Keep iTunes library files separated from music

Question

Is there a way to keep the iTunes library separated from the music folder?

I could just toggle "Copy files to iTunes music folder" but this won't keep my music folder organized, while I would like to have my music folder organized as usual but keep the various files (.itdb, artwork and so on) on a different HDD than the music folder.

(I have an SSD that is great to instantly load the whole library but bad to keep all the music there because of its reduced size)

Answer 1

I'm making these assumptions:

Current iTunes library folder: ~/Music/iTunes               (on SSD)
Current iTunes music folder:   ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music  (on SSD)
Proposed iTunes music folder:  /Volumes/LargeDisk/Music     (on HDD)

You could shut down iTunes, then move ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music to /Volumes/LargeDisk/Music. Then, create a symlink from the current iTunes library folder to the new music folder:

ln -s "/Volumes/LargeDisk/Music" "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music"

This way iTunes won't know that the music files are stored on another volume, it will simply traverse the symlink you've created to find the music data.

Answer 2

Open the iTunes preferences, select Advanced, and Change the iTunes Media Folder location. Now, new additions will be sent there.

Then, select File, Library, Organize Library..., and check Consolidate files to move existing media to your chosen location.