Apple Music: Our Complete Guide

[MacRumors]

Apple Music is Apple's streaming music service, comparable to similar streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, Google Play Music, Tidal, and others, though it has a leg up over many of its competitors with high-quality lossless audio and Spatial Audio support.

Apple Music boasts access to more than 75 million songs. Content can be streamed or downloaded for offline play, and there are also song and genre-based radio stations available along with the curated Beats 1 radio station.

Apple Music integrates with your existing iCloud Music Library, so you can combine Apple Music songs with songs that you have previously purchased on iTunes all in one unified location.

Apple Music's Standout Features

Apple Music supports Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio, two features that are being provided to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost. Both of these features significantly improve the Apple Music listening experience by offering higher-quality music and a surround sound-like experience.

Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos

Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos provides an immersive, multi-dimensional audio experience that allows artists to mix music in a way that makes it sound like the notes are coming from all around you. Apple Music automatically plays Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as do the built-in speakers of the newest iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Support for Spatial Audio is also available in the Apple Music app for Android.

Apple adds new Dolby Atmos tracks on a regular basis and provides a curated selection of Dolby Atmos playlists. At launch, there were thousands of Spatial Audio songs available across a wide range of genres. Apple is working with Dolby to make it easy for musicians, producers, and mix engineers to create songs in Dolby Atmos.

• Apple Music: How to Enable Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio

Lossless Audio

Apple in June 2021 upgraded its entire music catalog to Lossless Audio with the ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) that preserves the details in the original audio file. Apple Music subscribers will be able to hear songs exactly as the artists recorded them in the studio.

The standard Lossless tier starts at CD quality, which is 16-bit at 44.1 kHz, and it goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz. There's also a Hi-Res Lossless tier available at 24 bit 192 kHz, but Hi-Res Lossless requires an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

The AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max do not support lossless audio. Apple says that lossless audio can be listened to using the latest Apple Music app on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV. Support for lossless audio on the HomePod and HomePod mini was added in October 2021.

Other Apple Music Features

All of the streaming services have differences, and with Apple Music, Apple has focused on human curation. While there are some algorithmically created playlists, a lot of the content highlighted on Apple Music is done by Apple Music editors.

Apple offers regularly updated personalized playlists in a "For You" tab, including a favorites mix, a chill mix, a friends mix, and a new music mix, along with other playlist options that are updated on a daily basis.

Apple Music also often has exclusive album releases, documentaries, and music videos that aren't available on other platforms as a way to lure subscribers.

Beats 1, Apple Music's 24/7 live radio station, is also one of the service's unique features. It features songs curated by DJs along with a multitude of special shows, sometimes created by artists.

Live Radio Stations

Apple in iOS 13 added support for more than 100,000 live radio stations from around the world to Apple Music, so you can ask Siri to play your favorite local radio station.

What's Included in a Subscription

• Unlimited access to Apple Music songs on demand
• Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos at no extra cost
• Lossless audio on supported devices at no extra cost
• Personalized algorithmic playlists
• Curated playlists
• Mood-based playlists
• User-created playlists
• Beats 1 Radio
• Access to other radio stations
• Offline song playback
• Existing music matched to iTunes catalog and added to iCloud Music Library
• Music and playlist syncing across all Apple Music-compatible devices

Apple Music Availability

Apple Music is available in over 100 countries and regions, with a full list of countries available on Apple's website.

Classical Music

Apple in August 2021 acquired classical music service Primephonic, and Primephonic's offerings are being baked into the Apple Music app.

Apple is creating a dedicated Primephonic experience in Apple Music, which is aimed at classical music fans. The Apple Music app will offer playlists and audio content from Primephonic, along with improved browsing and search capabilities by composer and repertoire, better classical music metadata, and more.

In the future, Apple plans to create a dedicated classical music app that combines Primephonic's classical music user interface with added features.

Apple Music Voice Plan

Apple in December 2021 introduced the Apple Music Voice Plan, a $4.99 Apple Music option that allows for content to be accessed solely by Siri command on supported devices like HomePod, iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

The $4.99 per month ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan is entirely separate from the $9.99 per month full ‌Apple Music‌ subscription, which already includes all of the features of the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan. If you already subscribe to ‌Apple Music‌, you have full ‌Siri‌ access and won't also need the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan.

Apple designed the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan as a more limited version of the standard ‌Apple Music‌ subscription. It's primarily designed to allow you to ask for songs and albums from the ‌Apple Music‌ catalog by ‌Siri‌ request rather than through the ‌Apple Music‌ app interface.

