Sharing OS X iTunes Library with Bootcamp

bootcampitunes

I run Bootcamp on my Macbook and want to be able to run iTunes in both OS X and Windows 7 with the same library. I don't just mean having access to my mp3 files on both OSes, I mean things like ratings, play counts, playlists, etc. will be the same. Can I do this?

Best Answer

This solution may very well not be to your taste, but the simplest thing I can think of that doesn't involve the phrases "disk partitioning" or "file permissions" would be to sign up for iTunes Match and match / upload your music collection, thereby making your music available to both your Windows and OS X partitions as though they were simply different devices (which, for all normal intents and purposes, they are).

I recognize the downsides to this approach:

  1. The service isn't free (~$25-$30/year, depending on location), or even necessarily available in all countries
  2. If you have a large library, you'll be using a lot of disk space to keep what are essentially duplicate files in each partition

But the result is a fairly painless and reliable solution, which does indeed keep your playlists, rating, and play counts in sync.

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