Why are my playlists missing in Apple Music?

Question

Level 1

31 points

Why are my playlists missing in Apple Music?

Hello,

Is anybody here an Apply Music Library pro? When I looked at Apple Music today on my newer Mac mini, running Sequoia 15.3.1, all my playlists were missing, and most of my music was gone. The music was ripped from CDs over the years; not much has been downloaded or replaceable that way.

When I look at my Music folder, I see some old libraries and some of the missing music appears to be in folders that are not accessed by the Music app. For example, there's an iTunes folder with items in it.

How do I organize, consolidate, and restore? This is a fairly recent problem, as I had Apple Music open fairly recently on my mini, and it was all there. I have some playlists and music (at a lower encoding rate) on my iPhone. When I opened up sync, it asked if I wanted to erase the iPhone archive. I don't get it. What changed!? It's disturbing that Apple did this during some invisible update.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Mac mini, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 11, 2025 01:04 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

277,729 points

Mar 12, 2025 01:30 PM in response to idenizen

You can use File > Import... and select your media folder to add in anything in that folder not already known to your library. You will need to recreate any missing playlists, or edit those that you changed since that backup was created.

See Managing your Mac media libraries - Apple Community for some general advice on tidying up any legacy iTunes content. See Duplicate songs in iTunes/Music - Apple Community if you have duplicates. Or describe the other issues you want to address.

tt2

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Answer 2

idenizen Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 12, 2025 08:39 AM in response to turingtest2

Hi, in my iTunes folder there is no iTunes Music Library.itd file, nor in my backup archive is there one to restore.

There are only iTunes Music Library Extras.itdb and iTunes Music Library.xml. I played around with removing and resting the .xml, and it had zero effect.

I also do not see any hidden files in the iTunes directory, and upon fither reading do not see a Music Library.musiclibrary nor a Library.musicdb. I do see some "Music Library" files in other folders.

Suggestions?

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

277,729 points

Mar 12, 2025 10:54 AM in response to idenizen

Sorry, clearly not enough pointers there. For Music the library is typically called Music Library.musiclibrary and

is normally found in ~/Music/Music. This folder may also contain a Previous Libraries folder depending upon whether or not there has been a change in the internal layout of the Music database. If you see a recently dated file in this folder it can be copied to the main ~/Music/Music folder, renamed to remove the date (after first renaming the existing file) after which you can hold down option as you launch Music so you can choose this restored file.

Or, if Time Machine is set up and covers the ~/Music/Music folder, you should be able to restore a recent copy of the library from there.

Ignore the old iTunes database files. These, presumably, are a legacy from an earlier upgrade from Mojave or earlier to Catalina or later. Music doesn't use them after converting the library to the new format. They would likely be rather outdated now and no longer reflect the content of your media folder.

tt2

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Answer 4

idenizen Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 12, 2025 11:35 AM in response to turingtest2

This had zero effect. Since it's a newer computer, I was only able to go back to August of 2024 for the Music Library file. When I open the option key and choose new Music Library, it shows the exact same contents as previously.

Super frustrating.

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Answer 5

idenizen Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 12, 2025 11:52 AM in response to idenizen

In the Music/Previous Libraries (not Music/Music/Previous Libraries), I found and restored a recent Music Library, which was pretty close!

I would like to clean up the Music folder. Anybody want to help. I'll pay somebody. Many miscellaneous historical files from years of use and app updates that are probably needless.

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Answer 6

idenizen Author

Level 1

31 points

Mar 12, 2025 01:16 PM in response to idenizen

Also, do you @turingtest2 or anybody have a pointer on how to scan the music library and update it? A few of the recent playlists are not showing, and a few recent tracks purchased aren't showing. The recent tracks were not purchased through Apple Music.

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