How To Transfer Music From Your Iphone

It's notoriously difficult to manage files between different Apple devices, or between Apple devices and computers.

If your music library is full of music that you have purchased through iTunes Store, you can easily download the music on any of your devices using your Apple ID - if this is you, check out Part 1 of this guide.

However, if your music library contains music which was not purchased through iTunes (music ripped from CDs, for example), you'll need some help to transfer it between your devices. Check out the methods in Part 2 to learn how to transfer this your music from iPhone to iPhone, or Part 3 if you don't want to use iTunes syncing!

Quick jump to...

Part 1: Transfer music purchased through iTunes Store only

1. Download iTunes Store purchases

Part 2: Transfer music which was NOT purchased through iTunes

2. Transfer all music downloaded to iPhone with TouchCopy

Part 3: Transfer music from iPhone to iPhone without iTunes

3. Transfer Spotify, Apple Music and other music streaming services

4. Sharing music directly from within the iPhone Music app [debunked]

5. Share with Dropbox, Google Drive, Email... [solution]

Part 1: Transferring music purchased through iTunes Store

Download purchased music on iPhone using iTunes Store

You can access your iTunes purchases at any time on any device using your Apple ID.

As such, you can download your purchased music on your new iPhone right from within your iTunes Store app. Here's how it's done...

Make sure that you are signed into the iPhone with your Apple ID.
Open the iTunes Store app on your iPhone.
Tap More (3 dots icon) > Purchased.
Tap Music then select the music you want to download.
Tap the cloud icon next to the music you want to download, or tap "Download All" to download all the music in the list.
Your downloaded music will appear in your iPhone Music app!

As mentioned, this method will only allow you to transfer your music purchased through iTunes. To transfer the rest of your music, skip to Part 2.

Part 2: Transfer music which was NOT purchased through iTunes

Transfer all iPhone music to a new iPhone with TouchCopy

So, getting access to music purchased through iTunes is easy. But how do you transfer music from other sources from iPhone to iPhone?

If your iPhone is full of music ripped from CDs or downloaded from sources other than from iTunes Store, you'll need the help of a professional tool like TouchCopy to transfer the music to your new iPhone.

TouchCopy is a popular program for PC and Mac which allows you to access and copy data from your iPhone to your computer.

This is perfect for us, because you can transfer ALL your music from your iPhone to your computer, then transfer it to your new iPhone. Let's see how it's done...

Download and install TouchCopy on your Mac or PC.
Launch TouchCopy and connect your iPhone using your USB cable.
Click Music.
Select the music you want to transfer, then click "Copy to iTunes" (or "Copy to Music" if you are using macOS Catalina or higher).
Once the transfer is complete, close TouchCopy and open iTunes (or the Finder app on macOS Catalina and higher).
Select your device.
Click Music, then tick "Sync Music" (This will replace any music already on your new iPhone with the music that you sync - so ensure that all your music is in your Music library before syncing to avoid losing any music).
Click Apply, then Sync to start the transfer.

More info: Apple's guide to syncing with iTunes or Finder >

You can transfer up to 100 music tracks completely free by downloading the TouchCopy demo below. If you like it and want more, you can purchase a licence to unlock the full version.

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See TouchCopy in action!

Part 3: Transfer music from iPhone to iPhone without iTunes

Transfer your music streaming service to your new iPhone

If you prefer to stream your music using a subscription service, rather than downloading the tracks to our iPhone, you'll want to access your subscription on your new iPhone.

This method is for users of Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Google Play Music and other similar music streaming services.

In order to access your music, you'll first need to download the app on your new iPhone (you can skip this step if you have an Apple Music subscription, as the Apple Music app is installed on your iPhone by default).
You can download and install apps like Spotify, Deezer, Google Play Music and YouTube Music from the App Store on your iPhone.
Once installed, launch the app and sign in using your existing account details used on your previous iPhone.
After signing in, you'll be able to access the music in your account!

Sharing music directly from within the iPhone Music app [debunked]

Many guides claim that you can transfer your iPhone music using methods like AirDrop.

It's easy to see why they would claim this, as you can long tap on a song on your iPhone > Share Song... and you are presented with options like sharing with AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Dropbox...

iPhone Music share options — Share options in the iPhone Music app

However, it is not possible to transfer music from iPhone to iPhone using these share methods.

Using one of these share methods will simply share a link for the selected music on the Apple Music website. This is great for suggesting cool new tunes for your mates to listen to, but not for transferring the files between your devices.

The reason for this is likely to be due to the protection of copyright on the music. Enabling people to share music with people who do not have a licence for it would violate the copyright protection. As such, Apple only provide the ability to transfer music if you own a licence for the music (i.e. you have purchased it). This is policed by ensuring that the same Apple ID is used.

You can see this in practice in method 1: You must be signed in with the Apple ID used to purchase the music in order to access and download it through the iTunes Store.

Share with Dropbox, Google Drive and more... [solution]

If you need to transfer music which was not purchased through iTunes Store, and you do not want to sync the music using iTunes, there is a way!

Although you can't share the music directly from the iPhone Music app, you can transfer your music from iPhone to iPhone without iTunes:

Transfer your music from iPhone to computer using TouchCopy.
Upload your music from your computer to your Dropbox or Google Drive account (you can drag and drop the music from your computer, as seen in the screenshot below).
On your new iPhone, download the relevant app (Dropbox / Google Drive) from the App Store if you haven't already.
Sign into the app using your account details.
Listen to your music though the app on your iPhone.

The only downside to this method is that you can't move your music from the Dropbox or Google drive app into your Music app. To do this, you'll need to use iTunes as seen in method 2.

Takeaways

There you go! You now have all you need to be able to transfer your music from iPhone to iPhone.

Transfer your iTunes purchases by downloading them from iTunes Store on your new iPhone.

Beware advice in other guides - you can't transfer music from iPhone to iPhone by sharing through the Music app. For the best and most efficient way to transfer music which was not purchased through iTunes, you'll need to use TouchCopy.

Transferring and managing ringtones on iPhone can require slightly different steps. Check out our full guide on how to transfer iPhone ringtones!

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