Apple Music how to organize Apple Music folder.?

[mrgreeneyes]

I was looking in the music folder on my Mac and it seems all unorganized, as an example there is a folder called Apple Music, with I think all of my Apple Music in it, then in the root folder is a bunch of folders with music in it. mixed of Apple Music and iTunes purchases and downloaded from various sources.

how can I get the music app to organize al the music? I have the Keep music media folder organized checked and I have the copy files to music media folder also checked.

 

[Phil77354]

I think that you will find that the structure of your Music folder is based upon how the music is identified in your particular library. If you have a variety of music from a particular artist, with a variety of other performers in different tracks or albums, then it will be separated in your Music folder in that way too (i.e. Black Eyed Peas in your own example).

But regardless, what difference does it make? You aren't playing music from the media folder, you're selecting what you want to listen to in the Music app. How it saves and sorts the music in folders on your Mac is only important to the Music app - it knows where to find what you are listening to.

If you want the files to be organized differently in the folder, then you'll need to be thinking about this when you add music to your library and name particular albums, how you identify the artists, and so forth. If you want it all organized in a particular way, then that is the place to do it. The folders on your Mac will take care of themselves.

 

[mrgreeneyes]

I think that you will find that the structure of your Music folder is based upon how the music is identified in your particular library. If you have a variety of music from a particular artist, with a variety of other performers in different tracks or albums, then it will be separated in your Music folder in that way too (i.e. Black Eyed Peas in your own example).

But regardless, what difference does it make? You aren't playing music from the media folder, you're selecting what you want to listen to in the Music app. How it saves and sorts the music in folders on your Mac is only important to the Music app - it knows where to find what you are listening to.

If you want the files to be organized differently in the folder, then you'll need to be thinking about this when you add music to your library and name particular albums, how you identify the artists, and so forth. If you want it all organized in a particular way, then that is the place to do it. The folders on your Mac will take care of themselves.

Ok, i was just simply asking how to have all the folders organized, with the possibility that maybe a setting was unchecked or something that i did or didnt do caused it to be all messed up. It doesn’t make sense why all the folders would be all over the place in the media folder.

 

[chabig]

 

[Phil77354]

. . . It doesn’t make sense why all the folders would be all over the place in the media folder.

Read what I said earlier. The structure in the media folder is going to follow how you have identified and named the music in your library.

'All over the place' is happening because that is how you have your music named in the first place.

If you compare the two and think about it, you will see what I mean, I'm sure.

 

[brehob]

I was looking in the music folder on my Mac and it seems all unorganized, as an example there is a folder called Apple Music, with I think all of my Apple Music in it, then in the root folder is a bunch of folders with music in it. mixed of Apple Music and iTunes purchases and downloaded from various sources.

how can I get the music app to organize al the music? I have the Keep music media folder organized checked and I have the copy files to music media folder also checked.

View attachment 1758662

As others have stated, the folder names are based on information attached to the music files themselves. This used to be ID3 in the MP3 world but whatever it's called, it's attached right to the files and at the same time, "Music" (was "iTunes") uses that to name folders and files.

You CAN move these files around, and I do that often. I organized my MP3 files way before iTunes even existed, and I prefer my folder/file name scheme (mostly because the UNIX guy in me dislikes spaces in file names). You can create a whole new directory (mine is $HOME/Music/keep for a historical reason), make directories in there for artists (e.g. I would use "Black_Eyed_Peas" and roll all the collaborations in that), optionally make another directory deep for each album, and move the files there. "Music" ("iTunes") will generally find the files in their new locations (probably because it keeps track of each music file's inode, but I will not digress into UNIX/Linux/BSD filesystem design more than that here). If you do move the files I recommend playing each track you have moved one time just to make sure "Music" still finds it and you're good to go! "Music" will not move it back unless you re-import it or something like that. Every now and then "Music" may lose a file, but it asks you where it went, and you can point it out.

Unless you have imported this music from CDs, I recommend against changing the information in the tracks themselves. If you purchased the music from the Apple Music store, then rename the album or tracks, "Music" connects to the store from time to time and it may think "you bought this and I do not see it in your library, so I am going to re-download it", causing duplicates.