So to find music, you'd just go ahead and ask ‌Siri‌ to play something instead of looking it up in the ‌Apple Music‌ app. You do need to have ‌Siri‌ enabled on your devices, and ‌Apple Music‌ Voice works well on all devices that support ‌Siri‌. It's particularly useful with CarPlay in the car and on the ‌HomePod‌ where the natural inclination is to use voice control.

‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan has a limited interface in the ‌Apple Music‌ app, but it does offer full access to Apple's song catalog and radio stations, as well as playlist suggestions. You can actually search for artists, albums, and songs using the ‌Apple Music‌ app, and you can listen to previews of songs, but not the full song. If you find a song in ‌Apple Music‌ that you want to play after hearing the preview from tapping it, you'll need to ask ‌Siri‌ to play the full version.

With the ‌Apple Music‌ Voice Plan, there is no option to add songs or albums to the Library, nor can you create playlists or save music for offline listening. Apple Music Voice does not support viewing lyrics, watching music videos, seeing what friends or listening to, nor does it off Spatial Audio or Lossless Audio.If you want those features, you need to upgrade to the full ‌Apple Music‌ subscription.

Device Compatibility

Apple Music works on all of Apple's devices, including iPhone (CarPlay included), iPad, Apple Watch (with no iPhone on LTE models), Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, and HomePod mini.

It's also available on non-Apple devices, so you don't need to be an Apple user to get it. It works on on PCs with the PC version of iTunes, on Android devices with the Android Apple Music app, on Sonos devices, and on Amazon-branded Echo devices.

Cost

Unlike Spotify, Apple Music does not offer a free ad-supported music tier. A paid subscription is required for all Apple Music content.

A standard Apple Music subscription costs $9.99 per month in the United States. With UNiDAYS verification, college students can sign up for a discounted Apple Music subscription that costs $4.99 per month. The Apple Music Voice Plan is $4.99 per month.

A family plan is available for $14.99 per month, and it allows up to six people to listen to Apple Music. A family subscription requires Family Sharing to be set up, which requires all people in the family to use the same credit card for iTunes billing purposes.

Apple Music can also be combined with other Apple services as part of an Apple One bundle to save money compared over subscribing to the services individually.

Pricing for Apple Music does vary by country, but is generally similar to the U.S. pricing.

In the United States, Verizon subscribers with Beyond Unlimited or Above Unlimited data plans can access Apple Music for free.

Free Trial

Apple offers free three-month free trials for Apple Music, and in some cases, has been known to offer additional trial months to encourage listeners to sign up for a paid subscription.

Apple Music Basics

• How to Sign Up for Apple Music
• How to Sign Up for an Apple Music Family Plan
• How to Sign Up for an Apple Music Student Plan
• How to Set Up Apple Music
• How to Cancel an Apple Music Subscription

Using Apple Music

• How to Use Apple Music on Android
• How to Use Apple Music on Apple Watch
• How to Sync Albums and Playlists From Apple Music to Apple Watch
• How to Stream Apple Music to an AirPlay Speaker or Apple TV
• How to Customize Apple Music With Loves and Dislikes
• How to Transfer a Spotify Playlist to Apple Music
• How to Customize Your Apple Music Library
• How to Turn on Automatic Downloads for Songs in Apple Music
• How to Turn On iCloud Music Library for Apple Music

Managing Your Music

• 
  How to Add Music to Your Apple Music Library
• How to Create a Playlist in Apple Music
• How to Add Photos to Playlists
• How to Download Songs for Offline Playback on Apple Music
• How to Remove Downloaded Apple Music Songs
• How to Add Star Ratings to Songs in Apple Music
• How to See Song Lyrics in Apple Music

Finding Songs

• Useful Siri Commands That Work With Apple Music
• How to Search for Songs Using Lyrics in Apple Music
• How to Ask Siri on HomePod to Play Apple Music Playlists, Genres, Moods, and More

Radio

• How to Create Your Own Radio Station in Apple Music
• How to Find the Beats 1 Archives in Apple Music

Sharing

• How to Share Songs and Albums With Friends in Apple Music
• How to Share Apple Music Playlists With Friends
• How to See What Your Friends Are Listening to in Apple Music
• How to Subscribe to a Friends' Playlist in Apple Music

Apple Music on Other Devices

• How to Listen to Apple Music on Amazon Echo
• How to Listen to Apple Music on Sonos Speakers

More Apple Music Tips

• How to Set an Apple Music Song as an Alarm
• How to Limit How Much Space Apple Music Takes Up on Your iPhone
• How to Listen to Apple Music on the Web
• How to See 'Spotify Wrapped' for Apple Music

Apple Music Comparison Guides

Trying to decide between Apple Music and another service? Make sure to check out our guides comparing Apple Music with other streaming music options that are out there.

