Sharing iTunes

On one computer (OS X 10.7.2) I want to share my iTunes library with the other user.

In Preferences( in both iTunes) I checked "Share my library on my local network" and "Share entire library"

1) On one user (adminstrator) I can see the other music library under "SHARED" but not on the other user's. How is that possible? (Both iTunes are open)

2) How can I "copy" music from one library to the other?

Do both computers ahve the same iTunes Account/Apple ID? They need to.

I don't think you can "copy" music from one machine to the other.

You are just sharing access to your library so the other computer can play your songs.

I use it at home. I have all the music on a NAS box. My library has access to all the music. I share my library with my wife's MBA. She is able to play all my music over the Airport Express on the stereo. However, not able to copy any of the music.

You can copy from one machine to the other using Home Sharing.

You can copy from one machine to the other using Home Sharing

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Correct. You should see an Import button along the bottom of the iTunes window.

If all computers have home sharing turned on and they are on the same account it should work OK. I have an iMac, two MacBooks, a MacBook Air and a PC sharing OK and I have not done anything clever.

I believe he is talking about using one computer and multiple users on said computer. I too would like to know if this is possible. Continuing looking through search.

Just found it. iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer Thanks Chas_m!

my idea would be to just put your iTunes library to an external hard drive and add the same saving location to both - this way the computer you plugged in the hard drive can access the iTunes library. even better if you use a wireless external hard drive then both computers can access the iTunes library

TheMacMania said:

my idea would be to just put your iTunes library to an external hard drive and add the same saving location to both - this way the computer you plugged in the hard drive can access the iTunes library. even better if you use a wireless external hard drive then both computers can access the iTunes library

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That's a good idea to a point, but the libraries can get out of sync when making changes (adding music, playlists, deletions etc) because the media can be housed on the external but not the libraries XML catalogue.

well, yes, that's true - depends on what you aim for. still, it could be replaced from time to time?

TheMacMania said:

well, yes, that's true - depends on what you aim for. still, it could be replaced from time to time?

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That's ok if you only ever make changes on one instance.

If you've made changes on both iTunes instances you'd have to merge the changes from both rather than just replace. It's possible but it's not exactly seamless or straightforward. That's where a third party library sync tool comes into play.