Would you like to create a playlist with your favorite songs in iTunes or Windows Media Player but, not being particularly tech-savvy, don’t know how to proceed? Would you like to create a collaborative playlist in Spotify, to share and edit together with your friends, but you’re not sure how to do it? Don’t worry, I’m here to help you if you want.
If you dedicate five minutes of your time to me, I can explain how to create a playlist using all the most popular music streaming services and software at the moment, from iTunes to Windows Media Player, from Spotify to Apple Music; without forgetting YouTube, which with the millions of music videos it hosts is the favorite “jukebox” of many users all over the world, perhaps even yours.
How to create a playlist in iTunes
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So, what do you think? Are you ready to begin? If your answer is affirmative, make yourself comfortable, read the instructions I am about to give you and put them into practice immediately to create playlists to use for your personal entertainment or to share with your friends, both from PCs and smartphones and tablets . I bet you will be surprised how easy it is to do everything!
Do you use iTunes as the default software for managing your music library and want to learn how to create playlists within it? So don’t waste any more time and jump right into action!
To create a playlist in iTunes , all you have to do is start the program and access your music library by selecting the Music item from the drop-down menu located at the top left. Then click on the File item at the top left and select the New playlist option from the menu that opens.
At this point, type the title you want to assign to your playlist in the iTunes sidebar, press Enter on your computer keyboard and that’s it!
Now all you have to do is select the songs of your interest from the iTunes library (to select multiple songs at the same time, use the Ctrl+click combination on Windows or the cmd+click combination on macOS) and add them to the playlist you just created. On the contrary. You have two ways to do this.
- Right-click on any of the selected songs and choose the items Add to playlist > [Name of your playlist] from the menu that opens.
- Drag the songs with the mouse on the playlist title in the iTunes sidebar.
If the songs you want to add to the playlist are not yet in your iTunes library, select them from File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (macOS) and drag them into the program window.
Subsequently, you can customize the playlists by simply selecting them from the iTunes sidebar and moving the songs contained within them with the mouse or, if you want to delete some songs, right-clicking on them and selecting Remove from playlist from the menu that opens .
Note: playlists created in iTunes can be automatically synchronized with iPhone, iPad and iPod using the functions that I showed you in my tutorial on how to synchronize iPhone with iTunes.
Come creare una playlist in Windows Media Player
If you use a Windows PC and have decided to entrust the management of your music library to Windows Media Player , know that you can create playlists within this program in a very simple way: all you have to do is select the Music item from the sidebar of left (in order to access the software’s music library) and activate the Play tab at the top right.
At this point, select the songs you want to add to your playlist (to select multiple songs at the same time, use the Ctrl+click combination ) and use the mouse to drag them to the right sidebar. When the operation is complete, click on the item Unsaved list (always in the right sidebar), type the title you want to assign to the playlist and press the Enter key on the PC keyboard to save the playlist in Windows Media Player.
From now on, you will find your playlist in the left sidebar of Windows Media Player and, by selecting it, you can both listen to it and edit it. To modify the playlist by reordering the songs inside it, simply use the mouse (you can move the songs up or down as you prefer), while to delete a song right click on it and select the Remove from list item from the menu that opens.
Note: if the songs you want to add to the playlist are not yet included in the Windows Media Player library, open the File Explorer , select and drag them into the program window.
How to make a playlist on Spotify
Do you want to create a playlist in Spotify to share it with your friends and with all users of the famous music streaming service? Nothing could be easier: if you are using Spotify from your computer, click on the New playlist item located at the bottom of the left sidebar and fill out the form offered to you with all the requested information.
See also How to create Spotify Codes for Free {Updated 2023}
Then type the name you want to assign to the playlist in the appropriate text field, write a quick description of the latter in the larger box, set a cover image by clicking on the appropriate button located on the left and press Create to complete the ‘operation.
At this point you need to make sure that the created playlist is public (therefore also traceable by other users of the service). How? Right-clicking on its name in the Spotify sidebar and checking the list of available options in the menu that opens: if among the available options there is also Make secret , it means that the playlist is already public. Otherwise, click on the item Make public and the playlist, from private, will become public.
If, on the other hand, you want to turn a public playlist into a private one, right click on its title in the Spotify sidebar and select the item Make secret from the menu that opens. In this way, the playlist will be accessible only to you and to the users to whom you provide a direct link to view it.
