What happens to my Album Artwork if...

[davehutch]

...if I reset my Files location to where it should now be for the Music App i.e. in Music/Music/Music Media and then 'Organise Library...Consolidate media'?
I'm on Catalina and about to upgrade to Big Sur. At that point, I'd like Music running as it is supposed to for two main reasons:

1. I no longer want to organise my music using both iTunes (Retroactive) and Music
2. I want to sync, based on the Music app playlists I create.

My only concern is that, as I'm completely OCD about Album Artwork and have painstakingly added all the best resolution artwork I could find on the Internet, I'd hate to lose it now and have to add them all over again.
Does Music retain all of the Album Artwork if I move the files location and therefore move the files?

 

[Phil77354]

Apples support pages have various articles that may help you in managing this. For example:

Move your iTunes library to another computer

On your PC, use the iTunes backup feature to move your library to a new computer.

support.apple.com

Use multiple libraries in Music on Mac

On your Mac, use multiple libraries and switch between them.

support.apple.com

I have not done what you are planning to do, but if I was then I would follow Apples instructions and trust that everything including artwork would be preserved. And I appreciate your point completely - I have gone to a lot of trouble myself to get the artwork correct for all of the albums I have in my own music library.

 

[davehutch]

Thanks Phil. I bit the ullett and moved everything offf to an external drive (not enough space on my Mac). All artwork and playlists stayed intact.
That gave me the comfort to delete my music on the Mac to make the necessary space, then copy everything back into the correct folder.
All work perfectly!

 

[Phil77354]

Thanks Phil. I bit the ullett and moved everything offf to an external drive (not enough space on my Mac). All artwork and playlists stayed intact.
That gave me the comfort to delete my music on the Mac to make the necessary space, then copy everything back into the correct folder.
All work perfectly!

Good to hear! Thanks for letting me know, and best wishes for the holidays!

 

[Jack Neill]

I think artwork is stored in Library/Container/com.apple.AMPArtworkAgent. As long as I move that folder and library the same time between Macs and externals, the artwork will usually stay. Big Sur is the same way.