iTunes iconiTunes/Music Corner

Updated: 23 June 2022

Welcome to my new iTunes/Music Corner where you can get maximum use out of your iTunes/Music program on the Mac, PC or your iPod, iPad or iPhone with some step by step instructions on enjoying the most of music.

0. Where can I get iTunes from and for which Computers?

You can download latest iTunes 12 from Apple's iTunes website. It is available for Windows 7, 8, 10 or later or the Apple Mac 10.6.8 or later computers.
For MacOS X Catalina (10.15), iTunes has been replaced with Music, TV and Podcast apps.
For Linux users, try the nearest equivalent which is called Amarok or RhythmBox (whic has plugins for Portable Players).new
For AmigaOS 3.x , try AmigaAMP, AmiTunes-Jukebox from Aminet.
For AmigaOS 4.x, try AmigaAMP or TuneNet from Aminet (with iPod addons).
To sync your iPod with Linux music collection, try Libipod.
To sync an Android phone with your music collection use Droid Transfer tool. new
You can download any old version of iTunes between 4.1 and 11.x from the Oldversion, OldApps or Apple Downloads website.

1. How do I get access to Music from the Internet?

You need to enable the Music Store from apple which will turn iTunes into a kind of 'browser'. To enable it:

  1. Load iTunes
  2. Select Edit then Preferences.
  3. On General tab, enable Show Apple Music Features.
  4. On Restrictions tab, make sure iTunes Store, Apple Music is not disabled.
  5. Click OK
  6. Click on the new Store link to load iTunes store.
  7. You can then use the Search features to search for music you like.

2.What is a Playlist and how do I create and use them?

A playlist is just of group of music tracks and given a specific name. Be default, iTunes has a few playlists listed under the Music Store link on the left hand side, these are dynamically updated for you depending on what music you play often, whether you purchased music, when the music was published and so on.A playlist is required to organize music for burning to CD.
To create a playlist:

  1. Select File, New Playlist.
  2. Enter a new name for the list in the left hand side of iTunes.
  3. To add songs to the Playlist, select Songs from the Library and drag them over the new Playlist name on left hand side.
  4. If you wish to play songs, in a specific order, you can select a song and drop it over a play position in the list, for example, place a song over the number 1 position.
  5. You can also ramdomise the list by enabling the Shuffle On option on the Controls menu.
  6. Once all the songs are played, the list ends, you can enable it to repeat by enabling Repeat All or Repeat One on the Controls menu.
  7. To play your playlst, select the first or a specific song and click on Play (from the > arrow a the top or on the Controls menu) or press Space bar to start it.

3. How do I add album art and graphics to my music?

In iTunes or on your iPod, a picture will appear along side your Song. In iTunes it will appear at the bottom left corner of the iTunes window.

  1. Scan the album picture with a Flatbed scanner or a digital camera.
  2. Save the picture as a JPEG, it should be no bigger than 200 x 200 pixels, and save it in the same directory as your song preferably to keep them together,
  3. Click on the song (or songs) to apply the picture to and select Song Info.
  4. If an individual song, click on the Artwork tab, click on Add Artwork and select the picture you saved earlier.
  5. If more than one song selected, select the tick box next to Artwork, then double click on the Artwork box and select the picture you saved earlier.
  6. Click OK to apply the changes.

4. What is BPM and what is it for?

On the Get Info window, there is box for BPM which is for Beats Per Minute which is worked out by tapping along with the music. Most songs purchased from the iTunes
Store or read from CD will not have this information.

5. Where can I get Lyrics for my songs?

A lot of music has lyrics, some songs are hard to follow, so it would be nice to know what the lyrics (or words) are for the song, these can be stored for each song. There are
a number of web sites for song lyrics including: www.lyrics.com.

6. Can I play iTunes music or video on other players?

Music that does not have DRM (Digital Rights Management) encryption can be played on other players such as Windows Media Player,VLC and KMPlayer. You may have to open the file with the Any file (*.*) filter if the files do not show in the open dialog box due to the unusual file types. e.g.