• Spotify vs. Apple Music
• Google Play Music vs. Apple Music
• Amazon Music Unlimited vs. Apple Music
• Tidal vs. Apple Music

In a nutshell, Apple Music is the ideal choice if you're in the Apple ecosystem, have a HomePod, prefer human-based curation, and already have an existing iTunes music collection.

Music Quality

Apple Music uses 256kb/s AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) files for standard playback, but Apple Music also has a lossless tier.

Apple Music lossless in the ALAC format starts at CD quality, which is 16-bit at 44.1 kHz (kilohertz) and goes up to 24-bit at 48 kHz for native playback on supported Apple devices. Apple Music is also available in a Hi-Resolution lossless tier that goes to 24-bit at 192kHz, but a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is required.

Music quality can be adjusted in the Apple Music app by going to Settings > Music > Audio Quality, and music types can be picked for different connections and playback methods, including cellular, WiFi, and download.

DRM

You can download songs from Apple Music for offline playback, but the content that you download is protected by DRM (digital rights management), much like other streaming music services.

If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, the Apple Music songs that you've downloaded will no longer work. Apple Music songs also can't be transferred to other devices, downloaded, burned to CD, or used off-device in any way.

Note that with iCloud Music Library enabled, all of your Apple Music content will be available on all of your Apple Music-compatible devices.

Guide Feedback

Have an Apple Music question or tip that you don't see available in our guide? Email us at tips@macrumors.com.

Article Link: Apple Music: Our Complete Guide

 

[Zanton68]

How do I stop Apple Music from screwing up the music artwork, replacing the right artwork with the wrong artwork, sometimes even the wrong artist? How do add the correct artwork where there is a microphone icon instead of an artist picture in the music app ?

 

[rizzo41999]

Great guide!

 

[Zanton68]

How do I block Beats1 ?

 

[now i see it]

how things have changed

 

[Zanton68]

I have hundreds of CDs on iTunes and Apple Music decided the artwork was wrong and changed it whether I liked it or not. I corrected it. Apple Music changed it back to the wrong artwork. Again. I cancelled Apple Music and still find wrong artwork in my collection. In the music app there is a microphone icon against The Bee Gees, Beyoncé and a completely wrong picture against others and there is no way of fixing it. Apple won’t fix and Apple won’t let me fix it. My reason for shopping Apple was for iPod and how it enabled me to choose what I listen to. Now Apple tries to tell me what to listen to and even makes a mess of my library whether I like it or not. I use Spotify and Ecoute. Ecoute doesn’t waste my time with what’s “trending” and the worlds worst radio station Beats1

 

[NervousFish2]

I think Apple Music is great. If folks don't like Beats1, then that's fine. But lots of ppl do! But what I love most about Apple Music is deep curation of their playlists, and the way they give me fresh music every Friday of latest releases that it knows I might like -- have discovered tons of new music that way

 

[load97]

I think Apple Music is great. If folks don't like Beats1, then that's fine. But lots of ppl do! But what I love most about Apple Music is deep curation of their playlists, and the way they give me fresh music every Friday of latest releases that it knows I might like -- have discovered tons of new music that way

Yuck, that’s been my experience. More bloatware. How hard is it for Apple to just do one thing and do it well.

 

[robbysibrahim]

I'm starting to see more and more friends pop up on the Recommended Friends list. But my favorite feature is the ability to blend owned + subscribed music into one Library allowing me to take it with me, curate lists, customize metadata, star rate and share.

 

[Ebok]

Spotify >

 

[JetTester]

Excellent guide! Thanks for providing it.

 

[JGIGS]

I think Apple Music is great. If folks don't like Beats1, then that's fine. But lots of ppl do! But what I love most about Apple Music is deep curation of their playlists, and the way they give me fresh music every Friday of latest releases that it knows I might like -- have discovered tons of new music that way

Big fan of the new music playlists as well though definitely some strange songs get put on it from time to time.

