MASTER APPLE MUSIC: PART 2

In this final part, we take you through how Apple Music can help manage the music you own

Written by Daryl Baxter >

Although Apple Music heavily emphasises the features that the streaming service provides, the Music app offers plenty for those who want to manage their personal music collection.

Back when iTunes was Apple’s music app on the Mac, the company focused heavily on its ‘Rip. Mix. Burn’ campaign. This simple idea let users insert a CD into their Mac, and iTunes would extract the tracks and import them into their music library. iTunes could then add information like artist, album and track name automatically (drawing them from the Compact Disc Database or CDDB) or you could do so yourself. iTunes could also fetch the best album artwork for you too, or you could add your own. Eventually, you would have an album in iTunes that you had bought from a store, ready to listen to on your Mac, iPod, and, eventually, your iPhone.

Fast forward to 2025, and while the Music app has replaced iTunes, much of that functionality has remained intact, along with new features that allow you to stream your personal library.

Even with subscription services like Apple Music that allow you to have a curated and personal music collection, there’s still something special in managing albums you’ve owned on CDs for years, now freely accessible in your Music library.

The first part of our Apple Music guide last month (#MF412) focused on streaming your music, in this second part, we’ll explore how you can manage both your existing music collection and Apple Music, in perfect harmony.

Add your music

Rip. Correct. Listen. Get your old tunes on Apple Music

W hile there are plenty of ways to listen to music on your Mac via subscription services like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music, the Music app on Mac still lets you import your classic music collection — just like the old days.

If you’re a music lover, you’ve likely built up (or possibly inherited) a physical music collection, consisting of CDs and maybe even vinyl records that haven’t been played in decades. If so, you may be wondering: can you transfer all of this physical media into the Music app on your Mac? The answer is yes! And you can do plenty with it too.