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This should help...

http://support.apple.com/kb/TA47831

Quote:

Backing up playlists

Follow these steps:

1. Open iTunes.
2. Select one of your playlists from the Source list.
3. From the File menu, choose Export Song List. A Save dialog appears.
4. From the Format pop-up menu, choose XML.
5. From the Where pop-up menu, choose Desktop.
6. Click Save.
7. Repeat steps 2 through 6 for each of the playlists that you have created in iTunes.

Note: These smart playlists are created automatically by iTunes, so you do not need to back them up:

* 60's Music
* My Top Rated
* Recently Played
* Top 25 Most Played.

Restoring playlists

Follow these steps:

1. From the File menu, choose Import.
2. Navigate to and select one of the exported playlist files on your Desktop.
3. Click Choose.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each of the playlist files that you have exported to the Desktop.

Important: Some playlist information, such as Play Count and Last Played date, is not preserved.