How to Remove Duplicate Music Files

Are you planning to delete duplicate music files?

Over 24,000 new tracks get uploaded to various music streaming services every day. On a smaller scale, you might have hundreds or even thousands of music stored in your Mac. It applies whether it’s in your music library or your iTunes.

However, some of these are duplicates. They take up precious disk space, regardless of how they came to be. When they come in thousands, it seems impossible to get rid of everything.

In this guide, we’ll discuss some methods to get rid of music duplicates. Read on and free up more disk space today:

Use the Music App

Your Mac music library allows you to look for exact duplicates of a song. It detects whether the track has the same song, album, artist, and version. The feature is handy if you imported a song twice.

Go to your Music app and look for the sidebar on the left. Select Songs and pick an item. Hold the Option key and choose File, then Library, and Show Exact Duplicate Items.

After finding the duplicates, delete them to free precious space in your Library. Click Done if you want to display all items once again. You can see it in the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Remove iTunes Duplicates

iTunes duplicates are special since it’s easy to get multiple audio file copies. In some cases, adding the same files several times was an accident. Other times, you have identical files on various albums.

If you use Apple Music, you might have duplicates in your iTunes library too. 

Select My Music and go to File. Under this section, pick Library and then Show Duplicate Items. It lets iTunes display all tracks with the same artist and name.

Using this method isn’t always useful. After all, you might have various versions of your songs, like the on-studio and live album ones. 

Click the Same Album button located in your navigation bar. It makes iTunes refine its selection, narrowing it down to duplicate items on the same album. Delete these files as you see fit.

Use a Third-Party Software

Do you want to get rid of duplicate files from your Mac without iTunes? Third-party applications like the Gemini 2 are a great alternative. MacPaw developed this specific tool to remove audio and other duplicate files from your Mac.

Gemini 2 is fast, powerful, and user-friendly. It allows you to have complete control over the file deletion process, since you can preview the files before deleting them. Click the link to learn more.

Download Gemini 2 and install the software. After that, launch the application and scan your Mac for duplicate files. The app will identify every duplicate file on your specified folders.

Once done, it shows the duplicates and their number. If you want to get rid of music files, go to the music. Click on Auto Select and then Remove Selected to delete all duplicates and retain the original copy.

In the next screen, you’ll see the selected files for removal. It’s your last chance to uncheck any of them. Click the Remove at the bottom of the screen once you decide to remove them.

Types of Duplicates

Now you know how to remove duplicates, it’s time to learn why they happen. As a Macbook user, learning the types of duplicate files makes it easier to avoid making them.

Intentional Duplicates

These files are different versions or multiple backups of the same file. For example, if you want a backup for your music files, you can put them on your external drives.

Most will have identical names. However, they’re different since the recent files are more updated compared to their older counterparts. The same principle applies to your Time Machine Backup.

Time Machine uses hard links for duplicate files instead of storing multiple copies. Regardless, searching your Time Machine drive makes these hard links seem like duplicate files.

Accidental Duplicates

These are files you’re unaware of. Regardless, they’re on your Mac and in various places. It happens because of various reasons. For example, downloading the files and moving them to another location without deleting them from the Downloads folder.

Another situation is storing music files in a folder before archiving them. Duplicate files happen because you forgot to delete the original ones.

Why Remove Duplicate Music Files

Duplicate songs pose a lot of problems. It goes beyond the technical aspect in some cases. Here are some common reasons to get rid of music duplicates as soon as possible:

Take Up Precious Space

Audio files can use up a lot of space on your drive. When your Mac uses an SSD, get rid of the duplicates to keep it in peak condition. You have little disk space to spare for these freeloading files.

Make Backups Slower

Running regular backups is critical to maintaining your file integrity. However, you sometimes copy files you don’t need multiple times. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, it will fill up your Time Machine drive with unnecessary copies.

Confusion and Annoyance

If you use Spotlight to search for music, you might feel confused when duplicates appear. It’s especially when you want to listen to the most recent version of the audio file. It also applies when you have duplicate music in your iTunes library.

For these reasons, it’s best to look for and delete these duplicate music files. Do it regularly, especially when you download a lot of audio for various reasons.

Delete Duplicate Music Files Now

These are some ways to delete duplicate music files in your Macbook. Never let unintentional copies clog up your precious hard drive space. Use these methods to get rid of them as soon as possible.

However, knowing how to clean your song library is only the start. Other types of duplicate files exist within your disk space. Learn how to delete them as well.

Did you find this guide helpful? If so, consider reading our other posts to expand your knowledge today.