MacMost: iTunes

In macOS Catalina if you are not using Apple Music you can choose to store your music files on an external drive. There are a number of methods you can use. Also learn how to clear out your Music app library to start from scratch.

If you have songs in the Music app that are missing information then the app may not group them by artist or album correctly. You can correct this information easily in the app. You can also modify songs so they appear on the proper albums and sorted in the right order. You can add album artwork too, and set the order of tracks in an album. This works the same way before Catalina in the iTunes app and will even work for songs obtained from Apple Music and sync with your other devices.

After upgrading to macOS Catalina, many users mistakenly believe that the new Music app requires that you subscribe to Apple Music. In fact, you can use the Music app just like you used the old iTunes app. You can ignore Apple Music and listen to songs in yoru own library, import new music just like you did before, and also buy music in the iTunes Store. You can also disable Apple Music entirely in the app.

The latest update to macOS Catalina, version 10.15.2, brings back to beloved features of the old iTunes app. You can now view your songs library in the Music app using the Column Browser and control music playback on your Mac with the iPhone app iTunes Remote.

There is a place on your Mac and on your iOS device where you can view almost all of your subscriptions, including Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Music and subscriptions from any third-party apps you may have. You'll find your iCloud storage subscription in a different location. You can view, modify or cancel any of these subscriptions.

You can listen to regular worldwide and local radio stations using the Music app in macOS Catalina and iOS 13. Thanks to agreements with streaming radio services, you can find these stations by searching or askign Siri. At the moment the streams don't seem to require an Apple Music subscription.

The iTunes app is gone. So how do you sync your iPhone, iPad or iPod? If you are still using a cable or Wi-Fi to sync your devices and not iCloud, you can still do it in macOS Catalina. That functionality has simply mostly moved to the Finder. You can sync music, movies, photos, books and other things this way. Ringtones is tricky, but you can still put custom ringtones on your iPhone. Even older iPods are supported by Catalina.

If you are unhappy with an App Store purchase on your Mac, iPhone or iPad, you can request a refund from Apple. You can do so through the iTunes or Music app on your Mac, or through the Settings app on iOS. This works for music, video and books as well. You eventually end up at a special Apple site where you can request the refund. You can skip directly to this site if you know how. Apple doesn't always issue a refund and it helps to use this sparingly. You can also cancel subscriptions you no longer want.

When macOS Catalina is released in the fall, it will come with a new TV app. This app takes over the movie and TV show purchasing and rental features from the old iTunes app. You will also use it to access your own video you store in your TV app library, such as ripped DVDs. An important aspect of the TV app will be giving Mac users access to the new Apple TV+ service coming later this year, as well as the ability to subscribe to channels such as HBO, Showtime and CBS through a subscription.

One of the biggest changes that will come with macOS Catalina is the replacement of the iTunes app. The new Music app will take over management of your existing iTunes music library and it has pretty much all of the functions that iTunes had. Preview what it looks like and see what the Mac Music app can do. Catalina will be released in the fall.

WHen macOS Catalina comes out this fall, iTunes will be replaces with Music, Podcasts and TV apps. This leaves many people wondering what will happen to their iTunes puchases, media and how they will sync their iOS devices. The transition should be seemless for all, with many just experiencing the equivalent to an app name change from iTunes to Music. Syncing will move to the Finder. Changes to some aspects, like ringtone syncing, is unclear.

Apple has updated the way podcasts appear on the web, allowing you to preview and listen to episodes right in your web browser without needing to jump into iTunes. This could provide a nice way to listen to one episode without much fuss. It could also mean that Apple is getting ready to break up the iTunes app.

iTunes has always had the ability to stream real live radio stations, but this feature is hard to find in the latest versions of iTunes. Once you enable it, you can browse through a huge list of radio stations from around the world. You can also save stations to the iTunes sidebar. Even if a station isn't listed, you can often find the streaming address on their website and use that in iTunes too.

The default behavior for shuffling songs in iTunes on your Mac is to play them in random order. However, you can use Grouping to group together songs on an album so that those songs play sequentially during a shuffle. This comes in handy with classical music, for instance, where a symphony may be broken up into several tracks.

Apple Music and Spotify Shared Playlists are great ways to access selections of music from movies, books or represent a genre. You can find more complete movie soundtracks in Shared Playlists and also collections and "mixtapes" mentioned in movies and books.

One feature of Apple Music is the ability to start a new streaming station with a song, album or artist. Apple Music will then attempt to play songs that are similar. You can further customize the station by indicating if you like the song choices.

Some people may prefer digital iTunes gifts instead of physical CDs and DVDs. You can send a specific album, movie, app or book as a gift to another Apple user from within iTunes. You can include a special message and even schedule the gift.

The new iTunes version 12.7 removes the ability for iTunes to easily store and sync ringtones to your iPhone. But the method for manually adding and removing ringtones is easier than ever. Learn how to add custom ringtones to your iPhone through iTunes on your Mac.

With the latest versions of iTunes and iOS you can set up a social profile and share playlists and music your are currently listening to with your friends. You can also follow artists and special Apple Music channels to see the latest news and media from your favorite artists.

You can create smart playlists in iTunes that contain songs you have either Loved or rated highly. These playlists will automatically update when you Love or rate new songs. They will also sync both ways with your iPhone so you can listen to them and update them while on the go.