Trying to consolidate mp3 files onto my external HD but hit a brick wall

At some point, my iMac started saving mp3s added to Apple Music on my internal HD, instead of on my external HD, so now I have a ton of mp3s on each HD. These two locations have folders with the same artists, but different albums. When I try to add all the internal HD mp3 folders to my external HD mp3 folders, my iMac asks if I want to replace or skip. I want to consolidate but can't figure out how to do this. Taking one artist as an example (I have hundreds), say I have a Frank Zappa folder on my internal HD with one album in it, "Joe's Garage." Then, on my external HD, there is also a Frank Zappa folder, but this one has two albums it, "Apostrophe" and "The Grand Wazoo." How can I end up (in this simplified example of having only one artist to consolidate) with one Frank Zappa folder on my external HD with all three albums in it?

iMac 24″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 14, 2025 04:13 PM

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Mar 14, 2025 06:36 PM in response to seaslug68

Hi,


Are you copying folders using the Finder, or are you using Music's built in function File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files? The second approach should copy over only the files that are outside of the designated media folder, and should create any new subfolders as they are needed without giving replace or skip warnings. Should a file with the target path already exist Music will add a numeric suffix to avoid overwriting. Music will update the library as it copies in the files so that each entry points to the new copy. Manually cleaning the original copies outside of the media folder is left as an exercise for the user.


See also Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for some advice on tidying the library and removing any remaining cruft from iTunes. For a portable library on an external drive you would ideally have your .musiclibrary database located at say <External>/Music/Music Library.musiclibrary with the media folder at <External>/Music/Media. Keeping everything on the external drive makes it easier to backup the library, move it to a new drive or computer, and avoids the issue where Music silently resets the media folder to the internal drive if you launch Music when the external drive isn't ready.


tt2

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Trying to consolidate mp3 files onto my external HD but hit a brick wall

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