Where Does iTunes Store Music on PC and Mac? [Full Guide]

iTunes is a great music player as well as a music management tool. All purchased and imported songs are listed in iTunes so that we can easily find the music we want to listen to. Usually, we don't care about iTunes music library location. But if you are in the following situations, you definitely want to know where does iTunes store music.

● Plan to back up your music library, after all, you never want to lose the songs you've spent time collecting.
● Accidentally delete some songs from the playlist and want to add the music files back to recreate your library.
● Need to transfer the iTunes library to another computer so you want to copy your music library to an external drive.

Well, it’s not difficult to find iTunes music files on PC and Mac. Where does iTunes store music? Keep reading to know the iTunes library location so that you can make a backup or move music files to another location.

Where Does iTunes Store Music?

Generally speaking, iTunes will automatically choose a location to store your library when you first install it. You can go to that folder to find the "Music Folder" where the music files are stored.

#1. Where Does iTunes Store Music on Windows PC?

On Windows 11/10/8/7 computers, where are iTunes files stored Windows? Generally, the iTunes music library is usually located at C:\users\[username]\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media. When you are there, you will see all your media content, including your music.

In addition, you can also take advantage of iTunes to find the iTunes music library location. Open iTunes > Click Edit > Choose Preferences > Click Advanced and you will see where iTunes stores music.

#2. Where Does iTunes Store Music on Mac?

Where are music files stored on Mac? On a Mac computer, by default, the iTunes music library is stored in: Home\Music\. You can also go to the desktop of your Mac > click Go > choose Home > open the “Music” folder to access your music files.

In macOS Catalina or later, your previous iTunes media library is now available in the Apple Music app, you should go to [User folder]\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media to find your music files.

How to Change iTunes Music Library Location

You can change the iTunes music library location if you want to. But for the best results, it’s recommended not to change the location of iTunes folder.

Notes:✎...

If you want to backup your music library, you should first go to File > Library > Organise Library in iTunes or Music app to Consolidate files.

If you want to backup the purchased songs, please first download them to your computer.

Way 1. Change iTunes Music Library Location on PC

If you want to change iTunes Music Library Location, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and click the Change... button to select a new location for your files.

Way 2. Change iTunes Music Library Location on Mac

In the Music app, go to Music > Preferences > Files and click Change to select a new location for your files.

★Tips:

 From now on, songs you have imported will be stored in the current location and the new songs you import will be saved to the new location.

To move the current files to the new location, you should go to File > Library > Organise Library in iTunes or Music app and choose Consolidate files to make it.

 If you regret it, you can click the Reset button, and then your imported files will go back to the default folder.

Bonus Tip: An Easy Way to Manage and Transfer Music Files

Indeed iTunes is a good helper to manage our songs. However, the music transfer is not that easy.

• On the one hand, iTunes will not allow you to transfer non purchased music from iPhone to computer.
• On the other hand, it’s kind of difficult to transfer music from iPhone to iPhone with different Apple IDs.

If you want to easily transfer music between iPhone/iPad and computer, between two iPhones, you can turn to AOMEI FoneBackup for help. It’s one professional iOS data management that can help you backup and transfer music, photos, videos, contacts, etc.

You can let it help you transfer both purchased and non purchased songs from iPhone to another one, from iPhone to computer, external hard drive, USB flash drive and vice versa. It will help you to put the music in the specified location in a few clicks.

How to Transfer Music from iPhone to Computer with AOMEI FoneBackup

Step 1. Download, install, and launch AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect your iPhone to your computer via the USB cable.

Step 2. On the home interface, click Phone Transfer > iPhone to PC, and click Get Started to begin.

Step 3. Choose Music and select the songs you want to transfer > Click OK to confirm.

Step 4. Select a path to save your songs from Transfer Settings and click Start Transfer to transfer music from iPhone to computer.

If you want to transfer music from iPhone to iPhone, you can first transfer music from the source iPhone to the computer and then click PC to iPhone option to add songs to the target iPhone.

Final Words

Where does iTunes store music on PC and Mac? After reading this post, you might know how to find the iTunes file location. Generally, song files are usually stored in the iTunes Music folder and you can change the location if you need to.

In addition, if you need to copy the music library to a PC or external hard drive as a backup, AOMEI FoneBackup can help you easily preview and transfer the desired music files from your iPhone to your PC or external hard drive. Download AOMEI FoneBackup and use it to manage your music files now!