With the launch of Apple Music in 2015, many iTunes users wondered if they could transfer their existing iTunes playlists over to the new streaming service. The short answer is yes, you can transfer your iTunes playlists to Apple Music with just a few simple steps.
What is Apple Music?
Apple Music is a subscription-based music streaming service developed by Apple. It offers a library of over 90 million songs that users can listen to on demand, create playlists, and get recommendations. Apple Music also includes Apple’s live global radio station Beats 1.
Some key features of Apple Music include:
- Streaming music on demand from Apple’s catalog of over 90 million songs
- Ability to save songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening
- Curated playlists and radio stations based on your taste and preferences
- Access across all your Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Android
- Family sharing for up to 6 people for one subscription cost
- Spatial Audio and lossless audio options for higher quality sound
Apple Music costs $9.99/month for an individual plan or $14.99/month for a family plan sharing with up to 6 people. There is also a free 1 month trial available.
What happens to your iTunes playlists?
iTunes purchased music and playlists are separate from Apple Music. If you subscribe to Apple Music, your previous iTunes music library and playlists will not automatically transfer over or merge with your Apple Music catalog and playlists. They exist independently from each other.
So if you want to access your iTunes playlists within Apple Music, you need to manually transfer or add them to your Apple Music account.
How to transfer iTunes playlists to Apple Music
Here are step-by-step instructions to transfer your iTunes playlists over to Apple Music:
- Make sure both iTunes and Apple Music apps are installed and set up. You’ll need both iTunes on your Mac or PC and the Apple Music app on your iPhone, iPad or Android device to transfer playlists.
- Log into Apple Music and open the app. Go to the Library tab > Playlists section.
- Open your iTunes Library and go to the Playlists section. Select the playlist(s) you want to transfer.
- Drag and drop playlists from iTunes to Apple Music. Simply select the playlist title(s) and drag over to the Apple Music app Playlist section. This may take a few minutes if you have large playlists.
- Check playlists transferred successfully. The playlists titles, songs and order should now be exactly the same within Apple Music as they were in iTunes.
- Sync iphone or iPad. Connect your device to your computer and sync to transfer the playlists over to your iPhone or iPad device from the new Apple Music account.
And that’s it! The playlists should now be successfully transferred over and you can access them within the Apple Music app on any device. You can now stream the playlists without needing the songs downloaded on your device.
What gets transferred?
When you transfer iTunes playlists to Apple Music, it copies over the playlist titles and the order of the songs within each playlist.
However, there are some things that do NOT get transferred over from iTunes:
- Play counts – Your iTunes play counts do not transfer over
- Last played date – The data on when you last played a song does not transfer
- Ratings – Any ratings or star ratings given to songs in iTunes will not transfer over
- Album artwork – Any custom album artwork is not transferred over to Apple Music
Essentially it just copies the playlist titles and order of songs. All the metadata around your library does not transfer over.
How to transfer playlist data from iTunes
If you want the full iTunes playlist data including play counts, ratings and other info to be transferred over, you need to use a third party app.
Apps like Stamp and Songshift have options to transfer iTunes playlists with all metadata intact. The process is similar but they preserve much more playlist data from iTunes when transferring.
The steps for using Stamp or Songshift are:
- Download and install the Stamp or Songshift app
- Open the app and choose the option to transfer iTunes playlists
- Select the playlist(s) you want to transfer
- Choose Apple Music as the destination
- The app will then copy over the playlists with all metadata preserved
This allows an exact copy of your iTunes playlists with play counts, ratings and other data moved over to Apple Music.
Limits on Playlist Transfers
There are some limits on transferring iTunes playlists to Apple Music that you should be aware of:
- 100,000 songs limit – Playlists are capped at transferring over 100,000 songs max.
- Matched vs uploaded songs – Matched Apple Music songs transfer quickly. Uploaded songs takes more time.
- No videos or books – Media like music videos, movies or audiobooks won’t transfer.
- Smart playlists don’t transfer – These dynamic auto-updating playlists can’t be replicated in Apple Music.
So for very large playlists over 100,000 songs, you may hit the limit. Non-music media like videos won’t be included. And smart playlists can’t be copied over as they have unique rules in iTunes.
Do playlists stay in sync?
No, once you transfer iTunes playlists over to Apple Music they become separate. Any changes you make to a playlist in iTunes will not carry over or sync to Apple Music.
You have to manually keep them in sync by making the same edits in both places. Some apps like Stamp and Songshift do have options to re-sync playlists on a schedule to keep them up to date.
But in general once transferred, Apple Music and iTunes playlists are separate entities that won’t automatically stay up to date.
Can you combine Apple Music and iTunes Playlists?
Unfortunately there is no direct way to combine playlists from both your Apple Music account and iTunes library. They remain as separate playlist entities.
A workaround is to use an app like Songshift or Stamp to copy playlists back and forth between Apple Music and iTunes. This allows you to move playlists to consolidate them.
