Sharing an iTunes library across multiple computers

I tried Home Share but it did not do what i expected. In addition to doing Home Share, the files need to be copied to each computer apparently.
Is it permitted to have the iTunes Library be located on a shared disc (such as one attached to an AirPort Express)? So that one copy of the library would be used by all copies of iTunes running in the house?
I am confused because different products seem to work differently. If I set up my iMac and my Mac Book with Home Share, each of htem needs a copy of the library in its own disk space. But if I set up Apple TV to use Home Share, it plays my videos from the hard drive of my iMac. Yes both describe Home Share as the same concept.
So far it appears that MacBook and iMac do not share libraries in the sense of using a single copy on disk.
What about iPhone and iPad? Do they read the library from the home sharing computer or do the media files need to be downloaded ahead of time to the iOS device?
What am I missing here?
Thanks,
Bruce

Not really. Each computer will have a separate library within iTunes. They can be set to use the same file storage location but I have no idea how to do that with a Mac.

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Sharing an iTunes Library across multiple user account and a network.

Sharing an iTunes Music Library across multiple user accounts.
Hello Everybody!
Firstly, this was designed to be run in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It will not work with earlier versions of Mac OS X! Sorry.
Here's a handy tip for keeping your hard drive neat and tidy, it also saves space, what in effect will be done is an iTunes music library will be shared amongst multiple users on the same machine. There are advantages and disadvantages to using this method.
• Firstly I think it might be worthwhile to state the advantages and disadvantages to using this approach.
The advantages include:
- Space will be saved, as no duplicate files will occur.
- The administrator will be able to have complete control over the content of the iTunes library, this may be useful for restricting the content of the Library; particularly for example if computer is being used at and education institution, business or any other sort of institution where things such as explicit content would be less favorable.
- The machine will not be slowed by the fact that every user has lots of files.
The disadvantages to this system include.
- The fact that the account storing the music will have to be logged in, and iTunes will have to be active in that account.
- If the account housing the music is not active then nobody can use the iTunes library.
- There is a certain degree of risk present when an administrator account must be continually active.
- Fast User Switching must be enabled.
Overview:
A central account controls all music on the machine/network, this is achieved by storing iTunes files in a public location as opposed to in the user's directory. In effect the system will give all users across the machine/network access to the same music/files without the possibility of files 'doubling up' because two different users like the same types of music. This approach saves valuable disk space in this regard and may therefore prove to be useful in some situations.
This is a hearty process to undertake, so only follow this tutorial if you're willing to go all the way to the end of it.
Process:
Step 1:
Firstly, we need to organize the host library, I tidied mine up, removing excess playlists, random files, things like that. this will make thing a bit easier in the later stages of this process.
Once the library is tidied up, move the entire "iTunes" folder from your Home directory to the "//localhost" directory (The Macintosh HD) and ensure that files are on the same level as the "Applications", "Users", "Library" and "System" directories; this will ensure that the files in the library are available to all users on the machine (this also works for networks)
Optionally you can set the ownership of the folder to the 'administrator' account (the user who will be hosting the library.), you may also like to set the permissions of 'you can' to "Read & Write" (assuming that you are doing this through the user who will host the library); secondly you should set the "Owner" to the administrator who will be hosting the library and set their "access" to "Read & Write" (this will ensure that the administrator has full access to the folder). The final part of this step involves setting access for the "Others" tab to "Read Only" this will ensure that the other users can view but not modify the contents on the folder.
Overview:
So far we have done the following steps:
1. Organized the host library.
2. Placed the iTunes directory into a 'public' directory so that other users may use it. (this step is essential if you plan on sharing the library across multiple accounts on the same machine. NOTE: this step is only necessary if you are wanting to share you library across multiple accounts on the same machine, if you simply want to share the music across a network, use the iTunes sharing facility.
3. set ownership and permissions for the iTunes music folder.
Step 2:
Currently the administrator is the only user who can use this library, however we will address this soon. In this step we will enable iTunes music sharing in the administrator's account, this will enable other users to access the files in the library.
If you are not logged in as the administrator, do so; secondly, open iTunes and select "Preferences" from the "iTunes" menu, now click the "Sharing" tab, if "share my library on my local network" is not checked, the radio buttons below this will now become active, you may choose to share the entire libraries contents, or share only selected content.
Sharing only selected content may be useful if their is explicit content in the library and minors use the network or machine that the library is connected to.
If you have selected "share entire library" go to Step 3, if you have selected share "share selected playlists" read on.
After clicking "share selected playlists" you must then select the playlists that you intend to share across your accounts and network. Once you have finished selecting the playlists, click "OK" to save the settings.
Overview:
In this step we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the administrator's account, now, users on the local network may access the iTunes library, however, users on the same machine may not.
Step 3:
Now we will enable users on the same machine to access the library on the machine. This is achieved by logging in as each user, opening iTunes, opening iTunes preferences, and clicking "look for shared music". now all users on the machine may also access the library that the administrator controls.
This in effect will mean that the user will not need to use their user library, it will be provided to them via a pseudo network connection.
As a secondary measure, I have chosen to write a generic login script that will move any content from the user's "Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" directory to the trash and then empties the user's trash.
This is done through the use of an Automator Application: this application does the following actions.
1. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Specified Finder Items"
1a. The user's "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music" folder
2. Uses the "Finder" action "Get Folder Contents"
3. Uses the "Finder" action "Move to Trash"
4. Uses the "Automator" action "Run AppleScript"
4a. with the following:
on run {input, parameters}
tell application "Finder"
empty trash
end tell
return input
end run
IMPORTANT: Once the script is adapted to the user account it must be set as a login item. in order to keep the script out of the way i have placed it in the user's "Library" directory, in "Application Support" under "iTunes".
Overview:
Here we:
1. Enabled iTunes sharing in the user accounts on the host machine, in effect allowing all users of the machine to view a single iTunes library.
2. (Optional) I have created a login application that will remove any content that has been added to user iTunes libraries, this in effect stops other users of the machine from adding music and files to iTunes.
Step 4:
If it is not already enabled, open system preferences and enable Fast User Switching in Accounts Options.
Summary:
We have shared a single iTunes library across multiple user account, while still allowing for network sharing. This method is designed to save space on machines, particularly those with smaller hard drives.
I hope that this hint proves to be helpful and I hope everybody will give me feedback on my process.
regards,
Pete.
iBook G4; 60GB Hard Drive, 512MB RAM, Airport Extreme Mac OS X (10.4.6) iWork & iLife '06, Adobe CS2, Final Cut Pro. Anything and Everything!!!

