iTunes: ‘The file “iTunes Library.itl” cannot be read’ Fix (2021)

After upgrading Apple iTunes and restarting my computer, I received a strange error message when starting the application:

The file “iTunes Library.itl” cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of iTunes.

I have had problems with the iTunes Library.itl file in the past. This one is strange because I was fully upgraded to the newest version of iTunes, yet still got this error. To solve the issue, I had to do the following steps.

Note: You will have to rebuild your iTunes library after performing these steps. All ratings, playlists, etc will be lost. The media files you own should still be available on your hard drive though.

1. Navigate to where the iTunes Library.itl file is located.

• MacOS — /Users/username/Music
• Windows XP — C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music
• Windows Vista — C:\Users\username\Music
• Windows 10, 8 or 7 — C:\Users\username\My Music

1. Navigate to where the iTunes Library.itl file is located.
2. Delete the iTunes Library file.
3. Start iTunes. Your music database will now be blank, but your music files should still be available in the iTunes Music folder located in one of the locations noted above.
4. Drag and drop the iTunes Music folder and any other folders that contain your music files to the iTunes application window. iTunes should then take some time to rebuild the database of music.

This fix may not make you completely happy since there is some loss of data, but it’s the only solution I could find for myself.