For example you could:
- Transfer several playlists from iTunes to Apple Music
- Delete the versions left in iTunes
- Create a new unified playlist in Apple Music
- Add the transferred playlists to the unified playlist in Apple Music
This lets you merge playlists together into one master playlist, but requires manually re-creating it within Apple Music.
Can you see iTunes playlists in Apple Music?
No, iTunes and Apple Music libraries remain separate. Your iTunes playlists will not show up directly within the Apple Music app.
The closest option is to transfer iTunes playlists to Apple Music as covered above. This will copy your iTunes playlists into the Apple Music app so you can access them there.
But without transferring, Apple Music will not display any iTunes playlists. They exist as separate libraries.
Is playlist data preserved if deleted from iTunes?
If you delete a playlist from iTunes after transferring to Apple Music, the data like play counts and ratings will be lost. The Apple Music version just retains the song titles and order.
To preserve the full metadata, be sure to transfer playlists using an app like Songshift first before deleting the iTunes version. Otherwise the Apple Music playlist will only have basic info.
Can you merge Apple Music and iTunes libraries?
Unfortunately there is no direct way to merge your entire Apple Music collection with your iTunes Library into one unified app. They remain as separate libraries.
The closest option is using a third party app like Stamp or Songshift to copy playlists or albums between the libraries. But this requires manually choosing what to transfer over playlist by playlist.
There is no current method to combine the entire Apple Music collection with an iTunes Library into one interface. The libraries must be accessed separately in each app.
Is iTunes Match needed for transfers?
No, you do not need an iTunes Match subscription to be able to transfer iTunes playlists to Apple Music. iTunes Match is only needed to sync your iTunes library across devices.
The playlist transfer process works the same with or without an iTunes Match subscription. iTunes Match is not required.
Can Apple Music play iTunes purchased music?
Yes, any music purchased from the iTunes music store can be played within the Apple Music app, even without an Apple Music subscription. Your iTunes purchases remain available.
To play purchased iTunes music within Apple Music:
- Make sure iCloud Music Library is enabled in Settings > Music
- Open Apple Music app and go to Library tab
- Select Songs to see your available iTunes purchases
- You can then play these without needing an active subscription
So even without a paid Apple Music account, you can still access any iTunes purchased content to stream on demand.
Should you cancel iTunes Match after transferring to Apple Music?
Whether or not to keep an iTunes Match subscription after moving your library to Apple Music depends on your specific needs:
- Keep iTunes Match if you want to preserve iTunes metadata like play counts and ratings across devices. Apple Music does not sync metadata.
- Cancel iTunes Match if you don’t need multiple device syncing. Apple Music makes this redundant.
- Keep iTunes Match if you use features like Smart Playlists that don’t exist in Apple Music.
- Cancel iTunes Match if you only want to stream music and not keep a downloaded library.
So weigh up if you still need the capabilities of iTunes Match based on how you access your music. For many users, Apple Music subscriptions overlap entirely with iTunes Match.
Should you keep iTunes playlists after transferring to Apple Music?
There are pros and cons to keeping your iTunes playlists after transferring them to Apple Music:
Reasons to keep iTunes playlists
- Backup in case of issues with Apple Music versions
- Maintain playlists that exceed the 100,000 song limit for transfers
- Preserve iTunes metadata like play count, ratings, etc
- Keep non-music content like movies, TV shows, books
Reasons to delete iTunes playlists
- Avoid duplicate redundant playlists in both services
- Save local storage space on your devices
- Consolidate your music organization into Apple Music
- Simplify only having to manage playlists in one place
It’s generally recommended to keep at least one backup of your important iTunes playlists on your computer or external drive, even if you delete the copies within the iTunes app.
What happens if you cancel Apple Music subscription?
If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, you will lose access to stream any of the Apple Music catalog. This includes:
- Any playlists created within Apple Music
- Any Apple Music songs/albums saved
- Curated playlists made for you
- Radio stations, remixes and exclusives
Playlists transferred from iTunes would also no longer be accessible within the Apple Music app.
However, any music you purchased from iTunes would still be available to play within the Apple Music app. And you could re-download any iTunes playlists to have access again.
But an active subscription is required to stream any content from the Apple Music library.
Key takeaways
- You can transfer iTunes playlists into Apple Music to keep accessing them
- Use drag and drop or apps like Songshift for transferring with metadata
- Transferred playlists won’t stay automatically in sync
- You can’t merge entire libraries into one interface
- iTunes Match not needed but allows device syncing
- Cancelling Apple Music means losing access to stream its library
Conclusion
While iTunes and Apple Music libraries remain separate, you can transfer playlists between them to access your music collection. Apps like Songshift provide advanced transfer capabilities to keep metadata intact.
Understanding exactly what transfers over (and what doesn’t) allows you to best leverage both iTunes and Apple Music based on their different strengths. Maintaining backups of your important iTunes playlists gives a safety net in case you ever cancel Apple Music.
Overall, transferring playlists enables combining the best of iTunes music management with Apple Music streaming so your music collection is always available no matter which app you use.