The reason why iTunes creates duplicate playlists is that an issue occurred during the syncing process. It happens when you modify a playlist on your iPhone and then sync it with your Mac. There will be no message to notify you about the error since it is not worth worrying about. Therefore you should avoid modifying your playlist on your iPhone and start doing so through iTunes.
Ways to identify actual duplicates
Before you start deleting your duplicated playlist, you should know what you should delete and what you should not. You may find that the duplicated playlists have not taken up any of your MacBook space. Once you subscribe to iTunes Match, the iCloud music library will store your music collection in the cloud.
If you delete those playlists from the cloud, they will get lost, and you won’t be able to play them anywhere.
- Using Manual Search
There are two ways you can use to search for duplicate playlists manually. These two ways include using show duplicate items and show exact duplicate items. Using the ‘show exact duplicate items’ method will help you avoid deleting two different playlists that you incorrectly identify as duplicates.
- Using Show Duplicate Items in Itunes
If you want to show duplicate items in iTunes manually, you will first open your iTunes app on your MacBook. Once your app is open, click on the file and then the library. One the library options, you will see duplicate items, then click on it to see all the duplicated tracks. However, here are some of the things that you should note.
- It will not show songs of different artists, even if they share the same name.
- There may be tracks identified as duplicates, but they are not the same. Therefore ensure that you check their track length to confirm they are two different songs.
- Do not select all the duplicated tracks and delete them at once. You should choose each song individually and delete them one by one.
- Using dedicated Third-Party apps
If you do not want to search for the duplicates manually, you can use third-party apps to search for you. You can find many third-party apps on your MacBook app store. You will have to pay for a paid version in most apps if you want it to have advanced features. Some of the best recommended third-party apps you can use include Gemini 2, Tuneup, Tune sweeper, and Tidy up.
Solutions to fix the duplication problem and prevent duplicate playlist in your Itunes
Most people get frustrated and annoyed when iTunes duplicates their tracks. It is even worse when you delete a duplicate playlist, and it keeps coming back again. Is there a way to put an end to this problem? Yes, you can by using the following methods.
- Quit your music and restart your device
One of the methods you can use to solve the problem is quitting your music and restarting your device. Once your device completes the restarting process, go to the App Store, open it, sign out, and sign back in again. You will then check if there is still a duplicate playlist on your music app. If you find one, then try other solutions.
- Stop the Auto-Sync feature
First, you will connect your iPhone device to your MacBook and ensure you launch iTunes if you want to solve the duplicating problem.
You will then go to summary and then options, where you will find the ‘automatically sync when this iPhone is connected option. On the ‘automatically sync when this device is connected’ option, you will unselect and disable the feature by clicking on it.
- Turn your Icloud Music Sharing Off
In some instances, iTunes may create duplicate playlists because of iCloud sharing. Moreover, iCloud sharing also leads to incorrect metadata, mismatched artwork, and many other issues. Therefore you can prevent duplicate playlists by disabling the iCloud music sharing.
