Can I transfer my iTunes library to YouTube music?

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for transferring your iTunes music library to YouTube Music, allowing you access your library across devices and take advantage of YouTube Music’s streaming catalog.

iTunes is a legacy desktop media player, while YouTube Music is Google’s cloud-based music streaming service. Migrating your iTunes collection can provide more mobility and expand your access. According to one source, key benefits include playlist and library access from any device logged into your Google account. Additionally, you can discover new artists and songs available through YouTube Music.

This process involves exporting your iTunes library, uploading it to YouTube Music, recreating playlists, and more. When finished, you’ll have your iTunes music available for streaming alongside YouTube Music’s extensive catalog.

Prepare iTunes Library

Before transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music, it’s important to prepare your library by consolidating, organizing, and upgrading it. According to Apple’s iTunes support documentation, you can consolidate your library files by going to File > Library > Organize Library in iTunes and selecting “Consolidate files.” This keeps the files in their original locations but makes copies that iTunes will use to reference everything from one location.

You should also organize your iTunes library by checking for duplicate songs and albums, fixing any metadata issues like missing art or tags, and arranging your playlists. Additionally, Apple recommends upgrading older music file formats to the latest version of AAC or MP3 for wider device compatibility. You can do this by going to Preferences > General and checking the box for “Upgrade to Apple Music…” which will let iTunes update compatible tracks.

Taking these steps before transfer will ensure your iTunes library is tidy and consolidated, making for an easier and more successful transfer later on.

YouTube Music Setup

The first step is to set up YouTube Music. You’ll need to create or sign into your Google account and download the YouTube Music app on your mobile device if you haven’t already done so. YouTube Music has a few subscription options to consider:

• Free tier – Stream music for free with ads
• YouTube Premium – Ad-free listening, offline downloads, and YouTube without ads for $12.99/month
• YouTube Music Premium – Ad-free listening, offline downloads for $9.99/month
• Family Plan – Up to 5 additional family members for $17.99/month

The Premium and Family Plan options allow you to download songs offline and listen ad-free, which can be useful features when transferring your iTunes library over. Figure out which subscription plan fits your needs before moving forward.

Transfer Options

There are two main options for transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music:

Manual Upload

Perhaps the simplest option is manually re-uploading your music and playlists. You can select tracks individually or in bulk and post them to your YouTube Music library.

The benefits of this method include:

• Complete control over the transfer process
• Ability to pick and choose only certain tracks or playlists to upload

The downsides of this method include:

• Can be time-consuming for large libraries
• Playlists may not transfer properly and have to be recreated

Third-Party Tools

The other option is leveraging third-party transfer tools like Soundiiz to facilitate the transfer process. These tools often provide one-click transfers to help automate the process.

Potential benefits of third-party transfers include:

• Automation to minimize manual effort
• Preservation of playlists/metadata

Potential downsides include:

• Limited control over process
• May still require cleanup post-transfer

Manual Upload

You can manually upload your entire iTunes library to YouTube Music. Here are step-by-step instructions for uploading music on YouTube Music from a desktop web browser:

• Go to music.youtube.com and click on your profile picture.
• Select “Upload music” from the dropdown menu. This will open the upload music page.
• Click “Select songs” and browse your computer files to add songs you want to upload. Supported file types include FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, and WMA.
• YouTube Music allows uploading up to 10,000 songs for free.

When organizing your library uploads, it’s helpful to do the following:

• Create playlists in YouTube Music to match playlists from iTunes so your music stays neatly organized.
• Add album, artist, genre information to uploaded songs so you can browse and search easily later.
• Consider sorting songs into folders by year or other organizational schemes.

Manually uploading your entire iTunes library to YouTube Music will require patience and time. But following these tips will help make the process easier.

Third-Party Tools

If manually transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music sounds too tedious, try using a third-party transfer tool. These tools seamlessly migrate your music from one platform to another and make the process effortless. Popular transfer tools for moving iTunes music to YouTube Music include:

• Soundiiz – Connects your iTunes and YouTube Music accounts to replicate playlists, favorites, artists and songs directly from one library to the other.
• Tune My Music – Transfers entire libraries or only selected playlists from iTunes to YouTube Music, retaining all metadata and organization structures.