how to share music between different accounts on a single computer

Sharing one iTunes library across multiple accounts on the same Mac

Hello, I've poked around at some of the posts dealing with sharing one iTunes music library across multiple accounts on the same Mac but it seems like this can only be done if the libary is moved to a shared folder. I realize this can be done but I was trying to share it the way it is described in a post on Apple support (See link below.). That post seemed to imply that you don't have to move the library from its original location (owned by account A, e.g.), rather just make a couple preference changes in the accounts, use fast user switching and voila. That doesn't seem to work. So my question is this: Is the only way to share one iTunes music library across multiple accounts on the same Mac to move it to a shared folder? I'm running 10.4.8 on an Intel iMac. Thanks in advance!
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195

After reading this and several other related threads, I am becoming thoroughly confused about all of this. I have a situation similar to the one that pokerpal described in the post dated January 7 at 8:06 pm, except that the music files on my system are located on an external hard drive. Everything else is pretty much the same though - I am the admin user (and the main iTunes user and maintainer) and my girlfriend is a standard user who has no music in her own iTunes library. She can see and listen to and make playlists from and sync her iPod with the music in this library from her account, and I can do the same thing, independent of her, from my account. And if I make a change to information within a song, she doesn't see it, and vice versa, and I understand that. What I don't understand is why when I add a song or an album to the music files by importing a CD or downloading something from the iTunes Music Store, she has no way of knowing that unless I tell her, and then she can add it to her library by using the "Add to Library" function. Is there no way of automatically updating her library files to add the new song(s)? We have almost 15,000 songs and videos in that library, and I don't even want to think about what might have to happen if the answer to my question is "no." Interestingly enough, if I put an update to a Word document in the same exact location (on the hard drive), we can update that and pass it back and forth all day - why is that such a difficult task for iTunes to accomplish?
Sorry I went on so long, but this has been building up for some time, and none of the solutions I've read about here have really been of any help, so I'm a bit frustrated and, as I said at the beginning, confused.
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Can I share one iTunes Library with multiple computers on a network?

Can I share one iTunes Library with multiple computers on a network?
note: one library universally shared, not Home Sharing (one library each, shared to each.)
I want to share one library stores on my server and access it through various local computers. When I buy a song from a computer (non-server), I want it to be added to the library (stored on server). I want it to auto copy to my server, for organization. I want to be able to sync my phone from any computer.
Most of this I can do, if i figure out how to use one universal library for all my computers.
Any ideas how I can do this?

eyeinit,
You can authorize your iTunes account on up to 5 computers at a time.
However, purchased music is downloaded to the first machine to download it, but these articles have more information on moving your music between authorized computers:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93063
This one is for moving all your music using an iPod as a storage drive
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
Hope this helps,
Nathan C.

