before continuing.
Check the path for the folder within iTunes by going to Preferences within the iTunes Menu bar and selecting Advanced in the new window. The iTunes Media folder location section at the top details where the file collection is located.
Close iTunes, then bring up a Finder window and navigate to the iTunes folder.
If the external drive you wish to move it to is already empty, click and drag the iTunes folder from the Finder window directly onto the icon for the external drive. Alternatively, copy the iTunes folder, navigate to the place in the external drive you want to use to store iTunes in a separate Finder window, then paste.
At this point, the iTunes folder will be copied over to the external storage.
Depending on the bandwidth of the connection, the size of the iTunes folder, and if the Mac or the drive are being accessed by other tasks, this could take a long time to complete. For extremely large collections, or if the Mac needs to be used during the day, it is recommended to wait for a period of time when the Mac is left alone, as it can take multiple hours to move to its new home.
Once the transfer has completed, iTunes needs to be told where to find the files.
Hold the Option key and open iTunes. This will bring up a Choose iTunes Library window with three options. Select Choose Library on the far right.
In the next window, navigate to the external drive and enter the iTunes folder. Find and select the iTunes Library file, and click Open.
At this point, iTunes will open up from the new location, and will be accessing files from the external storage instead of the Mac's storage. If you are unsure, you can check the path again by going to Preferences in the iTunes Menu Bar, selecting Advanced, and reading the iTunes Media folder location.
If you wish, you can close iTunes and disconnect the external drive. To reuse that iTunes library, you will need to reconnect the drive to the Mac before opening iTunes again, else it will offer a 'Library cannot be found' error.
Saving space


To fully reclaim the storage after this, either enter the Trash and select Empty, or right-click the Trash and select Empty Trash. If you have the Trash to automatically delete files after 30 days, doing this will free up the storage occupied by the iTunes folder in the Trash far earlier.
Jul 19,2019 • Filed to: Manage Music • Proven solutions
What are the best music organizer programs? does anyone have some good suggestions?
If you have the above puzzle, then you have come to the right place! You can use the Best Music Organizer to clean and sort your massive music library, which would be a time-consuming and an exhausting process if you do it manually. This article discusses and compares some best music organizers for Android, Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
Part 1. Best Music Organizer for iTunes - iMusic
One of the best ways to organize music for Apple devices is to use iMusic . The best music organizer for iTunes has received the highest star ratings from the end users among its many competitors. The latest version of the software is 8.0.0 and has many revolutionary advancements as compared to the older versions. Although it is a paid application, the quality of services provided by the program is worth the required price. iMusic is regularly upgraded by the developers that makes it one of the best music organizing software. Even though the software is available for Windows platform as well, it works best with Apple devices, i.e. for Mac OS X and iOS.
iMusic - The Best Music Organizer Software to Manage Your iTunes Library
- Contain the best music organizer to organize iTune Library ,fix music cover ,remove the duplicates files.
- Record music in original quality and automatically split the ads.
- Discover and download music from more than 300,000 sites.
- Transfer music between any two devices directly without iTunes.
- Fix music library intelligently with correct ID3 tags.
- Burn music to cds in one click.
- Remove music DRM protection and convert downloaded M4P music files to MP3 format.
iMusic enables you to perform many tasks that can efficiently organize your music library,and also it's the best music organizer for Android, some of which cannot be achieved even by using iTunes. The application is handy and lets you transfer the data among your Apple devices by completely bypassing iTunes in the process.
Advantages:
- The in-built intuitive feature of the software automatically fixes the album art, album information and tag information.
- The music organizing software enables you to convert music and video files into Apple supported formats or Android support formats.
- Using this application, you can delete duplicate files from your library easily and efficiently.
- With this music organizer's in-built player, you can directly play the music in iTunes library or connected devices, and the lyrics could be shown as well.
- You can dicover many popular music from iMusic embedded music website and search music via iMusic YouTube search function quickly.
- Download music from YouTube, Spotify and record music from any online streaming sites or radio stations.
- You can connect and transfer the data among multiple Apple devices and Android devices at the same time which reduces the cumbersome task of loading the data to your computer first. This greatly streamlines the data transfer process.
- With this music organizing , you can share music and videos between iCloud (purchased with a different Apple ID) and iTunes library.
- All the features of the best music organizing software can be easily accessed through the clean and visually enhanced interface.
- The 24/7 support provided by the Aimersoft’s technical team can assist you via live chat in case you have any issues while using the software.
