The ultimate guide: Transferring music from iPhone to Mac

Check out these quick tips to transfer music from an iPhone to a Mac, including your purchased songs from Music app and non-purchased ones.

Depending on the macOS version your Mac has, this article gathers several different ways to transfer your music from iPhone and save it onto Mac desktop.

• You can transfer music from iPhone to Mac by turning on Sync Library or iCloud Music Library on both devices if you have a subscription to Apple Music.
• iTunes has the Transfer Purchases from [iPhone] feature for earlier Mac users, so you can transfer your songs.
• You're able to use third-party tool like iPhone Data Transfer for Mac to transfer music to Mac, as long as the tracks are downloaded from other sources on your iPhone.

Knowing how to get music off an iPhone can be useful if you're creating a music library on a Mac.

With a large collection of music trapped in the iPhone, owners are at no loss to play and control the music at any time. But sometimes you'll want to keep a same copy of songs onto the Mac for backup, editing and sharing - say you got a new MacBook, so transferring music can be a good option.

Syncing music from iPhone to Mac can be also helpful if you're about to share your favorite tracks between Apple products without download anything form online source. Once the music content is transferred, you can organize the tacks you have on the iPhone into one folder on your Mac.

How to Transfer Music from iPhone to Mac?

Here's how to set up the transfer on any Mac and enjoy the music on the desktop. Check the version of macOS your Mac is running and pick the most suitable method.

1. Transfer Music to Mac If You've Subscribed to Apple Music

2. For All Macs: How to Move Music from iPhone

3. Use iTunes to Transfer Your Purchased Music in macOS Mojave and Earlier

Turn On Sync Library with Apple Music

If you pay for the subscription and become a membership of Apple Music, your music is transferred automatically between iPhone and Mac that are signed with the same Apple ID.

This sounds cool, and to make the sync take effect, you need to turn on Sync Library (or iCloud Music Library) on both your iPhone and you Mac machine.

Step 1: Make sure you have a paid subscription for Apple Music

Navigate to Settings > Music on your device, then tap Join Apple Music. On the pop-up screen, choose a subscription plan and sign in your Apple ID to confirm.

You can also make the purchase right from Apple Music app by tapping Listen Now tab, then tapping your profile picture in the upper right to see your subscription in the account page.

Step 2: Enable Sync Library on your iPhone

On your iPhone, tap Settings > Music, then turn on the toggle for Sync Library. If you're using an older iPhone, it should be iCloud Music Library.

You'll see Sync Library if you joined Apple Music.

Step 3: Enable Sync Library on Mac

The last step is to switch on the feature on your Mac so the Apple Music on iPhone are able to being synced.

• Open Apple Music app.
• From the menu bar on the top of your screen, choose Music > Preferences.
• In the window that appears, check the box for Sync Library to turn it on under General tab. If you're on macOS Mojave 10.14 and earlier, highlight iCloud Music Library option instead.

Any Apple music should automatically sync to your Mac machine.

iPhone to Mac Music Transfer Tool

This works regardless of the Mac and iPhone you're using, and works for transferring the songs that are not downloaded from Apple Music and iTunes Store.

The simpler and easier transfer option you might consider is using iPhone Data Transfer for Mac tool. It's a comprehensive tool that makes transferring music from an iPhone to a Mac, between two iOS devices, or between iPhone and PC a cinch.

The software offers more insight and control on your music library. You can sync all or a selection of your music on iPhone to your Mac.

Designed with ease of use in mind, simply install the software on your Mac, click multiple songs you really want to sync from iPhone, and your music will transfer across in a matter of seconds or minutes.

Steps to Get music from iPhone to Mac:

1. Launch iPhone Data Transfer utility on your Mac. Close iTunes if it's running.

2. Connect your iPhone to your Mac for the music transfer affair. You should see the device information on the screen once the tool detects your phone.

3. Click "Music" tab from the sidebar on the left. That will take you to access your music library and music that's on your iPhone.

4. To import music to Mac, click on the songs individually ready for transfer.

5. When you're satisfy with your selections, click Export icon at the toolbar at the top, and choose Export to Mac option to instantly save your music onto desktop.

Transfer Purchases from iPhone in iTunes

If you have music purchased from iTunes Store, try to open iTunes to move those songs to your Mac from iPhone. It's pretty easy to do.

Know that Apple killed up iTunes app starting with macOS Catalina, so the process for transfer purchased music has switched to Apple Music through Sync Library feature.

So open your Mac that is running with macOS Mojave 10.14 or older version, then do the following:

• Open iTunes and update it to its latest version through Help > Check for Updates.
• Allow your Mac to access your iPhone. Click Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer > Authorize..
• Transfer your Music. Choose File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from [your iPhone].

Any songs from iPhone will be added to iTunes library on your Mac. If you have a large library, the transfer should take for a while.