How do I move songs from iTunes playlist to library?

Save a copy of a playlist in Music on Mac

You can export a playlist—for example, if you want to save a copy of the playlist, or import it on a different computer so you have the same playlist in both places.

You can also export information about a song (or songs) to use in a database or in another app.

When you export playlists or transfer song information, the actual songs or music videos aren’t included—just the information about them or the playlist.

Open Music for me

Move your iTunes library to another computer

If you get a new computer, you can transfer your iTunes library by connecting computers or by using iPod or a portable drive. See the Apple Support article Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC.

Steps

Part 1 Part 1 of 2:Exporting Playlists

1. 1

   Select the playlist in iTunes that you want to export. When you export a playlist, you are exporting the list of songs and their order. You can export playlists to transfer them from your iPhone to your computer, or from iTunes to another media player.

   • You can export any playlist in iTunes, including playlists on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. Select your device in iTunes and then click the playlist name in the "On My Device" section of the sidebar.

2. 2

   Press .Alt if you're using Windows. This will display the menu bar. You can also press Ctrl+B to turn it on permanently.

3. 3

   Click the "File" (Windows) or "iTunes" (Mac) menu. This will display a small menu.

4. 4

   Select "Library" → "Export Playlist." This will open the file browser so that you can choose where you want to save the playlist file.

5. 5

   Choose a new location to save the file. By default, iTunes for Windows will try to save the playlist to the "system32" folder, which is not a convenient place to find it later. Navigate to an easy-to-access location, such as your desktop or your Documents folder.

6. 6

   Choose the format you want to export the playlist as. Click the "Save as type" menu to see the format options. You have several options to choose from, and the format you pick will depend on how you intend to use the playlist:

   • Select "XML" if you're planning on importing the playlist back into iTunes, such as when you're moving a playlist from your iPhone to your computer or sharing it with a friend.
   • Select "M3U" if you are importing the playlist into a program like Winamp or MediaMonkey.
   • Select "Text files" if you want to save all of the data for each song into a tab-separated plain text file. This can be useful for importing the playlist into a database or spreadsheet program such as Excel.[1]

7. 7

   Give the playlist a name and save it. By default, the playlist file will have the same name that it did in iTunes. You can change it to whatever you'd like before saving it to your computer.

Part 2 Part 2 of 2:Importing Playlists

1. 1

   Click the "File" (Windows) or "iTunes" (Mac) menu. If you don't see the menu bar in Windows, press Alt.

2. 2

   Select "Library" → "Import Playlist." The file browser will open.

3. 3

   Find the playlist file that you want to import. iTunes can import XML and M3U playlists. Select the file that you want to import into iTunes.

4. 4

   Add any songs that are in the playlist but aren't in your library. You'll receive an error when you import a playlist that contains songs that aren't in your library. You'll need to transfer these songs to your library if you want the playlist to be complete, then you'll need to re-import the playlist.[2]

Export a Playlist

1

Click the playlist to transfer in the left menu in iTunes.

2

Click the "File" menu, select "Library" from the drop-down menu and click "Export Playlist" to open a dialog box.

3

Click the "Where" menu and select a location to save the file. Use a USB flash drive if you have one. Otherwise, save it anywhere on the computer.

4

Click the "Format" menu and select "XML." Note that the file has the same name as the playlist, but you can change it in the "Save As" text field if desired. Click "Save."

Create a New Playlist

You can create your own playlists a couple of different ways. In iTunes or the Music app, click File > New > Playlist to create a new entry under the Playlists section. Type the name you want to give to your new playlist, such as the name of an artist or genre.

Click on the Songs entry to see your library of individual songs. Find the tracks you want added to the playlist and drag them over to the new playlist entry. Select multiple songs at once using Shift + Click or Ctrl + Click in Windows and Shift + Click or Command + Click on macOS.

Another way to add a song is to right-click on the song, hover over Add to Playlist, and select the playlist. You can also create a playlist if you select the individual songs you want added, then right-click on any of the tracks. Hover over Add to Playlist, then select New Playlist to make the songs appear on the playlist.

You can edit your playlist a number of ways. To remove a song, right-click on it and select Remove from Playlist from the pop-up menu.

You can also rearrange the order of the songs. Select and drag a song up or down in the list. Release your mouse when the song is nestled in its new spot.

Want to add a brief description of the playlist? Right-click on the album art and select Add Description. You can also burn the songs to a CD if you click Burn Playlist to Disc.