Apple Music (macOS app, not streaming service) is a powerful app that is loved by users of managed large music collections. But you may never find one of its key features: the ability to manage multiple music libraries.

It provides you with a separate music space with its own songs, playlists and settings. This feature is especially useful if you have a variety of musical tastes that vary widely and don't want to change your style dramatically when you click the shuffle button.

At the time of writing, Apple Music (the program) is not yet logged on to Windows, but users can still use iTunes, which also supports multiple music libraries.

Why should you set up a second Apple Music library

Apple Music allows users to create complex music collections, including smart playlists, folders, star ratings and other organizational features. However, you may not want to have all your music in the same library.

[Related: How to Add Your Personal Music Collection to Your Streaming Playlist]

Seasonal music is a good example. Even if you like all Christmas classics, you don’t necessarily want them to occupy your music library at other times of the year and appear on the autoplaylist when you unexpectedly want it. It makes sense to create a dedicated Christmas music library to use when it’s right.

It is also very convenient to have a second Apple Music library when you use different types of music for specific purposes. For example, long instrumental music, relaxed music is perfect for work or study. While these tracks are great as background music, you may not want them to appear in a shuffle list when you are ready to go out.

The second music library also gives you extra flexibility. For example, if you store a lot of music on an external hard drive that is not always connected to your computer, you can add them to your second music library and load when you plug in the hard drive. If local storage space on your computer is limited, this will allow you to create a larger music library on a separate drive, as well as a smaller music library that is always available.

How to set up a second Apple Music library

Setting up a separate music library on Apple Music is very simple. First, make sure the desktop application is completely closed. Then press and hold the Option key (macOS) or the Shift key (Windows), and restart Apple Music from the Applications window on Finder on macOS or the Start menu on Windows.

You can choose to create a new music library to create a second music library, or select to select a different music library toggle between existing music libraries (by default , the program will open the music library you used last time).

Select to create a new music library and the application prompts you to select a new location for it - it can be anywhere on your computer system or external hard drive. You also need to name the new music library to help identify it, so name it to describe its purpose or the type of music it contains.

[Related: Everything you need to know about the new Apple Music Voice Program]

A few minutes later, Apple Music will generate your new music library, giving you a blank canvas where you can start building playlists and adding songs. Open Application Settings (with Music and settings on macOS, or edit and preferences on Windows) to configure the Music Library How to work. For example, you can choose whether the application merges the tracks to the same folder location after adding them to the music library.

Other music libraries have a key limitation: You must stick to files that you have purchased digitally or converted from CDs locally on your device, rather than tracks streamed from Apple Music. This is because there is only one music library that can contain streaming tracks and sync with other devices such as phones and tablets via iCloud and your Apple ID. You can set it through the

Sync Music Library option in Apple Music settings.

The above is the detailed content of Separate your music into two Apple Music libraries—you'll thank us. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!