Guide to Use the Best Music Organizer to Manage Your iTunes Library
As a one of the best music library organizer , iMusic could help to fix the missing tags and covers, remove the duplicate songs and fine the missing songs. The following guide will show you how to manage your iTunes library.
Step 1: Run iMusic
After download iMusic from the above box, run this software to it's 'Toolbox' interface. Then click 'CLEAR UP ITunes Library'
Step 2: Click 'Scan' button
The program will navigate you to scan interface, click the 'Scan ' button to come into the next process.
Step 3: Click 'fix' button
Following that , come to click the 'fix' button, then you will finish the whole process to manage iTunes library.
Note: You could solely fix one of the four items ( missing tags, missing covers, duplicate tracks and missing tracks) for all the music. For exapmple, solely find and eliminate duplicated tracks or songs. Besides , you could choose the manual method to fix itunes library one by one for certain songs . To Get more details for Fix iTunes library, you could click here to get more .
Part 2. Other 6 Best Music Organizer for Windows and Mac OS X
The best way to organize music is to find and use some tools. A tabulated comparison table between the 6 best music library organizers is given below to make it simpler for you to select the one which is best suited to your needs. A detailed description for each of the said organizers is given after the table. Find a best music organizing software for you here:
Feature Name | Tuneup Media | Foobar2000 | MusicBee | MediaMonkey | Rinse My Music | MusicBrainz Piccard |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Supported Operating System(s) | Windows, Mac, and iOS | Windows | Windows | Mac OS X, and Windows | Mac OS X | Mac OS X, Windows, Linux |
Price | Free trial version for Windows. Paid version for Apple costs $31.99 | It is a freeware | It is an unrestricted freeware | Free trial version available. Can be upgraded to ‘gold’ version for $20 | Can be purchased for $39.99. | It is a freeware |
Star Ratings (out of 5 stars) | 5 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 4 stars | 5 stars |
Distinguished Features | •Allows you to organize your music library. • ‘DeDuper’ feature lets you delete the duplicate files. • ‘Tuniverse’ is a smart feature of the application | •Comes with a simple and clean interface. • Gapless playback feature enables you to play audio files without interruption. | •Allows you to import audio files from iTunes and Windows Media Player. • Comes with a streamlined and easy-to-use interface. | •Has a completely customizable interface. • Intuitive feature automatically fixes the missing metadata information. | Automatically adds missing album art in your library. • Allows you to delete the duplicate files and perform a ‘test deletion’ to ensure the correct files would be deleted. | • Easy to use and clean interface makes it convenient for beginners. • Automatically fixes and sorts your music library. • Supports a wide range of file formats. |
Tuneup Media - one of best music library organizers
Supported Operating System: Windows and Mac
About:
Itunes Library Download
TuneUp Media is a simple plug-in and a must-have companion application when it comes to cleaning and organizing your music library. Being enriched with unique smart features that make the application one of the best music organizers, the program gains the highest star rating among its various competitors. The revolutionary software is changing the entire process of managing, organizing and discovering the digital music collection.
Advantages:
- The smart feature of the application called ‘Tuniverse’ offers unique music discovery options like local, personalized concert alerts, and finding new music releases as per your genre proclivity.
- The ‘DeDuper’ feature of the software enables you to effectively remove duplicate files by using advanced acoustic fingerprinting technology.
- The application automatically identifies and fixes your media files quickly and efficiently.
- Since it is not a standalone software but a plug-in, it enhances the functionality of pre-installed iTunes and Windows Media Player.
Disadvantages:
- The free trial version enables you to fix only up to 50 tracks.
- The advanced features, at times, become complicated to use for the beginners.
Foobar2000 - Another one of best music library organizers
Supported Operating System: Windows
About:
Foobar2000 is an unrestricted freeware that works as a standalone software for your device. Regular updates for the application are provided by the developer. The latest version comes with generic performance optimizations that enable you to organize a vast number of audio files in your library efficiently.
Advantages:
- In contrast to other music organizers that come with a complicated interface, Foobar2000 has the minimalistic and simplest interface with better functionality.
- The software has a built-in music player that supports almost all audio file formats.
- The gapless playback feature that Foobar has allows you to play your audio files without any delay/interruption.
- This is one of the fastest and most versatile music organizers that can handle a large number of audio files with ease.
- The application comes with a completely customizable interface.
- Foobar2000 also has a plug-in system on par with Firefox.
Disadvantages:
- The application has a steep learning curve and requires moderate to advanced computing skills that makes it difficult to use for beginners.
- There is no Help Forum for the software so you are on your own when it comes to understanding a particular feature.
- There is no built-in video player and therefore you can play and organize the audio files only in your library.
