Copy Music library from old to new Mac without iCloud/Sync

JM-Master wrote:

Have you tried to consolidate all the Music files from the old Mac ? Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support

You can follow the user guide to locate your music files on the old Mac and once done you can change where imported files are stored on the new Mac

T4

Thanks. If 99.9% of my music files were in the ~/Music folder in my old Mac and I copied them all to the ~/Music folder on my new Mac, I didn't understand the need to do the "Consolidate files" step. I am fine if one-off song files need to be re-linked to the library later, so long as the metadata from my old Mac's library for that given song is maintained on the new Mac (play count, etc.). Please let me know if I am misinterpreting your recommendation.

turingtest2 wrote:

Hi,

Sorry not to have got back to you earlier. I'm not having any general issues with Music in Sequoia but I have seen something similar in another thread I think. If you look in the Previous Music Libraries folder do you see a fresh dated library associated with each update attempt? If you right-click on the Music Library.musiclibrary package and click Show Package Contents are there any .tmp files inside of it?

tt2

Hi - no worries and thank you for your continued replies. I do not see a Previous Libraries folder in the ~/Music/Music folder. I also do not see any .tmp files inside of the Music Library.musiclibrary package.

Believe I resolved this issue, but have a new question.

First, so others are aware, the original issue resolved by simply restarting the new MBP in between the steps of replacing the .musiclibrary file and opening the Music app. It wouldn't even let me open the Music app holding down Option, I simply opened the app normally, and the library I wanted to see was there.

As far as the new question: in the days between my saving the .musiclibrary file from my old MBP and finally successfully having the Music app point to it on the new MBP per the above, I had obviously played some songs on my library from my iPhone. Now, when the new MBP syncs with the iPhone, those plays are not reflected. The new MBP only syncs plays from after the successful connection to the library. However, I can tell from my smart playlists on my iPhone that those "in-between" plays are still counted. Here is an example:

1) A song in old MBP music library has 51 plays

2) I save the .musiclibrary file to an external drive

3) From my iPhone, I play that song 6 more times, bringing the play count to 57 (which IS reflected on the old MBP, by the way, as the iPhone continues to sync with it in the meantime)

4) After a few days, I finally get the new MBP Music app to point to the library I saved, which shows 51 plays for this song

5) When the new MBP syncs with the iPhone, it still shows 51 plays (even though the old MBP continues to show 57 and the iPhone smart playlists reflect this)

6) I play the song again

7) New MBP play count jumps to 52

How do I get the MBP play count to show 58, in this example? Thanks!

turingtest2 wrote:

What versions of macOS are involved?

tt2

Old MBP - Catalina 10.15.7

New MBP - Sequoia 15.2

Just following up if anyone has advice. thanks!

Hi - just checking in to see if anyone has thoughts on the latest question. Thanks

Got it, that makes sense - once the iPhone syncs with one Mac, it thinks it doesn't need to sync with the other Mac. Thank you for your helpful replies!