If you want, you can also make a Spotify public playlist collaborative : in this way, your friends will be able to edit it freely and add or remove songs from it. To make a Spotify playlist collaborative, select it from the sidebar of the program, press the button (…) on the screen that opens and select the Collaborative playlist item from the menu that opens.
Subsequently, press the (…) button for the second time and select the items Share> Copy playlist link from the menu that opens: in this way you will get the link to share with your friends to allow them to edit the playlist.
Regardless of the type of playlist created (private, public and/or collaborative), you can add new songs to it simply by finding the songs of your interest on Spotify, clicking on the (…) button in front of their titles and selecting the entries Add to playlist > [Name of your playlist] from the menu that opens.
If you prefer, instead of pressing the (…) button , you can also right-click on the title of the song to add to the playlist: the same menu will open.
Once a playlist has been created in Spotify, you can modify its content – rearrange or delete the songs contained in it – simply by selecting it from the sidebar of the program and acting as you prefer: to change the order of the songs, just use the mouse and move the song titles; to delete them, however, you have to right-click on them and select the Remove from this playlist item from the menu that opens.
Note: if you want, you can change the default privacy setting for Spotify playlists – i.e. choose whether new playlists created in the application should be public or private – by going to the menu Edit > Preferences ( on Windows) or Spotify Preferences (on Mac) and activating or deactivating the toggle for the Automatically make new playlists public option .
On smartphones and tablets, the procedure to follow to create a playlist in Spotify is slightly different.
- If you’re using an Android device , launch the Spotify app, select the Your Library tab located at the bottom right, and go to Playlists . Then press the icon (+) ? located at the top right, type the name of the playlist you want to create in the box that opens and press the Create button to complete the operation.
- If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, launch the Spotify app, select the Your Library tab located at the bottom right, and go to Playlists . Then press the Edit item located at the top right, press the Create button that appears at the top left and type the name you want to assign to your playlist in the box that appears on the screen. Finally, press the Create button and you’re done.
The procedure for setting the privacy level of playlists (public, collaborative or secret) also varies slightly depending on the operating system used.
- If you’re using an Android device, select the Your Library tab found at the bottom right and go to Playlists . Then tap the ⋮ button located next to the title of the playlist of your interest and select one of the items available on the screen that opens: Make it public , Make it secret or Make it collaborative . In the same menu you can also find the option to share the playlist link.
- If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, select the Your Library tab found at the bottom right and go to Playlists . Then select the playlist to edit, press the button (…) on the page that opens and select one of the items available on the screen that opens: Make public , Make secret or Make collaborative . In the same menu you can also find the option to share the playlist link.
See also Spotify contracts expired: record companies want the same money as Apple Music
As for adding new songs to a playlist, the procedure to follow is practically identical to that seen for the desktop version of Spotify: all you have to do is locate the song you are interested in, press the button (…) or the ⋮ button located next to its title, select the Add to playlist item from the menu that opens and choose the name of your playlist from the next screen.
If you need more information on how Spotify works both on desktop and mobile, consult my guide dedicated to the service.
How to make a playlist on Apple Music
Have you subscribed to Apple Music and want to know how to create a playlist on this music streaming service? Well, if you act as a computer, all you have to do is follow the instructions I gave you just now for iTunes.
Indeed, on a computer, Apple Music works via iTunes and therefore the procedure for creating playlists is similar to the one I have illustrated for local songs hosted on the computer: the only difference is that, having an active subscription to Apple Music and the iCloud music Liberia service, you can create playlists with songs online on Apple’s servers and find all your songs (even local ones) automatically synchronized on all devices, provided they are linked to the same Apple ID used to subscribe your Apple Music subscription.
Other advantages available to subscribers of an Apple Music subscription are the ability to “subscribe” to playlists created by the staff of the service and to share their playlists with other users.
To subscribe to an Apple Music playlist and add it to your library, select it in the Discover or For you tab of iTunes and press the button (+ Add) present at the top right of the window that opens. You will find the selected playlist in the sidebar of iTunes, under the heading Apple Music Playlists .
If, on the other hand, you want to share a playlist you’ve created with other Apple Music users, select it from the iTunes library, press the button (…) located at the top right and select the items Share playlist > Copy link from the menu that opens.
Another function that may interest you is the one that allows you to share a playlist with all Apple Music users: to take advantage of it, put the check mark next to the item Publish on profile and in search .
