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How to move Google Play Music to iTunes

AndroidPIT iTunes on Android 5
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When it comes to listening to digital music today - smartphones have officially killed off the MP3 player market. The device of choice today is the smartphone - with the majority of consumers using either an iPhone or an Android smartphone. If you've gone down the Android route, chances are that you've bought into the Google Play music ecosystem and consolidated your music collection through that. But what if you end up preferring iTunes over Google Play Music? Or recently switched from an Android smartphone to an iPhone? How do you move your Google Play Music purchases to iTunes?

First things first: there is no practical way to automatically sync Google Play Music with iTunes. Your Google Play Music purchases will not automatically (or magically) transfer over to iTunes. There are no real plug and play options either. So if you connect your iPhone to your computer (or Mac), your Google Play Music will not automatically sync.

So let's start with the bad news: if you want to move your Google Play Music over to iTunes, you're going to have to do it manually.

The good news is that it's super easy and relatively quick (depending on how much music you've purchased via Google).

Before we get into the details of how to accomplish this feat, let's clear up some of the misconceptions and rumors floating around the web.

  • You do not need to convert your music files when you download them from Google Play Music. Quite a few people say that you'll need to convert your Google Play Music from MP3 to MP4, but that's just not true. If needed, iTunes will manage all your audio conversions automatically.
  • You do not need any third party software to record/rip your tracks and to upload them to iTunes.

How to move Google Play Music to iTunes

Editor's Note: While Step 1 is optional, I find it helpful and cleaner!

1) Create a new folder on your desktop or somewhere on your computer that you can quickly access.

mac desktop screenshot google play music folder
Create the folder on your desktop. © NextPit

2) Open Google Play Music in your browser and click on “My Music” on the left hand side.

google play music browser version my music
You'll find "My Music" on the top left. © NextPit

3) Click on the top left hand menu (the three lines) and select “Music Library”.

google play music browser version music library
The menu will appear on the left. © NextPit

4) Click on "Albums".

google play music browser version my albums
Albums will be listed at the top. © NextPit

5) Right hand click or hover over the album and click on the three dots and select “Download album”.

6) You'll be prompted to select a download location. This is when you should select the empty folder that you created.

google play music browser version download albums
 Select the folder that you created at the beginning of this process. © NextPit

7) Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you've downloaded all your Google Play Music.

8) Open iTunes and drag and drop your downloaded music into it.

And that's it. Simple as that. You can then delete the folder with the downloaded music, as you won't need it anymore.

Sadly, there is no bulk download feature for Google Play Music at the moment, which makes Step 5 very tedious. So until Google offers this functionality, you're stuck with doing it manually.

If you've found an alternative or quicker way to move your Google music to iTunes, or have a cool tip, then let us know in the comments.

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  • Landmark Grp 2
    Landmark Grp Jan 20, 2022 Link to comment

    Thanks for sharing the helpful article "move Google Play Music to iTunes". I would recommend to use MusConv tool.You can transfer all your playlists to any of your music service without any issues. You can even transfer your tracks from Apple, Google Play Music or spotify.


  • 1
    Michael Sandridge Feb 27, 2019 Link to comment

    Go to Settings in Google Play Music and scroll down until you see Download Library. Just downloaded 904 songs with the click of one button.


  • Dan 1
    Dan Feb 9, 2019 Link to comment

    5 or 6 times? try 659 times. there has to be a faster way


    • 1
      Michael Sandridge Feb 27, 2019 Link to comment

      Go to Settings and scroll down until you see Download Library


    • 1
      Greta Aug 29, 2020 Link to comment

      It doesn't say 5 or 6 times. It says repeat step number 5 (download album) and step number 6 (select download location) until all of your music is downloaded.  So the number of times is dependent on the number of albums you want to transfer.
      I think now there is the option to select your entire music library. Maybe the author of this article can confirm and update.