Same iTunes Library on Multiple Computers

I was wondering whether someone could help me out a little here. I have 3 computers at home. A MacBook Pro, a Windows Vista Laptop and a Windows Vista desktop PC. Both my Wife and I have iPods (mine an iPhone and hers an 8Gb 2nd Generation Nano).
What I want to be able to do is access my iTunes music collection (the music files are currently stored on the MacBook) through any computer in the house (I have wireless through Time Capsule). This I am told is easy through iTunes sharing, however this does not allow you to connect your iPod to any machine and update it, as sharing does allow this.
Is there a way of storing the iTunes library and files on one machine, like a central server and then you can play music from any computer (perhaps using iTunes on that machine) and you can also plugin your iPod/iPhone into any machine in order to update it?
Looking forward to hearing peoples suggestions on this one.
Thanks.

Hello
Try this website:
http://theappleblog.com/2008/10/13/one-itunes-library-on-multiple-computers/
I have been using this solution with my Library and Music situated on a NAS for awhile now with great success.
Hope this helps.
Kevin

Sharing itunes library among multiple computers?

Hey all,
We are a Mac family. We have an iMac and a Powerbook, and I recently bought an iBook for my wife. We'd love to be able to share our iTunes library among the computers. Is there an easy way to set this up? Any help would be greatly appreciated......
I'm betting this has been talked about elsewhere but wasn't sure if there was a simple solution I'm missing.
Thanks in advance.....
jon

It depends on what you mean exactly. If you want to simply be able to play stuff out of each other's libraries, you can turn on Sharing in the iTunes preferences. Any computers on the same network with iTunes open and with sharing turned on, will see each other's libraries (they show up in the left side column like a playlist sort of). But this method of sharing only allows you to play their stuff. You will not be able to add the songs to your own library, add the songs to your own playlist, or burn a CD of songs from their library.
If your question was how to have a SINGLE central library serving all the computers, I don't think it can be done, at least not easily.
Patrick

Syncing the same iTunes library among multiple computers

I have two computers, a Windows 7 laptop and a new iMac. iTunes on both computers are signed into the same Apple ID. I currently have my iTunes library on my laptop, but I would like to also have the exact same library on my iMac. For instance, if I download a new podcast to my laptop, it should be placed on my iMac as well. When I delete the podcast, it should be deleted on the iMac too. When song metadata is updated on my laptop (play count, lyrics, etc), I want it updated on the iMac automatically.
I have not had much experience with Home Sharing, but would that do all of this automatically? I know I could manually transfer songs from one computer to the other using Home Sharing, but what about updated metadata or deleting files?
iCloud has made this situation more interesting. I know iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match will keep music files in sync among various devices (including metadata?), but what about podcasts or movies or files not purchased via iTunes? I know there are plenty of details that are yet to be released concerning iCloud, but do you think it will solve this problem entirely, or will manual labor be required to obtain the exact same library among multiple computers?
I have considered only using my iMac to maintain my library, since it is always on and I could use Home Sharing to listen to music on my laptop since they are on the same Wifi network. However, I feel it would be best to keep the same library on two computers for when I take my laptop on vacation away from my home network.
What would you suggest for this situation?
Thanks!

sorry about the slight irrelevence of this post on this thread....i saw this much older post you had in my explorations and it is almost to a "T" my issue currently and i was wondering if you ever came to a conclusion or had any tips or resolution paths i could explore. your original message:
     I have 2 computers I'd like to set up Home Sharing on. One is Windows XP and the other is Windows 7.
     I set it all up but then the libraries never show up. Nothing happens.
     The computers are on the same network and I can successfully share files and a printer. Both computers are      authorized using the same account. Both are signed into that account.
     I don't know why it's not working. Can you please help?
          Thanks!!
is EXACTLY my problem with the only variable being that both of my computers run 7. furthermore, you went on to say you were experiencing issues with the "remote" app. that was the initial objective for me in my system that got me here with a deeper problem with home share. i want to home share my itunes library and control it from my iPod touch 4g. is that such an unreasonable request?!?!? lol. i'm incredibly frustrated and was hoping that since you had such specifically similar circumstances....have you found a solution? PLEASE HELP!!! thank you so much for your time.

