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MsLilithe Author

Level 1

22 points

Proper structure for Apple Music folder and subfolders on Macbook

Hello. I am referencing and re-asking the question found at this link:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251282156

I am having the same issue from having transferred via iTunes Match from a PC to a Macbook, which is now using macOS BigSur. There are a host of songs that show up as "waiting" on Apple Music, and even though I can find them in one of my subfolders, the whole thing, as I started looking for those songs, is a hot mess. It has tried to integrate iTunes into Music (which I know on some level is the same but different).

I am debating whether to try and manually go in and clean this mess up myself, or how I might start from scratch. But either way, I would like to see what a normal Apple Music folder and it's subfolders is supposed to look like, but for some reason, an internet search brings up only the community discussion I posted here, with only one answer that did not help and no other guide or image.

Can anybody here share with me a screenshot of what a clean and normal Apple Music folder is supposed to look like? Also advice as to which direction I should take this? Bear in mind I literally have a month's worth of continuous play from my iTunes collection, or approx 10,000 individual tracks and I don't want to lose any of it! This has already almost happened to me once when I was unable to pay for the yearly iTunes Match and then my old laptop took a dump. Fortunately I have since been able to still reupload from that old laptop into the cloud.

Thanks in advance for your insight!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jul 12, 2021 11:25 AM

Top-ranking reply

muguy

Level 10

82,351 points

Posted on Jul 12, 2021 12:00 PM

I haven't really had similar issues. When I moved files from an old PC to a Mac, I copied all of the files and just moved them into music. I also used iTunes Match to keep my music in the cloud. I have noticed some small issues with Apple Music and iTunes matching, especially for songs that do not appear in the Apple Music store. The last time I helped family move their music from PC to Mac (outside of using the migration assistant since we didn't have cables), we uploaded the entire contents of the music folder into the cloud and downloaded the files on the Mac. Then imported the files into Music. That took a looooong time.

This is what my folder structure looks like. I use the option to keep the music media folder organized.

Expanding the albums under an artist shows the individual tracks. In this example, The Beatles

As long as you have your files, and have a backup (just in case). I'd start by selecting keep music media folder organized under preferences > files and see what the results are.

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Proper structure for Apple Music folder and subfolders on Macbook

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