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How to migrate your iTunes library and playlists to a Serato library and crates

Many people have invested a lot of time organizing their music in iTunes but would like to stop relying on iTunes to import their files into Serato DJ, thus alleviating issues that can come along with having Serato DJ reading an iTunes library.

This article will explain how to transfer your iTunes playlists into Serato DJ crates, and how to get new music imported in Serato DJ, while continuing to import and store music in iTunes.

Making a crate from an iTunes playlist

1. Open your Serato software and make sure the Show iTunes library and option in the Library + Display tab of the Setup screen is checked.

2. Go back to the main screen and click on Library to expand and view your iTunes playlists.

3. Create crates by clicking on the crate icon at the bottom of the crate section.

4. Name the crates you create the same name as the Playlists being read from iTunes. Simply double click on the crate name, rename it, and press enter. In this example I've created a 'Party Bangers' and 'Trill Bass' crate.

5. Select all the files in a particular playlist by clicking on one file in the playlist and holding down control + A (Windows) or command + A (Mac). Once highlighted, drag/drop them into the same named crate you created.

6. Once all your playlists are transferred into crates you can uncheck the Show iTunes Library option in the Setup screen. At that point you will be left with all the same files and organized structure only your Serato software will no longer be relying on iTunes to import your music (as they are now all being referenced from the files original location).

Now that the playlists have been transferred into crates, how do you get new files you add to iTunes to show up in Serato software? There are two ways we suggest importing your new music.

Adding all iTunes music into Serato DJ

1. Click on the Files tab and then click on the Music folder/iTunes/iTunes Media to get to your iTunes Music folder. Drag and drop the entire iTunes Music folder directly onto the word all above your crates.

Note: This will only import the new files you added to iTunes. It will not duplicate the files that have already been imported.

Once imported, create an added column in your all section to be able to see the newly imported files. Do this by clicking on the gray arrow pointing to the left that is directly above the scroll bar on the far right side of the main library window and clicking added. You may need to use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll to the right of the main library window but you should now see an added column.

From there, click on the actual word added in the column header to group all the files by the date they were added to in the software. This will list all the new files you just imported into the program and you can then drag/drop the files into whatever crates they belong in.

2. You can also import your newly added files by temporarily checking the Show iTunes Library option. This will import files coming from iTunes and you can then drag/drop the new files into the crates they belong in.

If your having trouble locating the new files, create an added column (described above) in the iTunes Library folder and group by the date added inside that folder. Once you've moved the new files into crates you would then want to go back to the Setup screen and uncheck the Show iTunes Library option.

Using Smart Crates (like Smart Playlists in iTunes) is a good way to get everything organised automatically. Read our article on setting up Smart Crates here.