Sharing (synchronizing) a single iTunes library over multiple computers

Okay, i've been looking all over for a simple answer to this problem for a while and haven't found a solution that doesn't involve paying for third-party software or a lot of seemingly unnecessary hassle. Here's my situation:
I have an older 12" PowerBook G4 and a brand new MacBook Pro. I also have a Time Capsule and a 30 gig iPod, but i'm not sure whether they will be helpful or not for my situation. When i got my MacBook Pro, i let Leopard transfer all my info, so now both computers have the same login information, music library, iPhoto library, etc... But not for long, naturally. I want to use my MBP at home primarily and will spend most of my time on it, but i will also frequently be out and will be taking my PowerBook along as it is both more portable and less of a concern if something happens to it. What i want to do is to set things up so that my iTunes library (including playlists, ratings, and other metadata) is kept synchronized across both computers (perhaps via the Time Capsule?) and that any changes made on either mac will at least eventually be mirrored on the other without causing duplicates or loss of any files. I don't need to keep separate versions or sizes of iTunes libraries either; the hard drives are each large enough to hold the entire thing.
On a side note, the iPod only needs to be able to sync from the MBP, i think, though it would be nice to have the option to sync from either. Sadly, it’s not large enough to hold the whole library, so i can’t use that to go back and forth or anything.
Also, i wouldn’t mind if the library were only stored on the TC and the PB, since the MBP should be able to access the TC 99% of the time, but in that case the PB would have to compare its own library and metadata to that of the TC, while i’m not sure how the MBP would store its iTunes database on the TC and not its own drive. I imagine that, with the current implementation of iTunes at least, it would have to be all on the MBP and the PB, with the TC version merely a backup. In most cases, i should be able to reach both my TC and my MBP from the road over the internet, but i still want to have the library on the PB hard drive for when i don’t have a connection.
I wouldn’t mind a “master, slave” type setup either, with the MBP being the master, since with the only working optical drive and a faster connection, it will be doing most of my importing- but it’s important that the playlists and everything are the same and it sure would be nice if i didn’t have to remember not to make any changes from the PB. I don't plan on buying any music from the iTunes store and my entire library is DRM free, so that won't be a problem. Both systems are running the latest versions of all software and operating system (though i hear this may change with Snow Leopard...?)
And while we’re at it, doing the same or similar to my iPhoto, iCal, Addressbook, Documents, etc. would be nice. Perhaps something can be done with the entire Home folder that would accomplish all of this? I’m not sure if the fact that one is Intel and the other is PowerPC would put a hitch in that method though. There are some settings, such as the totally different trackpads, etc. that will not be the same, plus i’ll be using a lot of programs solely on the MBP, which is why cloning the drive is not an option.
I’d like to find a way to set this up using just Automator and maybe some Applescripts if possible, but if i do have to bend and go third-party, it would need to be solid.
I know my situation is unique (I’ve found a lot of people trying to synchronize libraries, say, with a spouse, etc. WITHOUT syncing the metadata- or people wanting different libraries on different computers to feed into the same pool, but those are very different cases, obviously) but i’m sure there are plenty of people out there with several different macs of their own who could benefit from this solution. Any help you can give towards this would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have a similar problem. Wish I had an answer but am struggling with a similar problem. My situation is this: I have a Imac and a Macbook Pro. I have the same 4 accounts on both and I sync them through '.mac'. It works fairly well. My goal is to get one Itunes library accessible from the 2 computers and the 4 accounts per computer. I am also using Time Capsule/Machine as well. I currently keep the Itunes library on an external drive (not TCapsule). So, my problem is this:
1. How to update from multiple accounts accross the two machines?
2. How to access Itunes store from all of the accounts on machine 2?
I am now trying to set up individual Itunes libraries for each account on machine 1 and share to machine 2.
In any case, this is not pretty and needs to be reachitected to support a multiple user environmet.

Problems sharing iTunes library across multiple accounts on one imac

I have followed the Mac OS instructions in this article http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 to share music accounts on the family iMac by putting the iTunes Media folder in a public directory. When I go to connect to this library the I cannot see the actual iTunes Media folder but the following file path is available: ~/Public/Automatically Add to iTunes.localized. Selecting this folder does not appear to make the library available.
Has anyone had this problem?

iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 - relocating iTunes' media folder to a shared area but leaving separate library files - extra tip at https://discussions.apple.com/message/17331189
Chris CA's instructions on sharing one iTunes music library between multiple user accounts - https://discussions.apple.com/message/8974074 - Multiple users using a single library file - similar post at: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3753008

Sharing an iTunes Library w/Multiple iPods/Computers

I'm sure there is a tutorial somewhere that tells you how to do this...but I cant seem to find one. I'm trying to find out how to share one iTunes library that is on my mac with another computer on my network (a laptop PC). I have 2 ipods as well, and would like both ipods to be synched to the same itunes library. Is this possible? Please help!
thanks

Not really. Each computer will have a separate library within iTunes. They can be set to use the same file storage location but I have no idea how to do that with a Mac.