*.MP3 - Standard MPEG 3 Music file which can be played anywhere.
*.M4A - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) or MPEG4 which supports high quality music with minimal loss. Used when extracting music from CDs.
*.M4B - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) or MPEG4 for Audiobooks.
*.M4P - Advanced Audio Encoding (AAC) which is used for purchased software.
*.M4V - MPEG 4 video which may also have DRM Copy Protection.
*.MOV - H264 MPEG-4 AVC format aka Quicktime.
*.ITE - iTunes Extra file e.g. a video bonus file.

.WMA (Windows media audio) can be imported into iTunes but it wiill be converted to AAC format before it can be played in iTunes.
.WMV (Windows media video) is Microsoft's video format, not readable in iTunes. Use something like Handbrake program to covert it to MPEG4.

iTunes can use DRM called FairPlay which is mainly exclusive to Apple and is a big money making source in Music. You can play iTunes music on many devices including iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Android phones. See the IOS developer website for other devices compatible with the iPod. Music from the iTunes Store is now DRM-free since 2009, Apple Music subscription service still uses DRM.

7. What is Deauthorize this Computer on the Accounts menu?

iTunes will allow you to play purchased music on upto 5 computers. If you repair, upgrade or sell your computer then you should deauthorize it beforehand to free up that computer and allow you to authorize another computer to play your music (authorization is done when you first purchase music from the iTunes Music Store). More information about this is available on Apple support website.

8. I cannot install iTunes. It says 'Visual Basic Script' (vbscript) is not installed?

Windows includes functionality to run .vbs scripts. To enable this feature, run from a command prompt: regsvr32 C:\Windows\system32\vbscript.dll . To test that vbscript is working, create a file called test.vbs in notepad with the line: Msgbox "This is a vbscript program" and save it. Run it by typing CScript test.vbs. Try reinstalling iTunes again.

9. How do I create an iTunes remote using just my mouse?

You need to use a progam called Quick Macros and few scripts using Apple's SDK.

10. Where can I down a Software Development Kit for iTunes (and Quicktime)?

You can download an SDK from Apple which has a number SDK kits for Windows to create scripts to control and manage your music and movie collections.

There are some Javascripts available to manage your iTunes libray from GitHub.

11. How do I copy content from my iPod to my computer or other storage device without using iTunes?

It is possible to copy content using various programs (or write your own using the SDK) including: ephPod.

12. How do I restore my iPod back to its original settings and clear out any data on my iPod?

Attach the iPod to your computer, on the Summary window click on Restore which will data all data on your iPod and restore iPod back to what it was and with either your existing or latest iPod software installed. You get four restore options:

13. How do I check my Apple ID or AOL account details?

Click on iTunes Store on the left, then click on your account at the top right. Enter your password details and it will display the following information. On iTunes 11, select the menu Store and View Account (account name). To manage your Apple account directly, visit the AppleID page.

14. I disabled the warning dialogs boxes for purchasing songs, how do I re-enable them?

Click on iTunes Store on the left, then click on your account at the top right. Enter your password details and it will show an Apple Account Information
window with your details. At the bottom click on Reset Warnings to enable the dialog boxes again.

15. How do I turn off Apple Software Updates?

In Windows go to Start, Administrative Tools, Task Scheduler, and disable or delete the Apple Software Update task.

16. I have exceeded my 5 computers/devices for my purchased music?

You must de-authorize any computers you are not using or you can de-authorize all computers via your account information (see iTunes store, account info at the top right).

17. How does the 'Genius' playlist work?

Genius playlists generates a new playlist based on a selected song from your iTunes Library. The song has to be available from iTunes. Enable Genius feature via File, Library, Turn on Genius. To generate a playlist, select a song, right click it and select Start Genius and a new playlist is created. You can export the song list to a xml file or copy to play order. For more control, use the Smart Playlist feature instead.

18. How do I redeem my iTunes gift card or certificate?

Open iTunes and click on iTunes Store and click on Redeem link under the list of Manage links at the bottom the store home page or Redeem option on the Accounts menu. Also, try You can also redeem your card by clicking on your account name at the top right, then select Edit Payment Information and in the middle where it says 'iTunes Gift Cards and Certificates' To redeem your code click here and click on the arrow. Then enter the code from the card and click Redeem. The amount from the card or certificate will be added to your account. The amount will appear on the navigation bar.

