Copy Music Library from iPhone to MacBook

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Level 1

4 points

Copy Music Library from iPhone to MacBook

I just purchased a MacBook Pro - I have not previously owned a Mac (at least not since the Mac SE days - so I do not have a prior Music library I can move from an older Mac.

I have used an iPhone for quite a while (as well as an iPad) and I do have about 19gb of music in the Music app on those devices (iPhone and iPad).

I now want to get all that music on to the MacBook so it can be the "master copy" for syncing going forward.

I am familiar with iCloud and the ability to sync the Music app - but it appears that process only allows you to do one way sync from the MacBook. It assumes all the music (purchased and ripped from CDs) are on the MacBook and you want to copy it to an iPhone or other device.

How can I move all my music (purchased and ripped from CDs) to the new MacBook Pro without losing anything? Everything I've read implies the MacBook will overwrite the music library on my phone if I try to sync devices.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.4

Posted on Aug 6, 2024 1:47 PM

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Answer 1

plmbpro Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 6, 2024 2:08 PM in response to muguy

Thanks muguy - I already read that article but it assumes I have a copy of my music library/files on a computer and I do not. I only have it on my iPhone.

I also ensured I have the sync checkbox unchecked on the Music app in the iPhone as well as on the MacBook which should allow a sync/merge to happen via the iCloud service. That will load only 4.2 gb of my music on the MacBook's Music app not the full 19gb.

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Answer 2

plmbpro Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 6, 2024 2:20 PM in response to muguy

Not at all sure what you are saying in this last reply. I understand sync is one way from MacBook to other device (iPhone).

I did not sync any music onto the device - it was originally load on there with the old desktop Windows version of iTunes which I no longer have.

My goal now is to copy the entire music library from the iPhone to the new MacBook. I know I cannot use sync to try that as I'll lose what I have on the iPhone already (19gb of music). In theory I should be able to load a copy of the music library via iCloud but it only loads a very small portion of the library to the MacBook (4.2 gb).

I do have an active Apple Music subscription as well so I would think iCloud would load the entire library - but it isn't.

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Answer 3

muguy

Level 10

81,241 points

Aug 6, 2024 2:01 PM in response to plmbpro

You’ll need to move your music library and music files from your current computer to your Mac.

Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

81,241 points

Aug 6, 2024 2:13 PM in response to plmbpro

Correct. Sync is from your computer to your iPhone. You managed to sync music onto the device and will need that library to sync again.

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Answer 5

muguy

Level 10

81,241 points

Aug 6, 2024 3:18 PM in response to plmbpro

Correct, you synced the music onto the iPhone from your Windows PC. That is the library that you need to move. As you no longer have it, you have not retained any of your music and cannot move it.

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Answer 6

plmbpro Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 6, 2024 3:23 PM in response to muguy

Even though it exists on the iPhone? So there’s absolutely no way to move it from the iPhone to the MacBook?

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Copy Music Library from iPhone to MacBook

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