Apple Music folder mess - Whats going on?

[kirkmc]

If you have a folder on your external drive, then you set the iTunes preferences to use a media folder there. If you have one on your Mac, then the Music app preferences were not set to use the external drive. 

 

The correct file path now should be ~/Music/Music/Media/Apple Music.

 

The Apple Music folder only contains files you've downloaded from Apple Music. So you can delete them.

 

This AppleScript can scan your Media folder - not your entire Mac - for files that are not in your library:

 

https://dougscripts.com/itunes/index.php?p=3468

 

You can do a search in the Finder for Music files in other locations. 

[kirkmc]

it's the default.

 

Go to Music > Preferences > Files and choose the media folder on your external drive. You can do the same in the TV app. 

[kirkmc]

So that's most of your library. Have you looked at where they are? Are the in the "other" Media folder, the one you don't want them to be in? Are these your tracks, or Apple Music tracks?

[kirkmc]

So it looks like at some point the Music app lost the path to the external drive. 

 

Have you changed the path to the external drive and consolidated the library? That should find them again. 

[kirkmc]

Consolidating should fix problems, even if the files aren't moved. But if it doesn't, and the script works, then that's your best bet. 

 

The problem with using an external drive for media is that if the drive is not available, iTunes/Music reverts back to the default location in your home folder. It's a good idea to check every now and then.