iTunes is a popular media player and library for organizing and playing music on Mac and Windows computers. When you add songs to your iTunes library, the song files are stored on your computer’s hard drive. Deleting a song from iTunes does not necessarily delete the song file itself. This leads to the main question: does deleting a song from your iTunes library also delete the file from your computer? In this article, we will look at how deleting songs in iTunes works and whether it removes the actual song file.
How iTunes Stores Music
When you add songs to iTunes, it stores the actual music files in a folder on your computer’s hard drive. By default, this folder is called “iTunes Media” and is located within your system’s Music folder. iTunes stores each song as an individual file using formats like MP3, AAC, AIFF or Apple Lossless. The songs themselves remain in this iTunes Media folder even when you delete them from iTunes.
iTunes also maintains a separate iTunes Library file that keeps track of your music collection and playlists. This library file is stored in XML format and contains the metadata and playlist information for all the songs you’ve added. It does not contain the actual audio files themselves. When you delete a song within iTunes, it simply removes the reference to that file from the library, but does not touch the actual audio file. So the song still exists in the iTunes Media folder.
The separation of the library and media folders enables features like iTunes Match, where your actual music files can be stored in the cloud while iTunes still tracks the metadata and playlists locally. It also allows you to easily rebuild your library if needed, by pointing iTunes to the media folder to re-import your song files and recreate the library database.
Deleting a Song from a Playlist
Deleting a song from a playlist in iTunes does not delete the song file. It simply removes the reference to that song from the playlist. The song itself remains in the iTunes library and on your computer or device storage.
To delete a song from a playlist in iTunes, right-click on the song in the playlist and select “Remove from Playlist” [1]. You can also select the song, click Edit at the top menu bar, and choose “Remove from Playlist.” This will remove the song from that specific playlist, but it will still be available in your library and other playlists.
Deleting a song from a playlist does not send it to the Trash or permanently delete it. The song file itself remains untouched in your iTunes Media folder. The only change is that the playlist no longer includes a reference pointing to that song file. Think of deleting a song from a playlist like removing a page from a book’s table of contents – the page itself is still there, but the TOC no longer lists it.
In summary, deleting a song from a playlist in iTunes removes it from that playlist view but does not delete the actual song file from your library or device storage. The song is simply no longer referenced in that particular playlist.
[1] https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/create-edit-and-delete-standard-playlists-itns2943/windows
Deleting a Song from the Library
Deleting a song from your iTunes library will remove it completely from iTunes, including any playlists it was added to. To delete a song from your library:
- Open iTunes and go to your Library.
- Find the song you want to delete in your library.
- Right click on the song and select “Delete” from the menu. You can also select the song and hit the Delete key.
- A dialog box will pop up asking you to confirm that you want to delete the song. Click “Delete Song” to confirm.
Once you confirm deletion, the song will be completely removed from your iTunes library and all playlists. This is a permanent deletion, so the song file will be sent to the Trash/Recycle Bin. If you want to recover the deleted song file, you’d need to restore it from the Trash/Recycle Bin before it’s permanently deleted.
Deleting a song from your library is the only way to fully remove a song from iTunes. Removing a song from a playlist will delete it from that playlist, but keep it in your library. The “Delete Song” option completely removes it from iTunes.
Recovering a Deleted Song
If you accidentally delete a song from your iTunes library, there are ways to recover it as long as the library file hasn’t been overwritten. When you delete a song in iTunes, it doesn’t immediately delete the song file from your computer. Instead, it removes the reference to that file from the iTunes library database. The original song file remains in its location until that storage space is reused.
This means you have a window where you can recover deleted songs, as the files themselves are still on your computer. However, if you continue adding new content to your iTunes library, it could overwrite the space where the deleted songs exist. So it’s important to act fast if you want to rescue deleted tracks.
The easiest way is to use data recovery software like Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac, which can scan your hard drive and find iTunes songs that have been deleted but not yet overwritten. This software recovers the actual song files, allowing you to import them back into iTunes to restore them.
You can also try restoring from an iTunes backup if you have one. Connect your device to your computer, open iTunes and go to Summary > Restore Backup to recover missing music. However, this only works if the songs were still present when the last backup occurred.
