Using an Iphone with Imac Catalina Music, not ITunes

[steven259]

I have been frustrated with the music app on my iphone and was hoping the VLC Mobile app would serve as a replacement. I'm using a 2016 Iphone SE (current IOS 13.5.1) and an Imac (current Catalina OS 10.15.5) but I don't know how to follow the VLC Mobile App instructions for "Sync with Your Computer" ("Connect your device to ITunes and select your device. Select "File Sharing" on the left side menu of ITunes and look for VLC to transfer files.")

Since Catalina on the Mac has replaced ITunes music with the Music App, I don't have ITunes on my iphone and don't know how to follow the instructions beginning with "Select "File Sharing" on the left side menu of ITunes ....".

I do know how to sync my iphone with the Mac by using Finder to connect and sync the phone. So if anyone can indulge my ignorance and tell me how to get the content from the music app on my iphone to the VLC mobile app on the same iphone, it would be greatly appreciated. Just to clarify, all the songs are on the iphone's hard drive and I do not want to rely on wifi or internet access to play the songs on the iphone. I just want to get them into the VLC Mobile app so I can access them through that app vs. the Music app.

Also, I was hoping to be able to retain some of the organizational structure from the Music App such as songs, albums, playlists, artists, etc. Is that possible with the VLC Mobile App? Thanks again!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Your main music is where? On macOS or on iOS?

[steven259]

The music was originally installed on the Imac from my CDs. I also put them on the Iphone by syncing to the iphone - so they reside in both places on the respective hard drives - I'm not using the cloud or wifi to access them on the iphone. The problem with the music app is on the Iphone, which is where I want to use the VLC Mobile App. Thanks for your reply.

[steven259]

Hi Jean-Baptiste, you had responded to the question I posted yesterday. I tried using another music player (VOX) and it had instructions tailored to the Music app (in Catalina). So now I think I know how to do it for the VLC app: connect the phone to the mac, open the music app on the mac and find the connected phone and click on it, select the "sync settings" button, select the "files" tab, then drag your music folder from the Music app into the VLC App under the "files tab". That look like it would work but it's telling me I don't have enough space on the phone. That's because I already have all the songs in the Music app on the phone, so I guess I have to delete the app or unsync the songs from the Iphone and then store the music in the VLC app. I was hoping that the VLC app could kind of take them from the Music app on the iphone, but I guess that's not the case. Is that your take - I have to delete the music app from the Iphone or else all the songs will be duplicated in both apps taking up twice as much space on the hard drive? Thanks again! BTW, too bad VLC doesn't include current instructions like VOX does.