In 2019, Apple officially announced the shutdown of iTunes. With the release of macOS Catalina, iTunes services were split between Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV apps. The transfer as well as the synchronization with an iPhone or an iPad is done using the Finder. There are many websites on the Internet that offer free music. You can download audio files to any of them and then add them to your iTunes or Apple Music library.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Find free music
Step 1. Go to free MP3 download sites
Many websites offer free music downloads. You probably won't find the hottest tracks, but you will have access to a variety of new artists ready to share their music.
- Jamendo.
- SoundClick.
- Internet Archive.
Step 2. Download free mixtapes
Hip-hop artists, whether mainstream or underground, offer free downloads of projects called mixtapes of similar length to albums. Just as old cassette mixtapes allowed budding artists to gain the attention of record labels, current mixtapes are made available free of charge on the Internet to allow well-known artists to share their new music and continue to make music. to exist.
Some artists choose to publish their mixtapes directly on their own websites. For example, DatPiff offers many free downloadable mixtapes
Step 3. Look for aspiring artists
Many apprentice artists offer their music for free on their bandcamp or SoundCloud pages or on their own website. Many well-known artists are also starting to distribute their music on Pay what you want platforms.
Pay what you want platforms are at first glance similar to paid platforms, however you can simply insert a zero in the payment window so that you are not charged anything
Step 4. Subscribe to audio podcasts
Most online radio shows and podcasts play songs and allow you to listen to music for free. You won't be able to download any songs, however you will be able to subscribe to the podcast and listen to free recordings as much as you want. Some of the audio podcasts available for download to a mobile device or computer include:
- Country Classics. This podcast is hosted by Joe Bussard, the man with the world's largest collection of 78s, and features pre-war country, blues and hillbilly. This is an incredible collection of rare music (for those looking for nuggets of North American music) brought to you by a true eccentric and it's free!
- Theme Time Radio Hour. Initially broadcast on Sirius XM radio, this podcast allows you to download all of Bob Dylan's radio shows as well as everything related to other artists like Koco Taylor or the Beastie Boys, without paying anything.
Step 5. Upload music to YouTube
YouTube contains an incredible amount of music, which is why many websites offer video download services that allow you to extract an audio file from the content on the platform. You will only have to insert the URL of the YouTube video to get an audio file as MP3.
- Listen to YouTube, Tube To MP3, YouTube to MP3, and All2MP3 are free apps that will help you do all of this. Download the program of your choice, install it and then copy the link into the browser. You will get MP3 files which you can transfer directly to iTunes.
- The best trick is to search for artists on YouTube and then select links on their profiles that redirect to other content sharing sites. There you can find a larger part of their discography, their Bandcamp pages, their social media and links to new artists.
Step 6. Find music with your friends
Ask your friends who share your musical tastes to burn you CDs of their favorite songs that you can then transfer to your iTunes library. Best of all, there are plenty of free online storage and sharing services, like Dropbox, that allow you to store documents, files, and folders that you can share with other users. Create your own account on these platforms and simply ask your friends to put all their best songs in a shared folder. You will be able to grab them on your own computer and add them to iTunes.
Step 7. Download torrent files
Torrents are large encrypted files that must be "unpacked" after being downloaded using a torrent client (eg uTorrent or Frostwire). Use torrent finding tools like Pirate Bay to find specific files before downloading them with a torrent client. You can also search for files directly on the client and, once downloaded, you will only have to drag and drop them into iTunes to listen to them.
Method 2 of 2: Move Music to iTunes
Step 1. Go to the location of the downloaded music
Use Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac to go to the location of the downloaded music. By default, the downloaded files are located in the folder Downloads. The folder Music can also contain music.
Unzip the files if necessary. Most large files like mixtapes can be presented as zip files to unzip. While newer operating systems contain tools for compressing and decompressing files by default, older systems may require third-party software like WinZip to perform these kinds of tasks
Step 2. Select the songs to transfer to iTunes
Click on the songs you want to copy to your iTunes library.
- Click and drag the mouse to select multiple files simultaneously.
- To individually select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key (Command on Mac) and click each song you want to copy.
Step 3. Right click on one of the selected files
Choose Copy or Cut to add all the selected files to your clipboard.
If you are using a magic-mouse or a trackpad on Mac, you can right click with 2 fingers
Step 4. Open iTunes
The iTunes app icon is white with two musical notes on it. Double click on it in the menu To start up on Windows or in the folder Applications on Mac to open iTunes.
If you're using macOS Catalina, open Apple Music instead of iTunes
Step 5. Click Library
This is the first tab at the top of the iTunes window.
Step 6. Select Edit
This option is in the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window.
Step 7. Choose Paste
All the copied songs will be pasted into your iTunes library.
You can also drag and drop audio files from Windows Explorer or Finder to your iTunes or Apple Music library
Step 8. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer
Use the lightning USB cable that came with your iPhone or iPad to connect it to your computer.
Step 9. Click the iPhone or iPad icon in iTunes
This icon is located to the right of the drop-down menu at the top of the iTunes window.
Step 10. Select Music from the sidebar on the left
This will display your audio library.
Step 11. Check Sync Music
This option indicates that you want to transfer your music to your iPhone or iPad.
Step 12. Click Synchronize
Your iTunes audio library on your computer will sync with your iPhone or iPad.
Advice
- If the drag and drop technique to save files to iTunes library does not work, right click or command + click on each file, select Open with then choose itunes. The song will open in iTunes and be saved to your library.