HOW TO consolidate and back up

1 Where’s my media?

The iTunes Media folder, in iTunes inside Music in your Home folder, is where iTunes keeps iTunes Store downloads and files that you import into iTunes from other sources, like MP3s. But it may not include all your content.

2 Re-download purchases

in iTunes, go to Account > Purchased. Click Not in my Library. Click the cloud icon on each item to download it to your Mac. This will take a lot of disk space, so if losing an item later wouldn’t bother you, leave it.

3 Keep content in iTunes

In iTunes > Preferences > Advanced, untick ‘Automatically delete…’ to keep your downloads and tick ‘Copy files to iTunes Media folder’. In the Downloads tab, tick all to duplicate content downloaded to other devices.

4 Consolidate your library

Go to File > Library > Organize Library. Tick ‘Consolidate files’ and click OK. Any files you’ve ever imported without ‘Copy files to iTunes Media folder’ ticked will now be copied into your iTunes Media folder.

5 Delete originals if necessary

Again, this will take up disk space. Sort iTunes Media by date to see what’s just been added; if it’s from original files on your Mac, not the iTunes Store, you can delete the originals (find using Spotlight).

6 Back up your library

You now have all your media in one place. The iTunes Media folder will be backed up by Time Machine if you use it. If not, or as an extra periodic insurance backup, just copy the whole folder to a separate safe location.