iPod Touch (7th Gen.) = Which version of iTunes do i use for Mac Mini M1 model ? [or iTunes Alternatives]

Hello Everyone,

Hope you guys had a happy holiday !

I'm on a Mac Mini M1 Version 11.1 (Latest update of Big Sur)

It's been a while since i used a Mac. I recently got a iPod Touch 7th Generation as a gift.

I have no clue where to begin and don't know what 'Apple Music' is nor do i plan on paying monthly fee's because i already got Spotify.

I already* have all my mp3 files and .m3u playlists that are going straight to the iPod storage.

I don't see 'iTunes' under my installed apps. Did Apple get rid of it ? or Big Sur users dont use it ?

Apple's website seems to be telling us to use iTunes 12.8 but that might be outdated because they mention Catalina lol

https://www.apple.com/itunes/?ref=http://itunes.com

^^ Is this the version M1 users are on ?

Can I use this without* actually linking it to my icloud ? aka sign out of my icloud after downloading it.

I would like to use it as a 'standalone' and sync my songs manually.

Also, Could I then DELETE "Apple Music" entirely ?

Does apple recognize .m3u playlist format or do they use another type ?

Sorry for these 'rookie' questions.

How do you guys feel about using VLC to sync to iPod ? Is it even possible ?

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

I'm considering using this method as it does not create a 'backup' library like iTunes does wasting my GB of internal storage by essentially duplicating the .mp3 collection which is what happens by default.

#MacMiniM1 #iPod #Software #Help #AppleMusic #iTunes #BigSur