19. How do I share my music or video with other computers and devices?

In iTunes, select File menu and then Home Sharing,  Turn on Home Sharing. Enter your apple account information and select Create Home Share. Click Done when it has been enabled.

In iTunes, select Edit, Preferences and then in the Sharing tab, turn on 'Share my library on my local network'.. Select which libraries you wish to share. There is also an option to enable 'Home Sharing computers and devices update play counts'. To protect your files you can specify a Required password.. Click OK when it has been enabled. To use the sharing, open iTunes on the other PC and look under Shared in the left column to view music and videos etc.

You can also use iCloud so that you can sync your music with other computers and devices. To do this enable iTunes Match on the Store menu. Then you music will be stored on Apple's iCloud storage and you can sync your music and files over the internet without having to sync with your main computer.

20. How do I use follow my favourite artists and bands.

To follow your favourite artisits and bands please use their official web sites, and social media such as Twitter (Apple Music), Instagram and Facebook.

21. How do I tell which generation of iPhone, iPod do I have?

It depends on several factors including type of navigation controls, storage size, color or monochrome screen, type of dock connector and model number. For a comprehesive list see Identifying iPod models or Identifying iPhone models page.

22. What it jail-breaking and how do I enable it and remove it?

Jail breaking means that you free your iPod or iPhone from Apple's restricted and authorised Apps Store and allow you to install non-authorised software that is not available on Apple's iTunes Store. This has a few disadvantages: any software you install may be unstable or contain malware, the software may stop working if you upgrade iOS and will void your warranty.

Since music and video are no-longer under Apple's Fairplay DRM system , jail-breaking is no longer necessary.

23. How do i upgrade iOS on my iPhone or iPod Touch device?

First connect your device to your computer via the supplied USB cable. Then in iTunes click on the device in the left hand column, then click on Check for update button on the main screen. The latest iOS will be downloaded and installed on your iPod Touch or iPhone device.

If you using iOS greater than version 4.3, then you can update your device wirelessly. Make sure Wi-Fi connection is enabled and connected to local wireless network and connect your device to a power source using its power cable. Then select Settings, General, Software Update to find and update your software.

24. The menu bar is gone, how do I get it back?

You can press Ctrl+B to hide or unhide the menu or select the menu at top left of the iTunes window and select Show Menu Bar.
To get the list of stores,devices and playlists, slect the View menu and select Show Sidebar (Ctrl+S).

In iTunes 12, you can show the sidebar, by selecting music, films etc and then selecting Playlists.
To view music as a list, click on Albums at the top right, and select Songs instead.

25. How do I prevent some music, video or other files from syncing to my devices e.g. phone, ipad, ipod etc?

Next to each music, video, app or other entry is a tick box, if you un-tick it then those files will no be sync'd with your devices. This will prevent you from filling the storage on your devices with unwanted music or videos in your library.
In iTunes 12, the option to sync is hidden, click on the device icon at the top left and then click on the Sync right at the bottom of the window.

26. How do I import music from a CD?

When you insert a disc, you automatically get prompted to import all the music from that disc. Click Yes or No to import the music or not.
If you wish to import a few tracks, then you tick tracks you want and un-tick the reset and then click on Import CD to only import those tracks.
If you wish to import only one or two tracks, you can select the track and drag it to the left of the screen, and select a Playlist to import the track into. You will need a playlist already created, if not just create one called 'Imported music' for this feature.

27. How do I access my Apps on iTunes?

iTunes can no longer manage apps for devices. Apple is encouraging users to manage apps via their device directly in the App Store. For older devices,which do not have the App Store app, I recommend, to stick with version 12.6 or lower.

28. The future of iTunes is changing.

iTunes, especially for the Mac, is changing and will be split into 3 new apps: Apple Music app, TV app and Podcast app. iTunes for Windows will be pretty much the same as before.

If you have a question about iTunes or your devices related, then please .

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