Help putting music from Mac onto iPhone ( Catalina x XR)

[Six0Four]

So i'm gonna need some help explaining to me how to get music from my Macbook Airs download folder to my iPhone XR's music app. I'm not using the paid version of the music app. I've been using Windows for 15 years so you might have to really dumb it down for me lol.

I have it plugged in and i've clicked trust. I've added an image to show what i see when i click "music".

Can anyone tell me what i'm missing ?

Thanks.

 

[inscrewtable]

You first have to put the music that is in your download folder into the Music app before they will show up in the window that you have taken a screen shot off.

To do that you can simply open the Music app and drag the music from your downloads folder into the music app. Then they will show up in the Finder window under music.

However the the songs you drag into the Music app will be copied and place in a folder in your Music Folder. You could then delete the files in the download folder.

However if you do not want to copy the files over but you just want to create a link to them, go to the Music app preferences > Files (used to be under Advanced) and uncheck the box that says "Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to the Library.

I have that unchecked and keep all my music on an external HDD and drag in what I want. You can create a playlist first and drag them to the playlist. It will still be in the Library but dragging them into a playlist makes it easier to locate them.

btw, there is no paid version of the music app, you can pay for a subscription to Apple music, but that is not the music app.

Once you have the files in the Music app after dragging them over, you can then select any files and press Cmd+i or control click>get info where you can download artwork and drag it in to the Artwork pane, and you can organise them with other information. For example if you had say music that is a two disc set that comes up as two separate albums, you could turn them into one album with two discs, by filling in the appropriate boxes. It all depends on how fastidious you want to be. Personally I like to keep it super organised. If the titles differ of the albums differ by anything, even an errant space, it will turn into two albums, but you'll work all that out once you start faffing around.

You can always delete everything you've dragged over and start again. To do that select the items hold down the option and cmd keys and press 'delete' on your keyboard, that will not only delete from a playlist but delete from the library, so you don't end up with multiple copies.

 

[Six0Four]

You first have to put the music that is in your download folder into the Music app before they will show up in the window that you have taken a screen shot off.

To do that you can simply open the Music app and drag the music from your downloads folder into the music app. Then they will show up in the Finder window under music.

However the the songs you drag into the Music app will be copied and place in a folder in your Music Folder. You could then delete the files in the download folder.

However if you do not want to copy the files over but you just want to create a link to them, go to the Music app preferences > Files (used to be under Advanced) and uncheck the box that says "Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to the Library.

I have that unchecked and keep all my music on an external HDD and drag in what I want. You can create a playlist first and drag them to the playlist. It will still be in the Library but dragging them into a playlist makes it easier to locate them.

btw, there is no paid version of the music app, you can pay for a subscription to Apple music, but that is not the music app.

Once you have the files in the Music app after dragging them over, you can then select any files and press Cmd+i or control click>get info where you can download artwork and drag it in to the Artwork pane, and you can organise them with other information. For example if you had say music that is a two disc set that comes up as two separate albums, you could turn them into one album with two discs, by filling in the appropriate boxes. It all depends on how fastidious you want to be. Personally I like to keep it super organised. If the titles differ of the albums differ by anything, even an errant space, it will turn into two albums, but you'll work all that out once you start faffing around.

You can always delete everything you've dragged over and start again. To do that select the items hold down the option and cmd keys and press 'delete' on your keyboard, that will not only delete from a playlist but delete from the library, so you don't end up with multiple copies.

Hey thanks a lot for the reply. Right now all i'm concerned with is trying to get my Downloaded music on my Mac to my iPhone. I was under the impression that the paid version of the music app automatically syncs itself between your phone and anything else, sort of like the photo app.

The problem i'm having is that even though i've dragged music over from downloads to the music app it's still showing nothing under "music" when i click on my phone in Finder. I've added a couple screen shots of the settings i have.

Anything i might have missed ?

Thank you !

 

[inscrewtable]

The iPhone used to sync with the music app but it's all done in the Finder now. So after you drag the music from your downloads folder into the music app can you see your music in the music app? You're not confusing the Music app with the Finder by any chance?

How about this, open the Music app on your Mac and then go to the menu and select File>Add to Library
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[Six0Four]

The iPhone used to sync with the music app but it's all done in the Finder now. So after you drag the music from your downloads folder into the music app can you see your music in the music app? You're not confusing the Music app with the Finder by any chance?

How about this, open the Music app on your Mac and then go to the menu and select File>Add to Library
[automerge]1587908069[/automerge]

Yup for sure i have all the music in the Music app. I go to Music and i hit 'import" and choose whatever i want from my downloads folder.

EDIT: When i click on my phone i am able to see my playlists under the "playlist" tab but nothing under the "artist" or "albums" tab. Nothing to show all my songs in a list...

IMAGE:

https://imgur.com/a/unbD3HH

 

[inscrewtable]

I'm not getting this at all. So you are seeing the music you imported into the music app, and you have a screenshot of three playlists, and you also see those playlists on your phone after you sync. Yes, is this correct so far?

So those playlists in the screenshot above have been synced to your phone? Because they are not checked.

 

[Six0Four]

I'm not getting this at all. So you are seeing the music you imported into the music app, and you have a screenshot of three playlists, and you also see those playlists on your phone after you sync. Yes, is this correct so far?

So those playlists in the screenshot above have been synced to your phone? Because they are not checked.

Well i figured it out..

The problem this whole time was that my music didn't have TAGS. I had to go into each song and add ARTIST tags and then they showed up. What a f'n hassle. Along with things like ALBUM, ARTIST etc you would think that they would have an option for SONG as well.

I appreciate the help though pal.