Moving playlists on my iPhone to my Mac

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Hi all. I have never been more frustrated with Apple and I never thought I would say that. i have an old iMac running Snow Leopard 10.7.5 and can't migrate to my newer iMac which was upgraded to High Sierra. They won't talk to each other. My problem is that I was having issues with the newer iMac (1 1/2 yrs old) and had to take it in to the Genius Bar. They wiped the computer clean and did a fresh software install. I had it backed up, or thought I did, and when starting the newer iMac again i somehow erased the backup. Great. I suppose I can start anew, but I have my whole library of songs on my iPhone and can't get them restored to the iMac. Very few were purchased from iTunes and Apple seems intent on making me buy them. Most were from CD's but many were downloaded from the web. Is there ANY way I can get these songs into my library? I'm talking about almost 2000 songs. Apple tells me they can go from Mac to phone but not backwards.
 

chscag

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Yes, there is a way but it is not free.

I recommend "iMazing 2" currently on sale from the Macworld Store for $24.99 (regular price is $39.99). It's a great app and will easily move your music back on your iMac. There might be other ways to do it for free so shop around a bit before you decide.
 

Slydude

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I'll second your recommendation Charlie. I started using iMazing a few months ago to transfer some Audiobooks from my wife's phone to the computer. Here Windows drive had failed and there were a few books on the phone that were not in the backup I'd made. I also tried iExplorer but found it a bit confusing for some tasks.

I found a deal on iMazing recently that included both the Mac and Windows version. I could get both versions for less than purchasing each version individually.
 

IWT


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A trivial point - Snow Leopard was 10.6.x whereas you say you have 10.7.5, which is Lion.

I say trivial, but it might not be if you really have Lion (10.7.5) because Lion was the first OS to support iCloud and if you stored your music in iCloud, then it might be possible to retrieve it from there on to your new Mac.

I confess to being hazy about the details as these operating systems are verging on the vintage, but worth a mention.

Admin chscag and Mod Slydude are much better versed on these sort of things:)

Ian

PS +1 for iMazing. Worth the money in my view.
 
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My bad. It is Lion 10.7.5. Nevertheless, it won't work with High Sierra. Appreciate the recommendation in iMazing. Sounds like a good option.

A trivial point - Snow Leopard was 10.6.x whereas you say you have 10.7.5, which is Lion.

I say trivial, but it might not be if you really have Lion (10.7.5) because Lion was the first OS to support iCloud and if you stored your music in iCloud, then it might be possible to retrieve it from there on to your new Mac.

I confess to being hazy about the details as these operating systems are verging on the vintage, but worth a mention.

Admin chscag and Mod Slydude are much better versed on these sort of things:)

Ian

PS +1 for iMazing. Worth the money in my view.
 
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exncite
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Thanks guys. Best $25 I've ever spent. Shame on Apple for the crap they put me through. I truly believe that Apple is all about the money anymore. They wanted me to buy the songs through iTunes. These are mostly songs I imported from MY CD's or from MY LP's which I painstakingly converted to digital. Maybe 5% from friends or sites like Frostwire. Regardless, I don't feel it's any of Apple's business where they came from. I bought the computer. I didn't buy a license to use it. I pay for storage on iCloud. I should be able to do with the computer as I deem fit...not them.

Thanks to this forum, which i've been on for years, although sparingly, the process is made so much better. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.
 

Slydude

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Glad you got that worked out.

In fairness to Apple I think a lot of this hs to do with the license agreements with content providers (record companies, movie studios, etc). Let's remember that in the early days of the iTunes Music Store these providers had to be virtually dragged kicking and screaming into the participating.

Even in cases where the music was purchased through the Music Store it's a good idea to have one or more backups. Some of the music I purchased through the Music Store is no longer available. In the case of one particular album three or four tracks are still available in my purchase history but there are a total of about thirty or so tracks. This can be particularly troublesome for complications where the rights might be owned by several people/groups.
 
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Glad iMazing bridged the gap and fixed the problem.

I'm know going to get a bad reputation for doing this so often but I see so many horror stories day to day and on these forums I feel compelled.

Backup, backup, backup. You spent all that time and effort to create the digital versions of your media and create playlists. An online or local backup of your data would have let you fix this in minutes.
 
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Glad iMazing bridged the gap and fixed the problem.

I'm know going to get a bad reputation for doing this so often but I see so many horror stories day to day and on these forums I feel compelled.

Backup, backup, backup. You spent all that time and effort to create the digital versions of your media and create playlists. An online or local backup of your data would have let you fix this in minutes.

Backup, Backup, Backup. True words. More than one backup is such an important thing. I learned the hardway.
 
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I don't feel it's any of Apple's business where they came from. I bought the computer. I didn't buy a license to use it.


I agree with your first comment but I hate to be the bearer of the news about buying "a license to use it." That's exactly what happened after you first started using it — do you recall clicking that "I Agree" box??? Yup, that one!!!

That license you agreed to was just included in the price you paid for the Apple computer and you didn't really have much of an option.

PS: I'll bet you didn't read it all either. ;)




- Patrick
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chscag

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That license you agreed to was just included in the price you paid for the Apple computer and you didn't really have much of an option.

That of course varies from country to country same as the laws regarding copyright. The US and Canada are more strict when it comes to fair use and licensing, however, many countries in Europe and elsewhere the law is different and may allow use that the US and Canada do not. I have no doubt that Apple exerts a certain amount of pressure in those places hoping to maintain control. LOL.
 

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