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I just recently upgraded from Catalina to Monterey… ITunes is gone, but I have this huge library with songs, ratings and playlists that I’ve worked on for years. I’m sure I’m not alone, but there’s barely anything helpful online.
Am I able to open up my ITunes library in the new Music app, with playlists and ratings intact?
Thanks in advance for any help. :-)
MacBook Pro
Are you sure you weren't on Mojave before the upgrade. See What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support. Catalina is able to convert .itl files into the new .musiclibrary format, as can Big Sur and Ventura. Monterey seems to get stuck in the process. I've helped a number of users moving to Monterey by converting their .itl files for them. Email the .itl file or a link to a copy of it in a cloud share and I will post back the converted database. You'll find my address in the bio of my profile here.
tt2
Are you sure you weren't on Mojave before the upgrade. See What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support. Catalina is able to convert .itl files into the new .musiclibrary format, as can Big Sur and Ventura. Monterey seems to get stuck in the process. I've helped a number of users moving to Monterey by converting their .itl files for them. Email the .itl file or a link to a copy of it in a cloud share and I will post back the converted database. You'll find my address in the bio of my profile here.
tt2
I'd recommend first doing a backup of the old iTunes folder so you can revert to it if something needs fine-tuning.
You might go the easy way and just choose the old ~/Music/Music/iTunes Library.itl as a new Music.app library.
...the long description after step #2- needs attention to details. I used that by trial and error to convert the old folder structure to the new layout as it was cleanly created. YMMV if your old iTunes folder is much different than mine quite simple library was.
Hi Matti...
I tried the easy way the other week... I OPTION clicked the Music app to "choose library"... chose the iTunes Library.itl file, the program opened and went into the loading circle thingie... I have over 20k songs (on an external HD), so I figured it would take a while. I left it overnight and when I woke up the next day, it was STILL loading, so I figured that something wasn't right so aborted.
I don't mind trying the long description... as long as it's relatively clear instructions. Thanks!
As I posted above, Monterey can stall when converting the library. I can save you the trouble of losing ratings, play counts, playlists, date added, etc. Or if you know someone else with access to Catalina or Big Sur they can do it for you. Takes a few minutes with the .itl file (media not required), save the converted library in the .musiclibrary format, compress that and post it back.
tt2
Hi TT2,
Actually, I WAS on Mojave until a couple months ago. I updated to Big Sur and then up to Monterey a day later... (some older software I had made me cautious about updating too high, but I got passed it).
I wonder if this is why when trying to OPTION click ('choose library') open up my iTunes .itl file in Music, it didn't get passed the loading wheel... even after leaving it overnight.
I'll email that file to you asap. Thanks!
Bill
> Catalina is able to convert .itl files into the new .musiclibrary format, as can Big Sur and Ventura. Monterey seems to get stuck in the process.
I tested the Mojave iTunes.app library to Music.app conversion in Catalina, and re-tested and finally converted in Big Sur. In both macOS systems the conversion always went OK.
Good to know that Monterey might choke on this.
If the original poster wants to do it himself, he might install Catalina or Big Sur on an external drive and do the conversion there. Or maybe use a VMware (free for personal use) virtual machine with those older macOS for that. Or upgrade to Ventura if it is compatible with that Mac.
I don't know if this has always been an issue with Monterey, but 12.6 definitely seems to have an issue. There is another potential workaround using an .xml version of the library, but that resets Date Added.
tt2
I haven't seen that article before... just watched someone on YouTube stumble through a similar explanation, but I'll try this out immediately... thanks Matt!
Just sent you the file... thanks for your help!
Just sent you a reply.
tt2
Thank you very much Matti and TT2! I got everything to work with TT2's conversion of my database file. I still have some cleanup/organizing to do, but all is good.
My best to you all!
-Bill
You're welcome. 🙂
tt2
Can I import ITunes library to Apple Music?