Using One iTunes Library on multiple computers.

Hey guys,
I've currently got my iTunes library saved on a Time Capsule and use it with my mac mini.
I want to be able to use the same library on my macbook pro. have set up iTunes on both computers so that it looks for the library on the Time Capsule so at the moment both machines can play all the media.
However if i buy track using the mini and add it to iTunes it saves it in the right place and plays fine but how can i update the library on the macbook as so it can see the new songs that have been added?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Kind regards

Another detail with this setup is that if you've got an iPod or iPhone that you want to load music to, you'll need to connect it to the computer that is the 'host' offering the music library for share. If you use the 'client' computer, then it won't let you install your mp3s to your iPod from the 'shared' library on the other computer.
In my setup, which is similar to what you're describing, it looks like iTunes lets me connect my iPhone to either computer and install mp3s.
Seth

Share a large iTunes library with multiple computers

I have a very big itunes library that I share with several computers at my home from a mac mini and lion server. This solution works well in that all my home computers can access the itunes library on the server and play music through the "Shared" feature. The downside of this solution is that if I (or my wife, or my daughter, or my son) want to put some music on our iphones, we have to sync the iphone with the mac mini so that the itunes library is local.
I would like to figure out a way, where all of our music would be availble on all of our macbooks so we could create our own playlists, and sync our iphones.
I have considered iCloud, but I'm not sure how well (or how expensive) it might be to share 250 GB of music on iCloud. Does anyone have suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

I'm sort of in the same boat. We've got an iMac with separate User Accounts set up and are currently sharing the same iTunes and iPhoto libraries along with streaming them to our Apple TV.
Right now I'm the only one with an iPod, however she'll be getting one in a couple of weeks.
We also just picked up a MacBook yesterday and I'd like to be able to sync certain libraries like iTunes and iPhoto so that no content gets duplicated on either the iMac or MacBook and so that we both have access to the current libraries for each program on our iPods and AppleTV.
I have an external hard drive that I back up the iMac on and I assume I could manually keep things current with that but there's got to be an easier way...that's why these are Macs right?
Bill

How to maintain 1 iTunes library on multiple computers

Hi,
I have a desktop and a laptop, both of which I want to have the same iTunes library on. I dont want them both to be turned on at the same time so using "sharing" is not really an option.
I currently have my entire library on Skydrive so both computers can access the music with ease. Is there a way I can have iTunes have the same playlists, song ratings/play counts on both computers?
Note: I've tried playing around with symbolic links but im not really sure what to link and where to put the shortcuts.

I want to also listing to my music on another device at the same time
A library file can only be opened by one running copy of iTunes at a time. You have to quit iTunes on the other computer.
You can have two library files sharing the same media, but then you have to keep two libraries up to date with each other.

Using single iTunes library for multiple computers

With the new Airport Disk utility, can I attach an external hard drive with my iTunes library and have multiple computers point to that library as the library for each?

BKRonline wrote:
neptune2000 wrote:
A BIG WARNING (...) If you are a good guy and use ONLY one computer to read/write (i.e., to copy music to it) and all the others are read only (which cannot be enforced in software), then you're OK. Consider yourself warned.
just to clarify...
Use ONE computer and ONE COMPUTER ONLY for purchasing / adding new content to the 'master' iTunes library area. Use ANY OTHER COMPUTER that's looking at that 'master' iTunes library for reading (playing back).
Yes. If you can enforce it by "persuasion", not software
Would there be a conflict if someone rates songs from other computers etc?
Yes. If they both rate at the same time.

Sharing an iTunes library across bootcamp

At the moment, using bootcamp, I run both OS X and Windows 7. At the moment my iTunes library is on OS X and I would like to share it across both OS's.
Would I'd like to do would be to save my library on an external HDD and have both OS's access it. Is this possible? Would it create problems with podcasts that I download?
Would I have any issues syncing my iPhone or iPod; for example would this only be possible from the one OS?

I think I have this figured out although I haven't tried it yet. Put the music/movies/etc. in the users/shared/media library and make sure it is accessible by all users, or at least you and your wife, and then import the media into your iTunes library from each of your profiles.

Sharing an iTunes library across multiple computers

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