The key is acting quickly before the deleted songs’ disk space is reallocated to new data. But with the right tools, you have a good chance of getting your music back.
Permanently Deleting a Song
When you delete a song from iTunes, it is removed from your music library but the original file still remains on your computer’s hard drive. To permanently delete the song file from your system, you need to find the file location and manually remove it.
The iTunes media folder location varies between Windows and Mac operating systems:
- Windows: Music folder under C:\Users\Username\My Music\
- Mac: Music folder under /Users/Username/Music/
To permanently delete the song file:
- Open your iTunes media folder and browse to the song file you want to delete.
- Select the song file and press Delete on your keyboard.
- Confirm deletion by clicking Yes on the prompt.
This will remove the song file entirely from your computer. Once deleted from the file system, there is no way to recover the file unless you have a backup.
For more information, see Delete songs and other items in iTunes on PC from Apple Support.
iTunes Match and Apple Music
Apple offers two cloud-based music services that interact with iTunes and the Apple Music app – iTunes Match and Apple Music. Both allow you to access your music library from any device. This means if you delete a song locally from iTunes or Apple Music, it may still be available in the cloud.
With iTunes Match, you can store up to 100,000 songs in iCloud, even songs imported from CDs or purchased outside the iTunes Store. If you delete a matched song locally, you can download it again from iCloud as long as you are still subscribed to iTunes Match.
Similarly, any music you add to your library with an Apple Music subscription is available in the cloud. If you accidentally delete an Apple Music song, you can stream or re-download it as long as you maintain your subscription.
However, any music purchased from the iTunes Store is subject to download limits, so check your account settings if you need to re-download purchased music that you deleted locally.
Other Media Players
While iTunes is the most popular digital media application for Mac and iOS users, there are alternatives available on Windows platforms. The pre-installed Windows Media Player allows users to play audio and video files, create playlists, rip CDs, and more. However, deleting songs from Windows Media Player behaves differently than in iTunes.
In Windows Media Player, removing a song from a playlist does not delete the file from the computer. The song still exists in the Windows Media library and file system. Permanently deleting a song requires users to find the file location outside of Windows Media Player and manually delete it.
Additionally, Windows Media Player has a Recent Files list that tracks recently played songs. This can only be cleared through editing the registry or using the Clear History option in older versions. iTunes does not have a similar always-visible recent files list.
Overall, iTunes provides users more control over managing their media library than Windows Media Player. The ability to delete songs cleanly without impacting playlists or recently played lists is an advantage of iTunes.
Summary
The key difference between deleting a song from a playlist versus the iTunes library is that deleting from a playlist just removes the song from that grouped list of songs, but doesn’t touch the actual media file. Deleting from the library however does delete both the library reference and the linked media file itself from the iTunes folder location on your computer or external drive. Some key points:
- Deleting from playlists just removes that reference link but leaves the file untouched.
- Deleting from your library removes the song from your iTunes collection and deletes the actual media file as well.
- You can recover deleted songs if you haven’t emptied the trash or rebuilt your iTunes library, through the Recently Deleted playlist.
- Permanently deleting the files requires emptying the trash or rebuilding the library.
- iTunes Match and Apple Music work differently, with deleting removing the download but not the song itself from the cloud catalog.
In summary, deleting a song from iTunes doesn’t necessarily mean the media file itself is deleted, unless you specifically remove it from the main Library, then empty the trash or rebuild the library catalogue. Playlists only edit references.
Conclusion
In conclusion, deleting a song from an iTunes playlist does not delete the actual audio file from your computer or the iTunes library. The song simply gets removed from that particular playlist. To fully delete a song from iTunes, you need to right-click on the track and select “Delete” to remove it from your library. This will send the file to the Trash on a Mac or Recycle Bin on Windows. You can then permanently delete it from there if desired. However, as long as the song still exists in your iTunes library, you have not deleted the actual file. iTunes Match and Apple Music work a bit differently, but the same general guidelines apply. So to summarize, removing a track from a playlist does not delete the file itself – it just takes it out of that playlist.