The key benefits of using third-party transfer tools over manual music uploads include:

• Saves time by automatically matching and transferring songs without needing manual uploads.
• Maintains full metadata, playlist structures, play history, favorites, etc.
• Works across iOS, Android, desktop apps and web platforms.
• Secure account connections using official APIs (no password sharing).

Overall, music transfer platforms automate moving iTunes content to YouTube Music while optimizing for accuracy. They provide the fastest and most seamless migration solution.

Transfer Playlists

When transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music, you’ll want to move over your playlists as well. Here are a couple options for transferring iTunes playlists to YouTube Music:

Manually Recreate Playlists: You can manually search for each song in a playlist and recreate the playlists one-by-one in YouTube Music. This takes time and effort, but ensures the playlists are recreated accurately.

Use a Transfer Tool: Services like MusConv make it easy to transfer iTunes playlists to YouTube Music in just a few clicks. They identify the songs in each playlist and recreate the playlists for you.

Note that YouTube Music has a limit of up to 5,000 songs per playlist, so very large iTunes playlists may need to be split into multiple smaller playlists when transferred over.

Transfer Purchase History

If you want to transfer your purchased iTunes content like songs, albums, movies, and more to YouTube Music, you’ll need to re-download that content. Unlike playlists, your purchase history does not automatically transfer over.

The easiest way is to link your iTunes account in YouTube Music settings. This allows you to re-download all your purchased iTunes content to YouTube Music without extra cost. Simply go to Settings > Upload and purchases > Link other services and connect your iTunes account. YouTube Music will scan your purchase history and make that content available in Your Library.

Alternatively, you can manually search for and download purchased content by title or artist, but this takes more time. Be patient as it can take a few days for your full purchase history to become available after linking accounts.

See this Reddit thread for more tips on transferring purchase history: https://www.reddit.com/r/YoutubeMusic/comments/pwnwj8/trying_to_upload_itunes_library/

Post-Transfer Cleanup

After transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music, it’s a good idea to do some cleanup to remove duplicate tracks and organize your new YouTube Music library. Here are some tips:

Deleting Duplicate Tracks

Since the same songs may exist in both your iTunes and YouTube libraries, you may end up with duplicate tracks after transferring everything over. Go to your YouTube Music library on the Uploads tab and scan for any duplicate songs or albums. Delete any extra copies to avoid clutter.

Canceling iTunes Subscriptions

If you subscribed to Apple Music or iTunes Match, be sure to cancel those subscriptions since you’ll now be relying on YouTube Music. Go to your Apple account page to manage and cancel any subscriptions.

Reorganizing Your YouTube Library

While your iTunes library was organized to your preferences, your imported tracks on YouTube Music may need some reorganization. Create playlists for albums, artists, or genres to better arrange your library. You can also utilize “Liked Songs” and other auto-generated playlists to sort tracks.

By removing duplicate tracks and structuring your new YouTube Music collection, you can make sure you have just what you need in an organized layout after transferring your iTunes library.

Conclusion

Transferring your iTunes library to YouTube Music provides a unified music experience across multiple devices. The transfer process involves preparation on both the iTunes and YouTube Music sides to ensure everything transfers smoothly.

There are manual options for uploading your iTunes music files directly or leveraging third-party tools to batch transfer larger libraries. Playlists and purchase history can also be transferred over to replicate your iTunes setup in YouTube Music.

Some key advantages of YouTube Music include its vast catalog of official songs and remixes, personalized recommendations, and the ability to seamlessly switch between audio and video. YouTube Music also makes it easy to discover new artists and songs that you may enjoy.

Be sure to double check that all your iTunes music and playlists successfully transferred after the process completes. You can then safely delete the iTunes files from your device to free up space.

For additional tips, check out the YouTube Music support site. Enjoy exploring all the features of your new music platform!