How to Get Music Off My iPod Touch

by Julius Vandersteen
If you want to make room on your iPod touch, you can get music off of it.

If you want to make room on your iPod touch, you can get music off of it.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The iPod touch is a portable music player made by Apple. It has a touchscreen display that you interact with to surf the Internet, run applications and play games. You can transfer music to the iPod touch from your computer or by downloading them from the iTunes store over the Internet using Wi-Fi. As of early 2011, the iPod touch storage capacity ranges from 16 GB to 64 GB, depending on the model, which allows it to store thousands of songs. You might want to get music off of your iPod touch to make room for new songs or to store more applications, photos, books or videos.

Step 1

Plug one end of the USB cable (included) into the iPod touch. Plug the other end into a USB port on your computer. The iTunes application will then launch automatically on the computer if you have set it to do so in "Options" under the "Summary" tab. Otherwise, double-click on the iTunes icon to launch it.

Step 2

Click on the icon of your iPod in the left pane of the iTunes window.

Step 3

Click on the "Summary" tab at the top of the iTunes window.

Step 4

Click the "Music" tab at the top of the iTunes window. Click the check box next to "Manually Manage Music and Videos," and then click "Apply."

Step 5

Click "File," and then click "Transfer Purchases From (name of your iPod)" to copy songs to your computer that you have downloaded to your iPod over Wi-Fi.

Step 6

Click on "Music" under "Devices" in the left pane of the iTunes window. All the songs on your iPod will appear. Click on "Edit" and then click "Select All" to select all the songs, or click on specific songs to select them. Click on "Edit" and then click "Delete." Click "Remove" at the prompt asking if you are sure you want to remove the selected songs. The songs you selected will now be deleted off of your iPod. They will remain on your computer.

Step 7

Right-click on the icon of your iPod in the iTunes window, and then click "Eject." Unplug the USB cord to disconnect the iPod.

About the Author

Julius Vandersteen has been a freelance writer since 1999. His work has appeared in “The Los Angeles Times,” “Wired” and “S.F. Weekly.” Vandersteen has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from San Francisco State University.

Photo Credits

  • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images