Make a Local Music Playlist in Apple Music for Windows

Creating and curating a playlist of local music in Apple Music for Windows allows you to enjoy your personal collection in an organized, customizable sequence. The application supports the creation of playlists with precise ordering, letting you add, reorder, and remove tracks, all while maintaining control over your local files and avoiding unwanted duplication in your library.

Prepare your local files and settings

Begin by gathering a working sample of 5–10 music files in a dedicated folder. This smaller group helps you observe how Apple Music handles file references, addition, and removal behaviors with minimal risk.

If you want to keep playlist tracks separate from your main music library, adjust the app’s settings: open the sidebar, select the gear icon at the top for Settings, go to the Advanced section, and disable “Add songs to Library when adding to playlists.” With this setting turned off, adding a song to a playlist will not copy or move the audio file into the Apple Music Library; instead, it remains referenced in its original location.

Create an empty playlist

1. Open the Apple Music app on your Windows computer.
2. In the sidebar, click the plus (+) icon next to Playlists and choose New Playlist.
3. Name the playlist. Optionally, add artwork above the title and a description below. You can also choose whether to display the playlist on your profile.
4. Click Create. The new playlist appears in the sidebar with the Playlist icon, ready for curation.

Add songs and curate the play order

1. Find your local songs using any Library view (Home, New, or options below Library in the sidebar).
2. To add a song, either drag it directly to the playlist in the sidebar or use the three-dot menu next to the song or album, selecting Add to Playlist and then the target playlist. You can also create and add to a new playlist in one step using this menu.
3. Open the playlist from the sidebar to manage its content.
4. To arrange the play order, click the View options in the upper right corner, choose Playlist Order, and then drag tracks into the desired sequence. This ordering is specific to each playlist, not global.

If you see Suggested Songs at the bottom of your playlist, you can add them using the provided button. These additions appear in the playlist’s custom order and are not automatically added to your library file storage, provided you’ve disabled the relevant setting.

Remove a playlist entry versus deleting the library file

When removing tracks, there is a difference between taking a song out of a playlist and deleting its file:

• To remove a song just from the playlist: open the three-dot menu next to the track in the playlist and select Remove from Playlist, or simply select the track and press the Backspace key. This action removes only the playlist reference, never the original music file or its library entry, provided that file is already in your Library.
• To delete a playlist entirely: select the playlist from the sidebar, press Backspace, or open the playlist menu and choose Delete From Library. Confirm deletion when prompted. This removes the playlist; the tracks themselves remain in your Library and on your computer. If you delete a collaborative playlist you own, the playlist is removed from your library and collaboration ends, but the playlist persists for other collaborators.

Verify the playlist order and that audio was not copied

1. Play several tracks in the playlist to check that your custom ordering was applied correctly.
2. Right-click a playlist entry and choose Show in Library to confirm the track is still linked to the correct Library entry; this verifies no duplicate was created.
3. Verify in File Explorer that original song files are untouched in your music folder. If you disabled automatic library addition, you should see no extra files or copies.
4. After confirming that everything functions as expected with your sample set, you can safely repeat the process on larger collections.

Example

Consider Sam, who wishes to compile a morning commute playlist with ten MP3s located in C:\Users\Sam\Music. Sam creates a new playlist in Apple Music, drags in those ten tracks, changes the view to Playlist Order, and drags favorites to the top. Spotting a duplicate, Sam removes it using Backspace—the original file stays in the folder. Reviewing File Explorer confirms that no additional files were created, affirming the playlist works as intended while preserving local files.

Next action

Create your test playlist of 5–10 local tracks. Use the Advanced setting to keep playlist entries and Library storage separate if desired. Add tracks by dragging or using Add to Playlist, sort the playlist with Playlist Order, and verify integrity with File Explorer and Show in Library. Once satisfied, extend this process to your entire collection for larger playlist projects.

Related articles: Import Local Music into Apple Music on Windows and Build Useful Smart Playlist Rules in Apple Music.