Add Music to Your Music Library

Adding all of your digital music to your computer's music library will help you easily locate and organize your music collection. You can add songs and albums to your computer by placing them in designated libraries for iTunes (Mac or Windows), Windows Media Player (Windows), or a third-party music player. Songs are typically added simultaneously to the program's internal library and a designated, stand-alone music folder. The guide below details how to rip (or import) audio compact discs (CD), place audio files already on your computer into your music player's folders, and buy additional songs from online stores.

Steps

Ripping Audio Files from CDs in Windows Media Player

  1. Insert an audio CD into the CD-ROM (or CD/DVD-ROM) drive. After the CD loads, your computer will bring up a menu with several options. These include "Burn," "Play," "Add to Playlist," and "Rip."
    • If you have set Windows Media Player to rip audio CDs automatically, it will open the program and begin ripping the CD immediately.
    • To change whether Windows Media Player automatically rips CDs or not, open the program, right-click on empty space in the tab bar, and go to "File," "Tools," "Options," and "Rip Music." Then select "Rip CD when inserted." You can choose to always automatically rip CDs or rip CDs only when the "Rip" tab is open.
  2. Select "Rip" and allow the computer to automatically rip your CD. This brings up the "Rip" tab in Windows Media Player where you can select and deselect tracks for ripping from a list.
    • Ripped songs will automatically appear in the Windows Media Player library list and your "Music" folder. If you retrieved information on the CD from the Internet (Windows Media Player automatically searches for it) the audio files will appear in a folder that designates the artist's name and a sub-folder that designates the album's name.

Importing Audio Files from CDs in iTunes

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM (or CD/DVD-ROM) drive. If you are connected to the Internet, iTunes will automatically upload any information it can find on your particular audio CD.
  3. Decide whether you want to import all tracks or manually select which tracks to import. Click "Yes" when the dialog box asks if you wish to import all tracks to your iTunes library or "No" if you want to manually select which tracks to import.
  4. Allow iTunes to import your CD. The status of each track you're importing can be seen in the progress bar located at the top of the menu.
    • Imported songs will appear in the iTunes library list. They will also appear in your iTunes Music folder, if you have selected "Copy files to the iTunes Music folder when adding to library" in the program's "Add to Library" menu.

Adding Audio Files With Drag and Drop to Your Music Library

  1. Open your chosen media player. Make sure the program's music library section is open and not a playlist or burn section.
  2. Select the file (or files) that you wish to move to your chosen music library.
  3. Drag them over (by clicking and holding) to the music program menu. Once the files are within the program and a symbol for adding the files appears (usually a "+" symbol near the files), you can release them.
  4. Allow the files to automatically be sorted by the program.

Adding Audio Files to Windows Media Player With the "Add to Library" Menu Option

  1. Open Windows Media Player.
  2. Right-click on empty space in the tab bar.
  3. Select "File" and then "Add to Library."
  4. Select "My personal folders" or "My folders and those of others I can access." "My personal folders" allows you to select folders on your computer, while "My folders and those of others I can access" allows you to select folders on networked computers in addition to folders on your computer.
  5. Select the folders with the audio files you want added and click "Add."
  6. Select "OK" to confirm the operation.

Adding Audio Files to iTunes With the "Add to Library" Menu Option

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. Open the "File" menu and select "Add to Library."
  3. Select the file or folder you want to add.
    • If the "Copy files to the iTunes Music folder when adding to library" option is selected, iTunes will automatically place newly added audio files in both the iTunes library and the "iTunes Music" folder.

Buying Audio Files Through iTunes

  1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
  2. Open iTunes.
  3. Enter a song or artist name into the "Search Store" bar. The bar appears in the upper-right corner of the menu.
  4. Select a track in the results screen. You can filter the type of media you're looking for by clicking on "music" to have the search engine only display music results. You can also listen to a 30-second preview of each song.
  5. Click the "Buy" link located next to track. You will have to register with iTunes, giving basic information like name, address, credit card information, and email, before being able to purchase songs. This includes creating an Apple ID and password as well.
  6. Enter your Apple ID and password at the prompt and complete the transaction. The song will automatically be added to your iTunes library.

Tips

  • In Windows Vista, XP, and 7, you can organize the files in your "Music" folder by right-clicking on empty space in the folder, then selecting "Sort by," and choosing the criteria for which to sort your music. You can sort your files by name, date added, type, size, and a number of other options. To organize files in the iTunes Music folder, open iTunes (the program) and select "File," "Library," and then "Organize Library." Select the option "Reorganize the files in the folder 'iTunes Media'" (or "iTunes Music," depending your version of iTunes).

Warnings

  • Some file extensions cannot be played by certain media players. For example, iTunes cannot play .wma files, while Windows Media Player cannot play .acc files. You can convert the files to more common formats (.mp3 and .wav) by using an audio file conversion program.

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Sources and Citations

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