How to Add Music to Your Music Library

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: October 24, 2024 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to place music in your computer's or phone's music library. You can add music by importing it from an audio CD on a computer, or you can purchase music through your computer's or phone's music player.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Using an Audio CD on Windows

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Insert the audio CD into your computer. The CD goes logo-side-up in your computer's CD tray.
- If an autoplay window appears, skip ahead to the "Click the Import option" step.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

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Click the folder-shaped icon in the lower-left side of the Start window.
It's a computer-shaped icon on the left side of the File Explorer window.
You'll see this grey box with a CD icon beneath the "Devices and drives" heading.
This tab is in the upper-left side of the window. Clicking it brings down a toolbar at the top of the page.
It's in the "Media" section of the toolbar.
Your computer's default audio player will open, and it should begin importing the CD's songs.
Depending on your audio player, you may have to confirm that you want to import the CD or select a storage location.
Once the audio player finishes importing the CD's songs, you can eject the CD; the music will be playable.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Using an Audio CD on Mac

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1
Open iTunes. Click the iTunes program icon, which resembles a multicolored musical note on a white background. You'll typically find it in the Mac's Dock.
- It helps to be connected to the Internet while doing this, since otherwise your songs might not import with the correct information (e.g., artist name, song name, track order).
Most Macs don't have built-in CD drives, so you'll most likely need to buy an external one and plug it into your computer.
You'll find it in the upper-left side of the window.
4
Click Yes when prompted. Doing so will prompt the CD to begin importing into your iTunes library.
- You can also click No, uncheck any songs you don't want to import, and then click Import CD.
Once the import is complete, you can click the blue-and-white "Eject" button in the upper-right side of the page to eject the CD and save your songs.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Using Groove on Windows

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Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
This will search your computer for the Groove Music player.
It's at the top of the Start window. Doing so opens the Groove window.
It's a gear-shaped icon in the bottom-left side of the Groove window. The Settings page will open.
This link is below the "Music on this PC" heading that's near the top of the page.
It's in the middle of the page. This will open a File Explorer window in which you can select a music folder.
Click on a folder that contains music which you want to add to Groove. You'll find the folder on the left side of the File Explorer window.
It's in the bottom-right corner of the window.
9
Click Done. You'll find this in the lower-right side of the Groove page. Doing so will begin uploading your music to Groove.
- You can't purchase music through Groove, but you can purchase a Groove Music Pass that lets you download music for free. To buy a pass, click Try a Music Pass in the bottom-left corner, click Start trial when prompted, and enter your payment details if prompted to do so.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Using iTunes on Mac

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Click the iTunes program icon, which resembles a multicolored musical note on a white background. You'll typically find it in the Mac's Dock.
This menu item is in the upper-left side of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
You'll find this item in the drop-down menu. Clicking it prompts a Finder window to open.
Click a folder that holds the music that you want to add to your computer. You'll find it on the left side of the Finder.
Click and drag your mouse across a group of songs that you want to import, or hold ⌘ Command and click each individual song that you want to import.
It's in the bottom-right corner of the Finder window. This will immediately add the music to your iTunes library.
7
Purchase music through iTunes. In addition to adding existing music to your iTunes, you can buy and download music onto your computer through iTunes. To do so:
- Click the iTunes Store tab.
- Click the "Search" bar.
- Type in a song or album name and press ⏎ Return.
- Click the song or album price.
- Enter your Apple ID password, then click BUY.
Any purchased music will download into your iTunes library, at which point you can transfer it to your iPhone if you like.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Using iTunes on iPhone

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1
See if the music is already in your computer's iTunes library. If it is, you can add the music from iTunes to your iPhone without having to purchase or download music from your iPhone's iTunes app.
- If the music isn't already in your computer's library, proceed with this method.
Tap the iTunes Store icon, which resembles a white musical note on a purple background. You'll usually find this app on the Home Screen.
It's in the lower-right side of the screen.
This is at the top of the screen.
Type in the name of a song, an album, or an artist, then tap Search on your iPhone's keyboard.
Tap Songs or Albums at the top of the page to sort by song or album.
For example, if you want to buy an individual song from a well-known artist, you would tap $1.29 to the right of the song.
It's a green button in place of the price button.
9
Enter your Apple ID password. Type in the password you use to sign into your Apple ID account.
- If your iPhone has a Touch ID sensor, you can usually scan your fingerprint instead.
Once the music finishes downloading, it will be available in your iPhone's library immediately.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I post my songs online?

Community Answer

You can post songs for free on SoundCloud, which is a website for musicians in the making.

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Question

How do you add music to a laptop?

Thefinalmuffinman

Community Answer

Once you've inserted your album of choice, the CD will show up in your "Libraries" option if you're using Windows. Click on "Rip" in the options once you're in the CD Library interface, and follow the instructions of the article.

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Question

I have a CD-R disc with 4 tracks recorded, How can I erase them?

Community Answer

If it’s a “CD-R”, they cannot be erased. The CD has to be a “CD-RW” before it can be erased. The CD-R means CD writable. CD-RW means CD ReWritable.

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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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