Tip: This is how you download your iCloud music library on the Mac

If your music is spread across different devices and you want to collect everything in one place, you can download music from the iCloud music library. That is how it works.

Download iCloud Music Library

The iCloud Music Library stores music purchased from iTunes and songs or albums downloaded from Apple Music. You must have enabled that option. You can then access it from any device by logging in with the same Apple ID.

The music is available for download from the iCloud Music Library. The music you bought stays yours forever after you download it. It cannot be removed by Apple or become unplayable. With music downloaded via Apple Music, things are slightly different, you can keep and play those songs as long as you have an Apple Music subscription. When it ends, the music is automatically made unplayable.

That is how it works

If you have a music library of which you want to keep the entire collection on your Mac, follow the step-by-step plan below.

1. Open iTunes on the computer where you want to save your collection;
2. Make sure there is a check mark for ‘iCloud Music Library’ in ‘iTunes> Preferences> General’;
3. Select ‘OK’ and go to the ‘Music’ tab in iTunes;
4. Click on ‘Library’ and choose ‘Numbers’ on the left of the screen;
5. Click on ‘View> Show View Options’;
6. Check ‘iCloud download’.

You will now see a cloud icon in the bar above the numbers. This column shows whether you have downloaded music locally on your Mac or not. If not, there is a blue cloud icon with a down arrow. You can download songs one by one by clicking on those blue icons, but it is also possible to select multiple songs and download them at once.

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