How to Delete Duplicate Songs in iTunes Automatically or Manually

This article will show you how to delete duplicate songs in iTunes automatically or by hand. It’s so common to have duplicate songs in iTunes that iTunes even offers a Show Duplicate Items option. Once this option finds the duplicate items in your library, you can manually delete them one by one or small batch by small batch. However, if there are lots of duplicates, it will be a tedious and time-consuming process. The good news is that it’s actually possible to quickly find and delete all iTunes duplicate songs in one go.

How to delete duplicate songs in iTunes on Mac and PC automatically

On Mac

To easy and quickly remove duplicate songs from iTunes, Mac users can use Cisdem Duplicate Finder. Compared to some other similar software, this tool is more reliable to use. Complying with the mechanism of iTunes, it automatically groups duplicate songs together in iTunes for you to manually delete in iTunes with one click.

Step 1. Open iTunes. From the top menu bar, select Preferences. Choose Advanced tab. Now you know the location of your iTunes library.

Step 2. Download Cisdem Duplicate Finder from its official download link. The tool supports macOS 10.10 and later. Install and open it.

Step 3. Click the settings icon in the corner. Make sure the location displayed there is the correct one. If not, change it.

Step 4. Click the plus icon and add the location to scan. Click Scan.

Step 5. You will be asked to open the iTunes app. Click Open.

Step 6. Once the scan is finished, choose the Music tab to find all the duplicate songs in your iTunes. You can easily sort, view and preview them.

Step 7. You will need to select the unwanted duplicates to remove. This iTunes duplicate song remover has already automatically done this for you.

If the auto-selection doesn’t meet your specific need, choose a selection rule.

Step 8. Now you have selected the items that you don’t want to keep anymore. Click Delete.

Step 9. When the process is done, a new window will pop up telling you to how to complete the deletion.

Step 10. In iTunes app, find Cisdem Duplicate Media in the sidebar on the left. It is created automatically. And within it are the selected unwanted duplicates.

Step 11. Right-click it and choose Delete from Library.

Now the duplicate songs in iTunes are eliminated all at once.

Cisdem Duplicate Finder for Mac

• Let you effortlessly remove duplicates from iTunes
• Also delete duplicates in Photos, iPhoto and Music
• Find duplicate photos, songs, videos, archives, documents, etc.
• Work with Mac’s internal disk and various external storage devices
• Identify true duplicates based on content
• Offer 3 preview modes, supporting preview of images, audios and more
• Provide up to 7 selection rules plus Auto-Select feature
• Delete selected unwanted duplicates with 1 click
• Easy to use and highly customizable
• Compatible with macOS 10.10 or later

On PC

Many Windows PC users also use iTunes to purchase and manage music and to sync songs from computer to iPhone, etc. There are also tools available to quickly delete duplicates iTunes on Windows 10, 8, 7, etc. ManyProg iTunes Duplicate Remover Free is one of them.

Step 1. Download and install this tool on your Windows computer. Open it.

Step 2. Now you are under the Search tab. Choose a desired comparison type.

Step 3. This step is optional. Click Settings to exclude files of specific formats (M4A, AAC, AIFF, etc.) from scan.

Step 4. Click Add iTunes library. Click OK to launch the iTunes app as required.

Step 5. Wait for the process to complete.

Step 6. This step is also optional. If needed, exclude files from scanning by setting a file size range.

Step 7. Click Start. And it will start checking for duplicates in iTunes.

Step 8. Now you are under the Search result tab. Choose Select automatically. You can also do it by hand.

Step 9. Click Actions and choose a desired removal method.

How to delete duplicate songs in iTunes on PC and Mac manually

If you don’t have a large music collection in your iTunes library, then chances are that you have only a few or even none duplicate iTunes songs. In such a case, iTunes own Show Duplicate Items option is enough.

Step 1. Open iTunes app.

Step 2. From the menu bar at the top of screen, click File > Library > Show Duplicate Items.

Step 3. Now duplicate iTunes tracks will show up. In each group of duplicates, select the tracks that you don’t want to keep.

Step 4. Once you are done selecting, right-click and choose Delete from Library.

Step 5. A dialog box will pop up. Click Delete songs to confirm the deletion.

Step 6. Another dialog box will appear, providing you with two options: Keep Files and Move to Trash. If you click Keep Files, these duplicates will be removed from your iTunes library, but still on your hard drive. With Move to Trash, they will be moved to Trash.

Note that the Show Duplicate Items feature may consider different versions (e.g. a live version) of the same song as duplicates. So you need to be careful when selecting items to for deletion. Don’t select the versions that you actually need.

Tip

To help you find the exact duplicates of songs, iTunes also offers a Show Exact Duplicate Items option, which is somewhat hidden. Press and hold the Option key. And select File > Library > Show Exact Duplicate Items.

There is more than one method to delete duplicate songs in iTunes. Depending on how big your music collection is, you can choose to use the built-in or third-party method. Once the annoying duplicates are gone, you can have a cleaner music library and enjoy music better.