  • 1
    Andrew Chamen Jun 12, 2018 Link to comment

    I use android for my phone and an ipod touch for my music. This article was very useful. Thank you.


  • 1
    Tony G. Jun 10, 2017 Link to comment

    Use the Google Play Music Manager (Google it!). You have the option to export your whole library or just specific songs. You're welcome.


  • 2
    Lisa Patterson Mar 29, 2017 Link to comment

    Very helpful article!! I wanted to say that after step 5, it gave me a link to download google play music manager so I went through those steps. Opened that program after it downloaded and it had me sign in with my Google account and right away asked me if I wanted to transfer my songs. It then gave me the option to transfer them to iTunes or other folders so I chose iTunes and it worked perfectly! It starts out slow but speeds up. It also doesn't duplicate any files if you already have some music sitting in iTunes.

    Greta


  • Elizabeth Hardersen 2
    Elizabeth Hardersen Mar 10, 2017 Link to comment

    ....stunned silence and crickets here......
    Freinds don't let friends get an iPhone.


    • 24
      Deactivated Account Mar 10, 2017 Link to comment

      you know that iTunes for Android exists as well ;)


  • 24
    Deactivated Account Mar 10, 2017 Link to comment

    Isn't that like moving your music from a cd to a vinyl? ;-)


  • 6
    Jack Smith Mar 9, 2017 Link to comment

    What am i missing? Or is it a typo? Why on earth would you move from Google Play Music to iTunes?

    Google Play works fine on my iphone. iTunes is the worse as it locks your music in. But also Google play works on the Internet, every platform, on your TV, works on many stereos, in the car, but the biggest thing with a cheap chromecast works on everything but from the cloud not my phone.

    Please explain your thinking?


    • 24
      Deactivated Account Mar 10, 2017 Link to comment

      Theres quite a few reasons to switch from google play music to itunes and vice versa. Many people are not bound for life to a certain OS, Phone or App. Speaking from personal experience, ive switched from an iPhone to an Android phone and back a few times. Ive bought music in both stores and when I was using my moto x style I was exclusively using google play music on my phone. BUT - if you switch to an iPhone youd have to be a fool to keep on using google play music. The reason why iOS is so good is because it all works so smoothly together. Phone usage aside - its also a preference thing - there are many people out there who just simply prefer itunes to google play.

      "Google Play works fine on my iphone."

      It does on mine as well but from a usability perspective its easier to have all your music consolidated through one "music player" rather than switching back and forth between the two.

      "iTunes is the worse as it locks your music in."

      Now what do you mean with this? Unless im misunderstanding what youre trying to say - ive never had any issues transferring any of my itunes music to any other device or platform.

      "But also Google play works on the Internet, every platform, on your TV, works on many stereos, in the car"

      And the same thing can be said about iTunes. And the only real advantage that the Chromecast IMO has is that its cheap. You can have virtually the same experience with apple tv. My point is not to debate whats better - but simply that everyone has different preferences and opinions and they are just as valid as yours ;)


  • Shankar Prasad Nandi 18
    Shankar Prasad Nandi Mar 9, 2017 Link to comment

    The other way round? How do I move my iTunes music to Android?

    Jack Smith


    • 24
      Deactivated Account Mar 9, 2017 Link to comment

      the tutorial is linked all the way at the beginning of the article - but here you go ;) https://www.androidpit.com/itunes-and-android-how-to-sync


      • 6
        Jack Smith Mar 9, 2017 Link to comment

        Ok this makes more sense. Was the original an early April fools joke?


    • Damich Bangelica 1
      Damich Bangelica Nov 9, 2017 Link to comment

      Try using the musconv tool, it helps you transfer your music from one music library to another - Bangelica


    • 1
      Zendy Mejia Jan 17, 2018 Link to comment

      Wanna transfer tracks and playlist across various service? Musconv will help you.Move wherever you want.Apple Music, Google Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, Youtube, Deezer, Tidal, Pandora, Groove--Name it! musconv.com can help .
      - Zendy

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