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How to upload and add your music to Apple Music

Soon you can have your special music tastes in the Apple Music app.
By
April 28, 2023

Apple Music has such a wide selection of music that you’d be hard-pressed to find something it doesn’t have. However, if you have your own paid-for music files, you may want to upload them to your Apple Music app to play. This can be useful if some songs on Apple Music are unavailable due to regional licensing restrictions. Here’s how to upload and add your music to Apple Music.

QUICK ANSWER

To upload and add your music to Apple Music, use the Music app (macOS) or iTunes (Windows). Both have virtually the same interface and the same method for uploading music files. Note that you can only upload MP3 and M4A files. Anything else, such as FLAC and WMV, is not supported and must be converted to either MP3 or M4A format.

How to upload music to Apple Music (Windows and Mac)

If you own a Mac, open the Music app. If you own a Windows PC, download and open iTunes. Both apps are almost identical in terms of menus and uploading functions. So, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll show you how to do it on the Mac Music app. You’ll be able to follow along if you’re using iTunes.

In the top menu, go to File > Import.

music macos file import

Navigate to the music folder located on your computer. Click Open to begin the importing process. Remember, you can only import MP3 and M4A files. Other music formats, such as FLAC, are currently unsupported. If you have FLAC files, you would have to convert them to MP3 or M4A format, which defeats the purpose of having FLAC files in the first place.

music mac music files import

The music will now start to be uploaded to your Music app or iTunes. When it’s finished, you will see it by clicking Recently Added or by searching for the artist/album.

music macos search
Mark O'Neill / Android Authority

Note that the music will have been copied to your Music app or iTunes. Therefore those copies will now be in the Media subfolder of your Music folder. You can therefore delete or move the original files that you uploaded; otherwise, you will have two sets of the same music.


FAQs

No, other people cannot see what you have uploaded. The files are visible and playable by you only.