MusicBee - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Windows
About:
MusicBee is an efficient tool to organize, search and play music files on your desktop computers or laptop PCs. In contrast to the other competitors, MusicBee is a freeware that includes all the basic and advanced features of an efficient music organizer. Using this application, you can organize your music library easily. The software uses BASS Audio Library.
Advantages:
- MusicBee is an unrestricted freeware that runs as a standalone app on your device.
- The application comes with a plain and intuitive interface that streamlines the process of organizing your music library.
- MusicBee automatically finds and fixes the missing metadata of your media files by searching the information from online databases.
- The advanced music player comes with a gapless playback feature that enables you to play audio files without interruption.
- You can import media files from your iTunes library and Windows Media Player using MusicBee.
- The software allows you to conveniently organize your audio files into folders based on tag values such as album, name, genre, etc.
Disadvantages:
- The application does not have a built-in video player.
- MusicBee gets downloaded as a .ZIP file which, at times, creates issues during installation.
- Multiple number of settings become cumbersome at the beginning.
Itunes Music Organizer Software
MediaMonkey - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X and Windows
About:
If you want to use a standalone software to organize and manage your massive music library, MediaMonkey is one of the best music organizers to do the needful. The application is a fully integrated music player, organizer, and encoder that enables you to play audio files of almost all popular audio file formats. The developers regularly upgrade the software for its proper functionality and sophistication. The latest version is 4.1.11 and has more than 40 upgraded features including better synchronization with Android devices.
Advantages:
- You can easily manage thousands of music and video files without bogging down your computer.
- The intuitive feature of the application automatically fixes and tags the metadata of the audio files.
- The software allows you to create and manage customized playlists.
- The customizable interface makes it attractive and easy to use.
- Most of the streaming radios are supported by the application.
Disadvantages:
- The browser window of the software provides limited options.
- MediaMonkey does not provide podcasts.
Rinse My Music - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X (version 10.5 or later)
About:
Rinse My Music is a third-party software and an Adobe Air application that promises to organize and restore your massive iTunes library efficiently. This is an automated cleanup tool that solves your iTunes organizational issues quickly and effectively. The latest version of Rinse My Music comes with an optional iTunes toolbar that allows you to launch and access the application from within the iTunes itself. Although it is a paid application, it is worth the asking price of $39.99 (at the time of this writing) if you have a huge collection of music in your iTunes library.
Advantages:
- Rinse My Music automatically adds high resolution album arts to your audio files making your library all more attractive and visually pleasant.
- The software allows you to create customized playlists from your iTunes library according to the genre of your audio files.
- This is a smart program that does not rely on the information provided by your media files for organization of your library. Instead, it comes with a large database from which it compares your songs to its own stored information.
- The application automatically fixes the missing tag information of your media files.
- Using Rinse My Music you can efficiently remove the duplicate files from your iTunes library. What makes it better that other music organizers is that you can perform a test deletion to be certain that the correct songs are removed at the time of final removal.
Disadvantages:
- Rinse My Music is a paid application. The free trial version allows you to organize only 50 audio files in your iTunes library.
- The Help forum of the software is not distinguished and elaborated which creates problems for those who run into any issues related to its functioning.
MusicBrainz Piccard - music organizing software
Supported Operating System: Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.
About:
MusicBrainz Piccard is an official MusicBrainz tagger and music organizer that is written in Python programming language. Although this is a cross-platform compatible application, it works best with the Mac OS X platform. The advanced features are introduced in the latest version with an intention to make it the next generation music organizer for MusicBrainz. What makes it better than its competitors is that the latest version focuses on album-oriented tagging as opposed to track-oriented tagging that was there in the earlier ‘Classic’ version. This approach allows you to sort the files in a particular album leaving behind the unwanted ones.
Advantages:
- The acoustic fingerprinting technology used by the software automatically fixes and replaces the missing tag information of your audio files.
- The clean and streamlined interface of the software enables even the less experienced users to maneuver the application efficiently and with ease.
- MusicBrainz Piccard supports a wide range of file formats and also allows you to install additional plugins.
- The application comes with a built-in search engine, thus enabling you to find a wide range of audio files easily.
Disadvantages:
- Some users have expressed their concerns over the security and privacy issues as the software scans and rummages through the entire hard drive automatically.
- The Help Forum of MusicBrainz is not beneficent.
Disclaimer: The best way to organize music is to find and use some tools. The described best music library organizers are considered the best ones based on average user ratings solely. There is no discretion and judgment provided by the author or the site whatsoever.