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How to outsource the updating of my iPod's music library?

 
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When it comes to my iPod, my view is that the iPod itself is a fairly minor asset. To me, the real asset is my personal music library (that happens to reside on an external hard drive). That library contains albums I bought from iTunes, it contains copies of music CDs I bought, and it contains old LPs and cassettes that I copied to CDs then copied to my library. At this point, when it's time to update the library, I hook the external drive to my laptop, crank up iTunes, burn new CDs in to the library then synch the iPod.

Now, I want to outsource adding stuff to this library. I want to pay someone else to keep adding CDs (of the various flavors described above), to my library, and then, once the additions have been made, I'd like to update my iPod. I don't want to give my laptop to the outsourcer during this process. I want to give the outsourcer only my external drive. I suspect that there are some master indexing files of some sort on my laptop?

I don't want to do a bunch of research and trial and error to figure out whatever the I.T. end of this process needs to be. Does anyone know a good reference that explains in detail how to accomplish this task? Is this even possible?
 
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When you get your HD back and plug it into your laptop, won't iTunes recognize added resources and import them for you? Then you can simply sync to your ipod?
 
Bert Bates
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Hey Gregg,

It could be...

So how would my outsourcer add stuff? Do they need my index files or whatever?

For sure I could try having them just add a couple of CDs as an experiment and see if your info is correct.
 
Gregg Bolinger
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Bert Bates wrote:Hey Gregg,

It could be...

So how would my outsourcer add stuff? Do they need my index files or whatever?

For sure I could try having them just add a couple of CDs as an experiment and see if your info is correct.



You're external HD has some folder where iTunes imports everything when you do it. Just have that person add the files to that location. Hopefully, they don't do it with iTunes themselves otherwise, you might run into permission issues playing the files back. This is really just speculation on my part, keep in mind. That is, at least, where I'd start if it were me. You can try this at home. Plug the HD into a different computer. Add a non-DRM piece to the folder, then plug it back into your laptop and see what iTunes does.
 
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I have manually added files to my drive, in the folder where iTunes stores music. There is then an option somewhere in iTunes to 'add a folder to my library'.

What you might want to do is have this outsourcer add the files to a new directory. I.e. if you already have a folder with Miley Cyrus tunes in it, and you have new ones added, don't add them to the same folder. Create some new folder (although I think it could be under an existing folder).

If you're going to add a lot of stuff, I may even have something like


Then, each month, when you get your disc back, you just add that new folder to your library.

this is untested, off-the-top-of-my-head, no guarantees, YMMV advice. Use at your own risk.
 
Bert Bates
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Use at your own risk.



There's the rub!

It's taken me many, many hours to build the library I've got, and I don't want to risk messing it up somehow. Who knows what weird Apple or DRM or indexing stuff is going on?

That's why I'm looking for something pretty bombproof... or maybe I'm just being paranoid?
 
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You want someone else to buy music for you & then upload it in your iPod, periodically? Do I understand it correctly?

If yes then -
1. Find a person who can do this for you for some money.
2. Buy him an apple account, just for your music. Also, pay him for CDs etc.
3. Get your iPod there every week or so & sync it.
 
Bert Bates
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Hmmm... okay, more specifically:

1 - My daughter, who doesn't know how to do this, needs some summer work
2 - I have a BUNCH of CDs that I'd like to get transferred to my iPod
3 - I keep my iTunes music library on an external hard drive
4 - Currently, when it's time for me to add music, I hook up the external drive to my laptop and read the CD to be added thru my laptop's CD reader.
5 - I DON'T want to have MY laptop in use for the hours and hours necessary to get all these CDs added
6 - I DO want my daughter to be able to hook the external drive up to HER laptop.

Does that make sense?

Finally, the whole point of this is to save me time

The more I futz with it, and try experiments, and so on, the less helpful it is... that's why I'm asking here - I'm hoping for as "turn key" a solution as possible. To that end, I'd be happy to pay an expert to get my daughter going on this
 
fred rosenberger
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My wife emailed me an mp3 today of Pat Benatar/Martina McBride.

I downloaded it to my pc to FF's default download directory, C:\downloads.

I have all my music on an external drive, M:\iTunes.

I created a new folder under "M:\iTunes\Pat Benatar" called "Duets".

I copied the file to that new directory.

Launched iTunes. Went to "File->Add folder to libary". navigated to the 'duets' folder above, and selected it.

Song is now in my iTunes library.

 
Gregg Bolinger
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Bert Bates wrote:Hmmm... okay, more specifically:

1 - My daughter, who doesn't know how to do this, needs some summer work
2 - I have a BUNCH of CDs that I'd like to get transferred to my iPod
3 - I keep my iTunes music library on an external hard drive
4 - Currently, when it's time for me to add music, I hook up the external drive to my laptop and read the CD to be added thru my laptop's CD reader.
5 - I DON'T want to have MY laptop in use for the hours and hours necessary to get all these CDs added
6 - I DO want my daughter to be able to hook the external drive up to HER laptop.



1. Cool
2. Give her your CDs
3. Giver her your external HD
4. Groovy
5. It won't be
6. She will be able to do this, but she'll probably need to log in to iTunes as you so that the new songs belong to you (I'm not 100% on this, but better safe than sorry)

7. Do as Fred says. Have your daughter create a new Folder every time you give her the HD. When she gives you the HD back, tell iTunes to find new music in that folder. When you give the HD back to your daughter, she should create a new Folder. Rinse and repeat.
 
Bert Bates
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Fred, Gregg,

we're going to give this a shot - i'm feeling optimistic!

i'll let you know...
 
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