How do I transfer my iTunes library and all its metadata to Musicbee?

[np190]

I'm considering Musicbee as an alternative to iTunes and have been wanting to transfer all my songs and info, but I'm running into some problems with the whole process. I'm not sure how to transfer the data in such a way that all the metadata is preserved, particularly play count and date purchased, among other things. Musicbee doesn't seem to have any trouble transferring the ratings, but a lot of the other metadata is lost in the process of transferring. Additionally, Musicbee won't play m4p files transferred over from iTunes, and I wasn't sure what I needed to do to get those files to function. Any help with this process would be appreciated, it all feels very overwhelming. (I've read guides describing the process of how to get Musicbee to intake the music files, but every method I've tried has either left the library incomplete or the songs unplayable and/or without info.

[psychoadept]

Hi, welcome to the forum!

There are several threads around about this. If the forum search fails you (which is likely) try a google search of the site. But this may also help: https://ccm.net/faq/19944-musicbee-import-your-itunes-library

[np190]

Ok, I reset everything and imported the library based on the instructions you gave me. It has Play Count this time, but Date Purchased is still missing and I'm not sure how to modify Musicbee to make that appear. Additionally, the mp4 files still won't play. Any idea what I can do to fix these issues? (Also, is there any way to change where the music is stored on the computer so that this program isn't just piggybacking off of iTunes while it's still installed? I had to use the iTunes Library.itl file for the import, but the song locations are still listed as being inside the iTunes media folder, and I'd prefer to move them out if possible so I can remove iTunes). Please let me know what you think.

[psychoadept]

I'm not sure Date Purchased is available in MusicBee? Unless you mean it should be treated as Date Added. Someone with more iTunes experience than me will have to advise you on that one.

M4P files are rights-protected proprietary files. MusicBee won't be able to play them unless you can get them in M4A format, instead.

Having the music stay where it is shouldn't actually hurt anything. You can still remove iTunes. But this explains how you can relocate files using MusicBee: https://musicbee.fandom.com/wiki/File_Organization

Bear in mind that anything you move with MusicBee will no longer be accessible in iTunes, so don't move it until you're happy with your library transfer.

[smann]

I have a couple of iTunes-purchased M4A songs. Purchase date is stored in PURD (tag code is also purd) and MusicBee didn't override it in the transfer. You could enable it in the custom tags section of the preferences. You'll have to search the forum to find the write-up for how to do this, I can't remember how I did mine at all.

None of the data should be lost as none of the tags are rewritten (except for metadata like last modified, date added, and such), it's just that iTunes and MusicBee handle some tags and filetypes differently.

If you import the songs into MusicBee, right-click on a song, click Edit, and click the "Tag Inspector" tab at the very top (above the normal tabs). There it'll show all the tags for that file.


Now for M4P files... M4A files are unprotected and playable in MusicBee, M4P are DMC-protected by Apple and therefore are restricted, and MusicBee can't play them. A quick Google search seems to show things that can convert M4P files, but I haven't tried any so I can't speak to their effectiveness.