Finding the files of your iTunes Store purchases

In the Purchased Playlist

After you purchase an item you can easily locate it in the Purchased playlist. You can also find content in either the libraries for Music, Movies, Rented Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Audiobooks.

Show in Finder / Show in Windows Explorer

1. Open iTunes.
2. Locate the item either in the Purchased playlist or by clicking the Music, Movies, Rented Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts and Audiobooks under the Library at the left of the iTunes window. Then, type the title (or artist or album name) in the Search field at the top right of the iTunes window.
3. When you locate the item in iTunes, click it once to select it.
4. Choose File > Show in Finder (Mac) or choose File > Show in Windows Explorer (Windows).

Tip: If this method does not work, use the method shown below.

Get Info

1. Open iTunes.
2. Locate the item either in the Purchased playlist or by clicking the Music, Movies, Rented Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts and Audiobooks under the Library at the left of the iTunes window. Then, type the title (or artist or album name) in the Search field at the top right of the iTunes window.
3. When you locate the item in iTunes, click it once to select it.
4. Choose File > Get Info or press Command-I on the keyboard (Mac) or Control-I (Windows).
5. Click the Summary tab. The Where section indicates where the file is stored as shown below. You can then navigate to that location on your computer to locate the song file. If you right-click the Where section (Control-click for Mac), you'll see options to Show in Finder (Mac) or Show in Windows Explorer (Windows), and Copy Path.

If the item is from a shared library or playlist, you'll see "(remote)" in the Kind section of the Summary pane. A remote file is played (or streamed) over your network connection (for example, a local area network). It isn't downloaded to your computer's hard disk.

Tip: Be sure to make regular backups of your media files (in your iTunes Music folder) by copying them to an external hard disk or other media. If your hard disk becomes damaged or you lose any of the content you've purchased, you'll have to buy any purchased items again to rebuild your library. See How to back up your media in iTunes for steps to make a backup. You can also make an audio CD of the songs you purchase so you can listen to them in an audio CD player.

If you are unable to find content you have downloaded or imported into iTunes, see iTunes Store: Finding missing music and video downloads for steps to locate them on your hard drive.