How to add your personal music collection to your streaming playlists

Unlock Your Entire Music Collection: Integrating Local Files with Streaming Services

Modern music streaming offers unparalleled access to millions of songs, but many of us still cherish personal digital music libraries containing rare tracks, live albums, or music unavailable on major platforms. Fortunately, most streaming services seamlessly integrate local audio files, expanding your listening experience beyond their online catalogs. Let's explore how this works with three popular services:

Apple Music

Apple Music, accessible on macOS, iOS, and Windows (via iTunes), effortlessly combines your streamed and locally stored music. On macOS, import files via File > Import. Windows users utilize File > Add File to Library or Add Folder to Library.

Your imported tracks reside in the Library section (left navigation panel). You can edit metadata (title, artist, genre, etc.) by right-clicking and selecting Get Info. Create playlists incorporating both local and streamed tracks, syncing them across your Apple devices as needed.

Spotify

Spotify's desktop app allows merging your personal music with its streaming library. Enable local file playback through Settings, activating the Show Local Files toggle and specifying the folders containing your music. Imported tracks appear under Your Library > Local Files, readily added to playlists or your queue.

Spotify's mobile apps (Android and iOS) also support local file playback, though syncing isn't available (desktop only). Enable this feature via the app's settings; Android users find it under Show audio files from this device, while iOS users navigate to Local Files > Show audio files from this device.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music, lacking a desktop app but offering a web interface, lets you upload up to 100,000 songs to its cloud storage for access across all your devices. On the web app, click your profile picture (top right), then select Upload music. Uploaded tracks appear in your Library, alongside your saved YouTube Music tracks, under Albums, Songs, and Artists. You can easily add uploaded songs to playlists. Note that uploaded tracks don't influence recommendations or appear in shared playlists.

YouTube Music's Android app (but not iOS) also plays local files directly, functioning as a media player without cloud storage or syncing. Enable this via your profile picture (top right), then Library and downloads, and finally Show device files.

This guide covers three major services, but similar local file integration is common across many music streaming apps. Enjoy the expanded musical possibilities!

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