Apple Music: Deleting songs from library doesn't remove files from disk

In OS27/Apple Music 1.7.0.161, there seems to be a issue/glitch with regard to deleting music from my library. By way of illustration, prior to the OS27/Apple 1.7.0.161, if I had an old mp3 that I wanted to upgrade to an iTunes quality m4a, I could select the song and click "delete from library"; I would then be prompted to "Keep File" (removing it from the library only, leaves the file on disk) or "Move to Trash" (removing it from the library and sends the actual file to the Trash. Accordingly, in the past, for my upgrading purposes, I would "move to trash" and then buy the song from itunes.

Now, when attempting to delete the song from my Libary, I am just asked a confirmation prompt. If you click yes (confirming the delete), it seemingly removes the song from the Library, but does not delete the song from the disk. The net result of this is when you go to iTunes to buy the song from iTunes, when you add it to the Library, the cloud status is "duplicate" and the old version reappears.

Am I missing something or is this a glitch?

Posted on Sep 25, 2026 5:01 AM

1 reply

sooperfresh

Level 2 (377 points)

Sep 27, 2026 1:07 PM in response to tonyd410

Apple's own Golden Gate guide still lists the Keep File / Move to Trash choice, but its steps start from Songs in the sidebar, so try deleting from there rather than from an album or playlist. If it still skips the choice, select the track, File > Show in Finder, trash the file there, then delete it from the library. Katalog on Mac also asks Remove from Library or Remove and Trash Files on every delete, and takes the track out of Music too. i built it, so grain of salt.