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What does turning on library sync do to music files on your Mac?

I have an M1 MacBook Air with about 800gb of music files on it. Most of which are ripped from vinyl or CDs. I use these files to DJ with using Serato. I have an Apple Music subscription and use it to Stream music in my car and via my HomePod and phone. Ido not have library sync turned on. I would like to know if turning on Library sync will affect the music files on my Mac because I do not want it to cause problems with any playlists I make to DJ with as I'm sure Apple Music does not work with Serato. Can anyone help with this?

Posted on Dec 27, 2022 1:03 AM

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Posted on Dec 27, 2022 7:28 AM

See Use Sync Library to access your music library across your devices - Apple Support. In principle nothing at all should happen to the existing music on your computer, although the library may get the addition of any content or playlists that currently exist in your iCloud Music Library if you've made use of Apple Music on another computer, library, or device. Your local content should be examined and either matched to items in the iTunes Store, or uploaded where no match is found, but the local files remain where they are unless you actively choose to use the remove download option. Always best to backup your library before making major changes regardless of how things are supposed to work.


Alternatively you can create a separate library for Apple Music, enable Sync Library, and then selectively introduce copies of your own content that isn't readily available in the Apple Music catalog, leaving your original library completely untouched.


tt2

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 27, 2022 7:28 AM in response to Scott Ronan

See Use Sync Library to access your music library across your devices - Apple Support. In principle nothing at all should happen to the existing music on your computer, although the library may get the addition of any content or playlists that currently exist in your iCloud Music Library if you've made use of Apple Music on another computer, library, or device. Your local content should be examined and either matched to items in the iTunes Store, or uploaded where no match is found, but the local files remain where they are unless you actively choose to use the remove download option. Always best to backup your library before making major changes regardless of how things are supposed to work.


Alternatively you can create a separate library for Apple Music, enable Sync Library, and then selectively introduce copies of your own content that isn't readily available in the Apple Music catalog, leaving your original library completely untouched.


tt2

What does turning on library sync do to music files on your Mac?

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