How to Backup iTunes Music for FREE [2024 Complete Guide]

Written By Pauline Mendoza

Last updated:January 6, 2024

We all know that Apple has a lot of issues, one of which is data loss. Hence, it’s a good idea to save copies of your files in another storage drive. However, there have been some questions as to whether it’s possible to learn how to backup iTunes music.

After all, Apple implements a lot of regulations for their music. For one, you can’t save a copy of your iTunes files since they are protected with FairPlay DRM. However, we’re going to change all of that in this guide.

This article will talk about how to backup iTunes music to iCloud as well as discuss the benefits of having a backup. Let’s start by answering some of your questions.

Article Content Part 1. Why Do We Need to Backup iTunes Music?Part 2. How Do I Backup iTunes on My Computer??Part 3. The Best Software to Backup iTunes Music Part 4. Summary

Part 1. Why Do We Need to Backup iTunes Music?

Having a backup gives you peace of mind that you won’t be losing your files. In addition, there are also other benefits of having a backup, and there are disadvantages of having no backups. Let’s proceed with benefits.

Accessibility

First and for most, backing up your iTunes music will effectively store all those songs in one place. Hence, whenever you feel the need to access your files, you don’t have to search for it from your computer. You can simply extract it from the backup you have created. Moreover, if you created the backup on the cloud, it would be much simpler.

Protection

There are several factors that may lead to the destruction of your hard drive. This includes power outages, malware, virus, and the likes. By creating a backup of your files, you’re technically protecting those files from going extinct due to such issues. This is especially true nowadays since viruses are becoming more and more advanced.

OS Failure Recovery

If you didn’t know, most computer damages are caused by OS failure. You may be able to delay it, but OS failure cannot be completely avoided. That’s why you might as well create a plan to safeguard your iTunes music against this situation.

The causes of computer failures vary and they are numerous in number. This just proves my point that finding out how to backup iTunes music is a good idea in the long run, not to mention the limitations of iTunes.

FairPlay DRM

As you may already know, iTunes has a lot of restrictions. One of these restrictions is the FairPlay DRM which prevents users from transferring their music to other devices. So, if you have a backup of your iTunes library, you can transfer iTunes library to another computer or device. Having said that, let’s find out how to backup iTunes Music on your Windows 10 PC.

FairPlay DRM

Part 2. How Do I Backup iTunes on My Computer??

There’s only one official way to backup iTunes music on PC. Although I will discuss the alternative later on, that’s the truth. Hence, what we’ll tackle here are the three steps on how to backup iTunes music rather than several methods. So without further ado, let’s start with the very first step.

How to Backup iTunes Music?

  1. Consolidate Your iTunes Library
  2. Find the iTunes Media folder
  3. Back Up iTunes to the External Hard Drive

Step 1. Consolidate Your iTunes Library

The first step on how to backup iTunes music on PC is to consolidate iTunes library. So what does consolidating the library do?

Practically, it makes sure all the files that are related to iTunes will be sent to one folder. This includes podcasts, music, movies, and such. Since iTunes files often end up on other folders, this is a good start if you want to include all iTunes music. Here’s how it works:

Now all you have to do is to wait while iTunes automatically detects all the files outside of the iTunes folder and copies them into the iTunes Media folder. Yes, it copies the file instead of moving them, so you might as well delete the old files outside if you want to save storage space.

Step 2. Find the iTunes Media folder

Now that all files are located in the iTunes Media folder, obviously, you’d want to look for that folder since we’re going to create a backup out of it.

Normally, the iTunes Media folder is located on the iTunes folder. This can be accessed by going to the User menu. From there, select Music > iTunes then click on iTunes Media. However, there are cases where it’s located in other places. That’s why to know the exact location or path of the folder; you have to follow these steps:

Some users are having a problem looking for their iTunes Media folder even after following these steps. This might be because you’re not using the Administrator user of your computer. Thus, I suggest logging out and logging back in but this time, use Administrator privileges.

Step 3. Back Up iTunes to the External Hard Drive

Now that you’re in possession of the iTunes Media folder location, it’s time to learn the final step on how to backup iTunes Music. Let’s proceed with the steps:

This will create a copy of your whole iTunes media folder into the said storage drive. Remember that this includes other files such as movies, videos, and other files that can be considered as “media” via iTunes’ algorithm.

Part 3. The Best Software to Backup iTunes Music

Although it’s true that you can create a backup of your iTunes media folder, it doesn’t always work, especially on old files. This is because files that were made prior to 2009 have DRM protection which makes them basically inaccessible outside of iTunes. For this, you need a tool.

TuneSolo Apple Music Converter is a special tool with the ability to create a complete copy of your files at a very fast rate. It doesn’t matter what kind of file it is, as long as it’s located on iTunes. With this tool, you can backup your iTunes library easily.

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Below are the main features of this software:

Now that you’re aware of these things, it’s the perfect time to learn how to backup iTunes music to an external hard drive using this wondrous software:

Step 1. Choose iTunes Music

Firstly, what you need to do is make sure iTunes is installed on the computer. Once you confirm this, you can continue by opening the converter. The first thing you’ll notice is a vast list. From this list, you should select the iTunes Music that you want to include in the backup.

Choose iTunes Music

Step 2. Adjust Settings

The next thing you need to do is go to the bottom of the software where you’ll see the Output Settings. From this section, you can change the format, quality, and other things regarding the output.

Adjust Settings

Step 3. Download/Convert iTunes Music

Lastly, you need to click the Convert button. By doing so, you’ll be signaling the start of the conversion and download process. All you have to do now is wait until the process is done.

Tip: Please make sure that Apple Music/iTunes is closed before opening Apple Music Converter. And during the song conversion, please do not do any operation on Apple Music/iTunes.

Download/Convert iTunes Music

Part 4. Summary

Creating a backup of your iTunes music is an essential step to ensuring that you won’t be losing your files. However, Apple made it harder for us by embedding DRM protection on all their files. Fortunately, there are ways to bypass such a policy.

Moreover, now that you know the benefits of having a backup, you should feel the need to always create backups of your files. Hopefully, this article helped you as much as it helped others.

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