Synchronizing multiple iTunes libraries
On and off over the past few years, I’ve looked for a good way to synchronize 2 or more iTunes libraries, and until recently, never found a good solution. The main problem is synchronizing library metadata – syncing files isn’t that difficult, but things like ratings, play counts, etc. is.
My previous solution was simple – I considered one computer my “master”, and simply sync’ed all the files from it to my other computers. Since I do most of my itunes listening (and rating) at work, I used my iMac as the master and my macbook and home desktop were the slaves. This has its downfalls though, as anything I added or rated on my other systems never made its way back to the master system, and I had to make those changes manually.
I decided to search again a few days ago, and found two applications that do exactly what I want:
myTuneSync from SocketHead studios
Syncopation from Sonzea
I checked them both out, and they both work as advertised (both offer free time-limited trials). You install the application, point it at the other itunes library to keep in sync with, and set them up for automatic updates. Syncopation is the clear winner for me, with its cleaner interface, faster performance, and ability to synchronize file deletions as well. Syncopation works only on macs, so if you have a mix of mac and Windows (or only Windows), myTuneSync is for you.
Interestingly, I found these programs two days before the new iTunes 9 was released, and looking at the keynote, I wondered if I just wasted money on something that was now a standard feature of iTunes. (Unfortunately) It turns out that the syncing included with iTunes is limited to purchases from the iTunes store, and doesn’t include anything added by you. It also seems that the metadata does not get transferred over, only the purchased song files.
