iMac music library not syncing new songs to iPhone

This is Apple's article on syncing: https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mchlde9a31f1/26/mac/26

Another way is to drag music directly from the Music app on your Mac onto the iPhone in the Sidebar (under Devices).

There is also the option of subscribing to iTunes Match: https://support.apple.com/en-us/108935

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I figured it out. The added songs were dumped in a folder called Unknown Artist - Unknown Album. I assume it couldn't find the Meta info. I'm surprised it didn't leave it in the same folder it originally resided in, but it also doesn't surprise me. I had converted must of those songs with a batch file from WMA or MP3 to M4A format, so I assume I missed some code that would have transferred the album info during the conversion. The problem now is after I sync to my phone, I can search for the song on the phone and find it, but can't determine the location. There is no Unknown Artist or Unknown Album on the phone, but the songs are there if I search for them. But it's better than not having the new songs on the phone at all.

Thanks again to everyone who offered assistance!

"My Music App has no menus, no status bar... none of the things the instructions I've found tell me to access"

See if these things return in Safe Mode: https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mh21245/mac then restart in Normal Mode.

If the issue persists in Safe Mode contact Apple Support: https://support.apple.com/?cid=gn-ols-home-hp-tab

truthislife wrote:

I've got an iMac running Tahoe 26.4.1. I don't use iCloud or Apple Music. I backup/sync my iPhone (15 ProMax v27.2) to the iMac. I have thousands of songs on the iMac, but if I add any songs, I can't get the music library to sync, which means I can't get the new songs onto my iPhone.

Do you have space on the iPhone for all of the songs that you are trying to sync? If not, you may need to pick and choose which of the songs or albums on your Mac to synchronize to your iPhone – so thatt the selection you pick will fit within the room available.

Thanks for your reply. I've synced my music from my iMac to my iPhone numerous times, per the instructions you provided. The problem is my music folder on the hard drive contains many songs that the Music App doesn't show. So none of the new music syncs to the iPhone. In the past (when the 15 Pro Max became available) I was finally able to import new music and get it to sync when I restored the new phone from the backup of my old phone. But now, I can't find any way to import the new music added to the music folder on my hard drive. My Music App has no menus, no status bar... none of the things the instructions I've found tell me to access.

Regarding dragging my music folder to my iPhone, I believe when I tried that three or so years ago after I restored my old phone backup to the new phone, I ended up with thousands of duplicate songs on the iPhone, and I had to wipe all music off of it. I guess I can try that again.

Thanks for your reply. I tried several times and never got an option to choose Safe Mode. I select my volume, but then it brings me to a login screen. When I check System Information (with the Option key depressed), it says Boot Mode is Normal. I'm using an M1 chip.

Here is a screen capture of my Music App...

truthislife wrote:

I've synced my music from my iMac to my iPhone numerous times … The problem is my music folder on the hard drive contains many songs that the Music App doesn't show. So none of the new music syncs to the iPhone.

That's a rather critical detail. You need to fix whatever is wrong with the Music library on your computer. Then, once all of your music is showing up in the Music library on your computer, you will probably have no problems syncing it to the iPhone.

One more thing to add. Something must have happened when I took a screen shot of my Music App. Afterwards, I maximized the Music App window, and now the menu bar appears. But I have a new problem. When I select File - Add to Library, I can browse to my music folder and select a song. But the Music App doesn't show it, and the song is no longer in my music folder, so I have to copy it back to my iMac. It appears to disappear off of the hard drive. Also, if I double-click the song in the music folder, the Music App will play it, but I appears to disappear from the folder.

I may be missing some basic step. Like I said, I'm not proficient at iOS. At this point, I may remove all music from my iMac, see if the Music App is cleared of all songs, then copy all of my music back to my iMac and see if I can get it all to import. Then hope I can sync it to my iPhone. Thanks for all of the advice everyone has offered.

I'll add that I tried adding my Music folder to Search and Privacy, and then removing it, which was supposed to initiate a sync. It didn't help.

Thanks for your response. I currently have 16-17gb of music on the iPhone, and need to add around 2gb of new music. My iPhone currently has over 90gb of free space.