Biggest reason I've stuck with AM is I put a lot of work into rating my music and I like the ability to create smart playlists which as far as I know only AM has. I wish I could create smart playlists just on the phone, maybe you can using Siri? I should try.

Wish they included BPM data is it's you can use that for smart playlists and it would be great to make exercise/running playlists.

 

[FightTheFuture]

Spotify >

Then stick with Spotify? There are lots of choices including Tidal, Amazon, Google Music. Why are folks so insecure whenever an article is written about Apple Music?

OMG an AM article! I have to hurry and stick up for Spotify!

 

[Yumbo]

How do I stop Apple Music from screwing up the music artwork, replacing the right artwork with the wrong artwork, sometimes even the wrong artist? How do add the correct artwork where there is a microphone icon instead of an artist picture in the music app ?

Hi,

The album artist field dictates artwork trigger.
And that’s more Gracenote sourced than anything else.
[doublepost=1552513847][/doublepost]

I have hundreds of CDs on iTunes and Apple Music decided the artwork was wrong and changed it whether I liked it or not. I corrected it. Apple Music changed it back to the wrong artwork. Again. I cancelled Apple Music and still find wrong artwork in my collection. In the music app there is a microphone icon against The Bee Gees, Beyoncé and a completely wrong picture against others and there is no way of fixing it. Apple won’t fix and Apple won’t let me fix it. My reason for shopping Apple was for iPod and how it enabled me to choose what I listen to. Now Apple tries to tell me what to listen to and even makes a mess of my library whether I like it or not. I use Spotify and Ecoute. Ecoute doesn’t waste my time with what’s “trending” and the worlds worst radio station Beats1

Clean up your metadata.

 

[Ebok]

Then stick with Spotify? There are lots of choices including Tidal, Amazon, Google Music. Why are folks so insecure whenever an article is written about Apple Music?

OMG an AM article! I have to hurry and stick up for Spotify!

You sound much more insecure than me coming to apples rescue with your post. I use both Spotify and Apple Music. You don’t know **** about me so relax

 

[B4U]

How to block the phone from trying to promote a useless music subscription service when launching music the first time after an OS update?
It does not even have 10% of my music collections, so they can stop trying to promote that crap to me.

 

[dekadent]

Just a bunch of hiphop tracks repeated over and over again...

 

[Porco]

I still have iTunes Match and it’s a frequently flip-flopping love-hate experience. And I think for me, Apple Music would be a more expensive way to massively boost the hate-side.

And yet there are a few things that together, if they fixed, could possibly make me subscribe quite quickly.

- Lossless audio.
- Easy ability to have the option to force-upload (instead of incorrectly matching because it thinks it knows better).
- A tag or something that is always respected that just signals ‘leave the artwork and meta-data alone, hands off!’
- Put headphone jack sockets back in the iPhone and iPad Pro and admit it was a stupid thing to ever remove them.

If they did all that I’d seriously consider it. As it is, I’m constantly teetering on the edge of rage-quitting Match, never mind ever subscribing to Apple Music.

But good luck to anyone who uses it and likes it.

 

[amagab]

Is Apple Music available in dark mode yet? The blinding white is a deal breaker for me who streams music mostly at bed time.

 

[Wash08]

I use pandora, because my the radio station feature allows for multiple genres, artist..my taste is very, very eclectic from classical to spanish, japanes pop korean opera, techno, edm…none of the other services do it this way
.

 

[dominiongamma]

Is Apple Music available in dark mode yet? The blinding white is a deal breaker for me who streams music mostly at bed time.

Probably iOS 13 will introduce dark mode across iOS

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

Just a bunch of hiphop tracks repeated over and over again...

That’s what i find. Bunch of pop and hip hop they promote. Even their top 100 which is supposed to be a mix of different genres has mainly hip hop and pop. It is like Apple caters more to a “hipster” younger crowd. But older ppl who listen to more of a variety of music are left out.

 

[swanseaboy]

Wish you could see play history

 

[cgs1xx]

Things Apple Music gets wrong:
- it's in the same app as iTunes and my main library and there's no way to keep them separate (see previous comments about messed up libraries!)
- it's tied to your apple ID so every time you log in and out you have to start from scratch
- iOS app is just ugly and missing basic enhancements, ie: dynamic equalizer, volume gain etc

 

[cpa100]

In the UK, the Three network provides unlimited streaming of Apple Music regardless of how much data you pay for - an added bonus (if you are on the three network obviously...) and not matched for other streaming services.