(Solved) Can't Add Music (MP3, FLAC, APE, WMA, etc.) to iTunes

When importing music into your iTunes library, you may sometimes find that you can't add music to iTunes directly. The most likely cause is that the music is in an unsupported format.

iTunes natively supports only WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, AAC, and MP3 for playback. Other formats, such as FLAC and APE, are not supported and therefore cannot be added to the iTunes library. But you might also find some of your MP3s fail to import as well.

Strange as it is, iTunes does have strict requirements for the files it accepts, even if the format is supported. Take MP3 as an example: if it has messed-up or missing tags, or uses variable bit rate (VBR), iTunes, especially outdated versions, likely won't accept them.

As mentioned, iTunes supports only a limited range of music formats, and WMA isn't one of them. So you need to convert WMA to an iTunes-compatible format first, as outlined above.

But if you're using iTunes on Windows, you may not necessarily need to perform the format conversion, because iTunes for Windows offers a built-in solution for importing unprotected WMA files, provided you have Windows Media Player Series 9 or later installed. Here's how to proceed:

1. Launch iTunes for Windows and navigate to "Edit" > "Preferences".

2. Under the "General" tab, click on "Import Settings".

3. Here, you get to choose how iTunes converts your files. Options include AAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, MP3, and WAV encoders.

4. Adjust quality settings as desired.

5. Access the "Advanced" tab to configure iTunes to place copies of imported WMA files. Click OK.

6. With your preferences set, it's time to add your WMA files to iTunes. You can either click "File" > "Add File to Library" or simply drag and drop the WMA files directly into the iTunes window.

7. Upon adding the files, iTunes will prompt you to convert the WMA files automatically to the format you specified earlier. Click "Convert" to initiate the conversion process.

8. Once the conversion is complete, the converted file will appear in your iTunes library, and the WMA files will remain in the original place.

If you still can't add music to iTunes after converting it to the correct format, try these solutions:

1. Turn off "iCloud Music Library"

If this option is on, you can't drag music into iTunes. Just open iTunes on your PC, go to "Edit" > "Preferences", and then uncheck iCloud Music Library.

⚠️ Important: You should back up your music library first because turning off Sync Library will remove tracks already synced to your device.

2. Turn on "Manually manage music and videos"

If you're trying to drag files to sync to your device but fail, ensure you've enabled manual management in iTunes. Once your device is connected to your computer, open iTunes, click the device button, then click "Summary". In Options, select "Manually manage music and videos" and click "Apply".

3. Update iTunes

With iTunes in extremely old versions, it's a frequent problem that you can't add songs to iTunes. You can open iTunes > "Help" > "Check for Updates" to get the latest version.

4. Unblock Songs

Rare as it might be, it happens. If your music file was obtained from the internet or another computer, it might be blocked so you can't add it to iTunes properly. You can try unblocking it by right-clicking on the file, selecting "Properties", and checking the box before "Unblock" under the "General" tab.

5. Repair Corrupt Songs

You won't be able to add music to iTunes or any other player if the music file is corrupt. You have to re-download the music or use a repair tool to try to fix the file.

🔔 If the music is DRM-protected, iTunes will not let you add it. DRM-protected files can only be opened by authorized native apps.

iTunes not adding songs is a common problem many users face. Luckily, the solution is usually a quick format conversion. It's always recommended to optimize your music files in the iTunes-friendly format first so they can be easily recognized by iTunes. That's everything I wanted to share. Hope you find it useful!