Apple Music playlists, Favorite Songs, and saved albums are all tied to your Apple ID. If you need to transfer your Apple Music library to another account, whether you're switching to a new Apple ID, changing regions, or separating from a family plan, your library doesn't follow you automatically.

This guide covers every practical method to transfer Apple Music playlists to a new account, including what each option can and can't move across.

How to Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Another Account
How to Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Another Account

Why Your Apple Music Playlists Don't Transfer Automatically?

Apple Music locks all your music to one account by default. Every playlist, favorite track and saved album is linked to your Apple ID via iCloud Music Library. Log into a new Apple account, and you'll have an empty library with nothing carried over.

Apple does offer a tool to transfer playlists from other streaming services like Spotify or YouTube Music into Apple Music, but there's no matching feature to move music between two separate Apple Music accounts. The only workaround Apple officially suggests is sharing individual playlist links, which is slow and can't transfer your Favorite Songs or saved albums whatsoever.

How to Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Another Account?

Since Apple currently doesn't offer a way to migrate your Apple Music library between two separate Apple IDs, a third-party desktop app is the most reliable way to move your Apple Music library across accounts.

PlaylistGo is built specifically for this kind of transfer. It connects to both Apple IDs directly, and moves your Apple Music playlists, Favorite Songs, and saved albums in one pass. If you need to transfer a large playlist fast, PlaylistGo handles it without browser loading failures or song count limits. Your credentials are handled securely and your music data is processed locally on your device.

PlaylistGo interface
PlaylistGo Interface
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Tutorial: How to Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Another Account

STEP 1
Connect Your Old Apple Music Account

Install and launch PlaylistGo on your computer. Select Apple Music as the source platform and sign in with the Apple ID you're migrating from. PlaylistGo will load your full library — playlists, Favorite Songs, and saved albums.

Select Apple Music as source platform in PlaylistGo
Step 1 – Select Apple Music as Source
STEP 2
Select What to Transfer

Choose the playlists you want to move. You can select individual playlists, your Favorite Songs, or everything at once. Playlist names and track order are carried over as-is.

Select Apple Music playlists and liked songs to transfer in PlaylistGo
Step 2 – Select Playlists and Liked Songs
STEP 3
Connect Your New Account and Start the Transfer

Select your new Apple ID as the destination and sign in. Once you confirm the selection and hit Start Transfer, PlaylistGo matches each track against the Apple Music catalog on the new account and adds them to your library.

Transfer Apple Music playlists to new account using PlaylistGo
Step 3 – Connect New Account and Start Transfer

You can also use PlaylistGo to transfer Apple Music to Spotify if you're switching platforms entirely.

Manual Ways to Transfer Apple Music Playlists to Another Account

If you only need to move one or two Apple Music playlists and don't mind doing it by hand, there are two built-in options. But both have significant limitations compared to PlaylistGo. Neither can transfer your Favorite Songs or saved albums, and neither handles large libraries well.

Export and Import Apple Music Playlists via iTunes (Windows)

Best for: Windows users who need to move a single playlist and already have iTunes installed.

iTunes lets you export a playlist as an XML or TXT file, then import that file to another account. But it only copies the playlist layout. Any tracks that aren't available in the new account's catalog will be skipped.

  1. Open iTunes on Windows and sign in with your old Apple ID.
  2. Click on the playlist you want to export.
  3. Go to File → Library → Export Playlist and save it as an XML or TXT file.
  4. Sign out and sign in with your new Apple ID.
  5. Go to File → Library → Import Playlist and select the exported file.
Export Apple Music library manually via File > Library > Export Playlist
Export Apple Music Library Manually via iTunes

Limitations

  • Only copies playlists. It can't move your Favorite Songs or saved albums.
  • Tracks unavailable in the new account's region will be skipped silently.
  • You have to export playlists one by one — no batch export.
  • Not available on macOS. Apple replaced iTunes with the Music app starting from macOS Catalina.

Share Apple Music Playlist Link to Another Account

Best for: Moving a single playlist quickly without any software.

Apple Music lets you share a playlist as a link, which you can open on the new account and save to the library. It's the simplest option, but it only works for individual playlists and has no support for Favorite Songs.

  1. On your old account, open the playlist in the Apple Music app.
  2. Click the three-dot menu and select Share Playlist.
  3. Copy the link.
  4. Sign into your new Apple ID and open the link.
  5. Save the playlist to your library.
Click the three-dot menu and select Share Playlist in Apple Music
Click the Three-Dot Menu and Select Share Playlist

Limitations

  • Favorite Songs cannot be transferred this way.
  • One playlist at a time — no way to share your entire library at once.
  • The saved playlist is a copy, so it won't stay in sync if you update the original.

What Gets Transferred When You Move Apple Music to Another Account

Before you start, it helps to know what each method actually moves. iTunes purchases are a separate category — they're tied to the Apple ID that bought them and can't be transferred to another account by any method.

Content PlaylistGo iTunes Export Share Link
Playlists ✅ ✅ ✅
Favorite Songs ✅ ❌ ❌
Song Order ✅ ✅ ✅
Playlist Names ✅ ✅ ✅
Saved Albums ✅ ❌ ❌
iTunes Purchases ❌ ❌ ❌

iTunes purchases are locked to the original Apple ID that bought them. There is no tool that can move purchased tracks between Apple accounts. If you have a large purchased library, the practical approach is to keep access to the old account rather than trying to transfer the purchases. It's also worth taking the time to back up your Apple Music library before making any account changes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Music Account Transfer

Apple doesn't offer a native account merge feature. PlaylistGo is the closest practical alternative — it lets you pull the playlists and favorite songs from one account and rebuild them on another, so your combined listening history lives in one place going forward.

Yes, there are free options, but each has trade-offs. The Share Playlist Link method and iTunes export method are free, but they only work one playlist at a time and can't move your Favorite Songs or saved albums. If you need to transfer your full library — playlists, Favorite Songs, and saved albums in one pass — PlaylistGo is the most complete option.

With PlaylistGo, playlist names and track order are preserved. The only tracks that won't carry over are those unavailable in the new account's region or removed from the Apple Music catalog entirely, and no tool can recover those.

The process is the same as any other account transfer — connect your old Apple ID as the source and your new region-based Apple ID as the destination in PlaylistGo. The one thing to keep in mind is that some tracks may not be licensed in the new region, so a small number of songs might not match. PlaylistGo flags these so you know exactly what didn't transfer.

Yes. Family Sharing gives each member their own Apple ID, so your playlists and Favorite Songs are tied to your individual account, not the family organizer's. You can connect your family account as the source in PlaylistGo and transfer everything to your personal Apple ID without affecting anyone else's library.

Conclusion

Apple gives you no official path for moving your library between accounts. The manual workarounds only copy your playlists — Favorite Songs and saved albums don't make it across. If you've got lots of playlists or want to move your full collection, PlaylistGo runs the transfer locally and handles the whole migration in one pass.

Vesper Forest

Vesper Forest

Music Tech Writer

Vesper Forest writes about playlist transfers, music streaming platforms, and digital music library management. His work focuses on transfer accuracy, metadata matching, ISRC identification, and the differences between Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, TIDAL, Deezer, and other streaming services.

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