Preserving music file naming & organization when importing to Apple Music Library?

Question

Level 1

14 points

Preserving music file naming & organization when importing to Apple Music Library?

My main music library is on my Brennan B2 (music storage & organization device) with a B2 backup folder on my iMac. To sync my Apple Music library with my B2 library, I delete my Apple Music library, then import my entire library from my B2 backup folder into Apple Music on my iMac.

I've organized and named all artists, albums, and songs on my B2 exactly as I like them to be. I also combined all multi-CD albums into single album folders by re-naming track prefixes from "02-01 ..." (1st

track on CD #2) to "12 ..." (12th track on combined folder that follows CD #1 with 11 tracks), for example.

This organization is perfect for me. However, when I import everything from my B2 backup folder into my Apple Music library, Apple Music re-names artists, albums, and songs and re-separates combined multi-CD albums back into separate folders for each CD. I've deleted "discid" files as much as I can.

My Apple music settings are:

Unchecked "Keep Media folder organized"

Checked "Copy files to Media folder when adding to library"

Import using: Apple Lossless Encoder

Checked "Automatically update artwork for imported songs"

"Sync Library" is checked only when I import to Apple Music library and when syncing to my iPhone, then keep it unchecked afterwards.

Could someone please help me preserve the naming and organization of my music files as they are on my B2 into my Apple Music library without re-naming and re-organizing them in Apple Music?

Also does anyone have any better suggestions for syncing my Apple Music library than what I'm currently doing (deleting Apple Music Library, then importing my entire B2 backup each time my B2 library changes)?

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.7

Posted on Nov 2, 2025 4:31 PM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

63,500 points

Nov 3, 2025 2:09 PM in response to tadalot

Unchecked "Keep Media folder organized"

Checked "Copy files to Media folder when adding to library"

Well, you got it half right. ;-) Make sure that Keep... and Copy... are both not checked. That way, when the file is added to the library, Music will not change the name or location of the file.

Try it with a couple of small folders so you can see how it behaves. Put or copy the folders/files to where you want them. Do the import and then look what you get after the import. When you are comfortable, do the rest of your library.

And yes, if you let Apple do the renaming and reorganizing, it goes by the tags (metadata) in the files, not by the filenames. That is what you don't want.

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Answer 2

tadalot Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 2, 2025 6:38 PM in response to TheLittles

Yes, I have an Apple music subscription, but my problem is not consistency in syncing Apple Music between devices, it's syncing my Apple Music Library with the naming & organization of my main music library - my main music library is on my Brennan B2 (outside of Apple Music). I import from the backup of my main B2 music library into my Apple Music library. The naming & organization of my main music library is exactly how I want it, but after importing into Apple Music, the naming & organization is changed in a way I don't like.

I suspect Apple Music's naming & organization is based upon some embedded meta information, either in the music files or an internet database. If this is the case, I need to either remove the meta data or set Apple Music to ignore this meta data and use the folder/file names as they are in my main music library as the basis for naming & organizing in Apple Music. Does this make sense to you?

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Answer 3

TheLittles

Level 10

202,211 points

Nov 2, 2025 5:04 PM in response to tadalot

"Could someone please help me preserve the naming and organization of my music files as they are on my B2 into my Apple Music library without re-naming and re-organizing them in Apple Music?"

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Consolidate This Library:

Go Here: Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support
Scroll to: Consolidate your files in the Music folder
As it Reads: Files remain in their original locations and copies are placed in the default folder.

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Answer 4

tadalot Author

Level 1

14 points

Nov 2, 2025 5:48 PM in response to TheLittles

Thanks, but will selecting "Consolidate files" preserve the artist/album/song names and keep multi-CD albums in a single album as it appears in the Apple Music App?

To clarify, I want to see the artist/album/song names to appear in Apple Music App exactly as the folder/file names are written and organized when viewed in Finder. I want to see a multi-CD album appear as a single album in Apple Music App, just as the tracks are numbered in a single album folder as viewed in Finder. I want to sync my Apple Music library with my B2 backup folder in as simple process as possible without re-organizing and re-naming in Apple Music every time.

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Answer 5

TheLittles

Level 10

202,211 points

Nov 2, 2025 6:02 PM in response to tadalot

"To clarify, I want to see the artist/album/song names to appear in Apple Music App exactly as the folder/file names are written and organized when viewed in Finder. I want to see a multi-CD album appear as a single album in Apple Music App, just as the tracks are numbered in a single album folder as viewed in Finder. I want to sync my Apple Music library with my B2 backup folder in as simple process as possible without re-organizing and re-naming in Apple Music every time."

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Get a Music Subscription:

Having an Apple Music Subscription, all would sync as it should be, and stay as it is across all devices. So, that seems the way to go: ‎Subscribe to Apple Music - Apple. Using Family Sharing would be the way to go about it, if you have more than one Apple Account: Family Sharing - Apple

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Answer 6