My iTunes library is empty

Hi Sherryl. It is not something new with Apple. Normally you need a copy of all your music somewhere to sync to iTunes. Either on an external drive or in the cloud. I would recommend iTunes match for the simplest way to get your music back on your new computer. You may have to set it up on your old computer then upload to iTunes match. At that point you can log into iTunes with your new computer and your Apple ID and all your music will be there in the cloud. You can download any of it to your computer or any device from the cloud at that point. The other option is to copy all your music to a external drive then load the songs into iTunes, choosing in preferences to let iTunes manage your music and copy the files to iTunes when importing. If you choose to run your music from the external drive, you will ALWAYS have to have it plugged in to access your music. I hope that helps.

 

You're welcome. Yeah, it's to keep people from illegally sharing music.

 

If all else fails, search for a program called sharepod. Lets you extract all the music from your device, so you can copy it back to iTunes (or where ever)

 

This must be new to 10.8. When I used Migration Assistant last summer all if my iTunes music transferred flawlessly...

 

I think it's different if you're using migration assistant. It can copy anything you wish to bring over from your old computer. I think the OP was inquiring how to copy her music from the iPhone and iPad to the computer.

I really think iTunes match is the best. It was so worth the $25 a year. Besides having access to my music from anywhere, I also don't have to keep 12,000 songs on any one device. (Just the fact that it replaced my inferior music files, over 5000, with higher quality files was at least worth that price). Did I mention. DRM free?

 

iTunes Match would not be an option for me as 99% of my music is ripped from my personal cd collection. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer to purchase physical CDs and rip them into iTunes. I backup my MBP via Time Capsule, which includes my music.

 

It doesn't matter where your music comes from. It doesn't have to be purchased through iTunes.

 

Correct,

you can import your CD's into iTunes just like you are used to. Only extra is iTunes matches your tracks to the iTunes store. Songs without a match are uploaded. These files are then at your disposal via iCloud (and no, you don't need to purchase any more space). Only caveat is the 25k song limit.

Also, as a nice extra, iTunes Match gives you the iTunes Radio in iOS7 ad-free, whereas non Match subscribers get served with adds.

 

I would suggest firing up iTunes and export the old library. If you only copy the music into the new iTunes you will have to sync both devices again as your new library gets another id.