Migrate · iTunes to Rekordbox

Move from iTunes to Rekordbox.

Moving from iTunes to Rekordbox is the classic step from music collector to club-ready DJ. Here is exactly what carries across, what gets lost, and how to bring your whole library over without starting from scratch.

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Moving a DJ library from iTunes to Rekordbox

Bring your collection across without losing your work.

Your music already lives in iTunes, the Music app on current macOS, and Rekordbox can read that library directly. The real work is not the transfer. It is turning a listening library into a DJ library: analysis, organization, and playlists that survive on their own.

What transfers from iTunes to Rekordbox.

Capability	Carries	What happens
Audio files		Local, DRM-free files link up. Apple Music streaming tracks do not come across.
Playlists		Playlists appear via the iTunes import; make them native so they live in Rekordbox without the XML.
Key & BPM		iTunes stores no DJ analysis; Rekordbox analyzes tracks fresh after the import.
Hot cues		iTunes has no cue points, so you start clean rather than losing anything.
Beatgrids		Created by Rekordbox's own analysis after import.
Star ratings		Carry where the app reads iTunes ratings; spot-check after import.
Comments & tags		Comments saved in the file tags travel with the files themselves.

Using Rekordbox's built-in iTunes import. iTunes never stored DJ data like cues or beatgrids, so those start fresh no matter which path you take.

Compare any pair in the DJ App Transfer Matrix

The easy way

Let Vibes move your library for you.

Vibes imports your whole library, keeps it organized, and exports it to any DJ app with your cues, grids, and tags intact. No manual rebuild, nothing lost.

See how Vibes fits your style

Vibes desktop app showing a library organized by vibes

Moving from iTunes to Rekordbox, step by step.

Rekordbox has a built-in iTunes import, so the native path genuinely works. It links your local files and playlists; it just does not create any of the DJ-layer data iTunes never had.

Let the app see your library

On macOS, current DJ apps read the Music app library directly; allow access when macOS asks, and keep File, then Library, then Export Library in the Music app as a fallback if the library does not appear. On Windows, use iTunes and enable Share iTunes Library XML with other applications in Preferences under Advanced; Apple's newer Music app for Windows does not create the XML DJ apps need. Only local, DRM-free files will carry; Apple Music streaming tracks stay behind.

Point Rekordbox at the XML

On macOS, Rekordbox reads the Music app library automatically and shows it under the iTunes node in the browser tree. If it does not appear, or you are on Windows, open Preferences, go to Advanced, then Database, and set the iTunes Library XML path to your library XML file.

Make the playlists native

Drag the playlists you care about from the iTunes source into Rekordbox's own playlists or crates, so they survive on their own once the XML link is gone.

Analyze and verify

Let Rekordbox analyze BPM, key, and beatgrids; iTunes never stored any of that. Spot-check a handful of tracks and playlists before you rely on the library at a gig.

The import only covers local, DRM-free files. Apple Music streaming tracks stay in Apple's ecosystem, and everything DJ-specific, cues, grids, and energy tags, still has to be created after the move.

A+Dfocus vibes

1-5rating

␣+Pplay/pause

←+→tracks

The cleaner path

One library, every app.

Vibes does not need the XML: it imports the folders where your music already lives, analyzes BPM, key, and track sections, and adds the mood and energy organization iTunes never had. Then it exports playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points straight into Rekordbox, so you arrive with a DJ-ready library instead of a flat track list.

See the DJ Library

Import the folders where your iTunes media already lives, no XML needed

Analyze BPM, key, and sections across the whole collection

Add the mood and energy organization a listening library never had

Export playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points into Rekordbox

Organize once, export to Rekordbox.

Your playlists, tags, ratings, and cue points travel to the gear you play on, so nothing you do in Vibes is locked away.

Track 001

Artist A

128

Afterhours

Mysterious

Introspective

Track 002

Artist B

124

Cozy Floor

Peaceful

Home

Track 003

Artist C

132

Rave

Aggressive

Festival

Build & Release

Playlists

Vibes

Mood

Aggressive

Euphoric

Melancholic

Mysterious

Peaceful

Playful

Tense

Function

Arrangement

Sets

Club Night 12/28

NYE Closing Set

Rooftop 01/04

Frequently asked questions

The honest answers, including the trade-offs.

Yes. On macOS, Rekordbox reads the Music app library automatically; otherwise set the XML path in Preferences under Advanced, then Database. Your iTunes playlists appear under an iTunes node in the browser. Drag them into Rekordbox's own playlists to make them permanent parts of your collection.

Not through the library import. Only local, DRM-free files you own, purchased or ripped, come across; Apple Music subscription tracks are protected streams and never become files in your DJ library. Rekordbox, Serato DJ, and Engine DJ now offer separate Apple Music streaming integrations that let subscribers search and play tracks online inside the app, but those tracks stay streams: they need an internet connection and cannot be exported, pre-analyzed offline, or moved between apps. Traktor has no Apple Music streaming. For music you rely on at gigs, owning the file is still the safe path.

There is nothing to lose: iTunes never stored cue points or beatgrids. Your destination app creates them fresh during analysis. If you prep in Vibes first, it can analyze tracks and export cue points along with your playlists, so you do not start from zero.

Methodology