On the mobile side, Apple Music can be accessed directly from the iOS Music app and the Apple Music app for Android. In both cases, creating a playlist requires very few taps: all you have to do is go to the Library section of the app (which on iOS is accessible via the appropriate tab located in the lower left corner, while on Android is found in the menu ☰ located at the top left), select the item relating to Playlists and press the button to create a new playlist .
In the screen that opens, type the name you want to assign to the playlist in the appropriate text field, write a description of the latter in the space located further down and choose whether to add a cover image and/or whether to show the playlist in the profile and in “Search” (therefore whether to make it public) using the appropriate options.
Finally, tap the Add music item to start adding songs to the playlist and, when the work is complete, press the Finish button (top right) to save everything.
Subsequently, you can add new songs to your playlist simply by identifying the songs of your interest in Apple Music, making a long tap on them (or a firm pressure, if you have an iPhone with 3D Touch support), selecting the Add to a playlist from the menu that opens and choosing the playlist in which to insert them.
If you need more information on How Apple Music works from computers, smartphones and tablets, consult my guide dedicated to the service.
How to make a playlist on YouTube
Want to create a YouTube playlist with all your favorite music videos? Nothing could be easier: open the first video you want to add to the playlist, click on the ☰+ button located under the YouTube player and select the item Create new playlist from the menu that appears.
At this point, type the name you want to assign to your playlist in the appropriate text field, choose the level of privacy you want to use for it ( public if you want to make it traceable by anyone, unlisted if you want to reserve the possibility of share with other users by providing them with a specific link, or private if you want to keep the playlist private) and click on the Create button to confirm its creation.
See also Findaway: Spotify buys audiobook providers
From now on, you can add new videos to your playlist by simply starting their playback on YouTube, clicking on the ☰+ button located under the player and selecting the name of the playlist in question from the box that opens.
To change the order of the videos added to the playlist, proceed as follows: call up the YouTube side menu by clicking on the ☰ button located at the top left and click on the Collection item . On the page that opens, select the playlist you want to reorder and click on its title next to the YouTube player. At this point, use the mouse to reorder the videos however you like and the changes will be automatically saved in YouTube.
To edit other playlist parameters, such as the title or description, and quickly add more videos to it, click the Edit button next to your name (bottom left).
If you want to create a playlist in the YouTube app for smartphones and tablets (which is available for Android and iOS) you can follow the same instructions I gave you for the web version of the service. To manage existing playlists, instead, go to the application’s Collection page .
For more info on how YouTube works, read my article dedicated exclusively to the well-known video portal.
How to create an M3U playlist
Do you need to create a playlist in M3U format but don’t know how to do it? Don’t worry, below you will find all the information you need.
Playlists in M3U format are nothing more than text files containing the “coordinates” for listening to several songs in sequence, so they can be used and created with many software, primarily the very popular iTunes and Windows Media Player: let’s find out how together .
iTunes
If you want to export a playlist in M3U format and you use iTunes, select the playlist of your interest from the sidebar of the program and go to the File > Library > Export playlist located at the top.
In the window that opens, type the name you want to assign to the playlist in the Save as field, set the M3U option in the Format drop-down menu , choose the folder in which to save the file using the Located in field and press the Save for button start exporting the playlist.
If, after exporting, you notice that your playlist is empty or doesn’t contain all the songs it should contain (you can check the contents of a playlist by opening its M3U file with any text editor, such as Windows Notepad or macOS TextEdit ), you probably exported a playlist containing songs that reside in the cloud (in the iCloud Music Library) and not on your computer. To solve the problem, open iTunes , right-click on the title of the playlist you wish to export (in the sidebar of the program), select the item Download from the menu that opens and, once the download is complete , repeat the operation to export the playlist in the form of M3U files.
As can easily be understood, playlists containing songs downloaded from Apple Music will only be usable on computers connected to iCloud accounts with a subscription to the Apple music streaming service (and, obviously, with a music library structured identically to that of the computer from which the playlist comes from).
Windows Media Player
If you want to create a playlist in M3U format using Windows Media Player , select the Playlist item from the sidebar of the program and activate the Play tab located at the top right.
Then locate the playlist you want to export in M3U format (or create a new one by dragging the songs of your interest into the bar that has appeared on the right), click on the List Options icon (the window with the blue check marks inside, located at the top of the right sidebar) and select the item Save list as from the menu that appears.
In the window that opens, choose the folder in which to export the playlist, select the M3U Playlist (*.m3u) option from the Save as type drop-down menu , type the name you want to assign to the file in the File name field and click the Save button to complete the operation.