How Do I Get My Songs on iTunes?

New users and those who have not yet used iTunes may have a difficult time getting their music into their iTunes library. The process is relatively simple and can be done in a variety of ways. The most common ways to transfer music to the iTunes library are:

Songs from Music CD

Music from CDs can be imported to iTunes with the handy features that iTunes software provides.

Simply load a CD into the computer's CD reader and allow iTunes to locate it. Once it is located, the CD will show up in the source list as a readable item whose music can be copied into the iTunes library.

Click on the CD to allow the contents to be displayed. If iTunes does not recognize the CD title, then the song titles may not show up when the songs are played.

Click "import" and iTunes will import the music from the CD to the library. The length of this process varies.

Songs in Digital Formats

Songs that are already on a hard disk or removable media may also be imported into the iTunes library.

Click "File" and select "Add to Library." This will open a window in which the user can browse and locate music files on the hard disk or device.

Once some items are found, select them and click "Open" to import them to the iTunes library.

iTunes may ask that incompatible files are converted into a format that it can read. If so, the file will undergo an encoding process and will show up in the library once the process is complete.

Note: File conversions that are not in the correct format may require the user to download and install additional codec tools that iTunes will use to encode the music into the correct iTunes format.

Songs from the iTunes Store

Purchase music through iTunes to allow purchased music to go straight to the iTunes library. Once songs are downloaded from iTunes, they will automatically be shown in the available music library.

Note: Purchasing music can be costly so be sure to sample music in iTunes when possible in order to prevent purchasing songs that you dislike. This allows the user to purchase more music with his/her iTunes points balance or prevent overspending.

Songs from an Existing iPod

In order to transfer music from one iPod to another, follow these steps:

Connect the iPod to the computer using the USB cable.

The iPod will show up and request information.

Select "Manually Manage Music or Enable Disk Use" on the iPod window.

The user can now view and transfer Files on the iPod to the new iTunes without having to sync the device and erasing the contents of the iPod.

Note: Songs that have been purchased through iTunes are not transferable unless the user logs into his/her iTunes account through the new iTunes program installation. This prevents licensed music and purchases from being transferred between computers/devices without being paid for (such an act is known as piracy and legal action can be taken against violators).