Apple Music is a frustrating mess

[Tech198]

When i don't have to use iCloud Music Library, I'll try Apple Music again

How do you do that ? Your offline music does not appear without iCloud music library being enabled.

 

[navaira]

How can Apple Music have over 10 million paid subscribers with all of these issues many that still have not been fixed that should have been.

I believe for most of those users it's their first experience with streaming simply because the iPhone app nags them no end. They don't know there are other choices. And I checked Google Play Music and Spotify (since TIDAL apparently still hasn't figured out how to play segued albums without breaks between tracks) – they all have their errors, just different ones.
[doublepost=1460879405][/doublepost]

How do you do that ? Your offline music does not appear without iCloud music library being enabled.

Future tense.

 

[ledzep1]

Im finding that Apple Music is completely stalling after a while of listening to music via my iPod touch.

After a while of browsing and playing music perfectly fine, everything will slow down, graphics will load slowly, music will take ages to play or not play at all, and at times it will crash and display a black screen.
This happens a lot.

Could it be my iPod or Apple Music?

Im really unsure what to try, Im now paying for this service and its not worth it if I keep getting this, I will switch to spotify if this keeps happening. I love it when it works!!!

 

[tonyr6]

or just wanting to pick up the app and listen to music is perfectly fine

I listen like that too. But when it stops and crashes then it affects me too.

I believe for most of those users it's their first experience with streaming simply because the iPhone app nags them no end.

Actually the Play Music app does not nag you as much on Android. You can even upload your music. It does not affect your stored music if you don't open it and you can use a third party app for your local music but I agree about Apple Music app. When I used my iPod Touch at times it nagged me constantly.

 

[tonyr6]

I dropped Play Music and I am staying with Apple Music. The issue I have with Play Music is the poor parental controls or I might as well say non existing parental controls. Searching for artists give me explicit song titles. On Apple Music it censers the swears and I can't play them because I have Explicit music blocked but on play music it shows them clear as day and lets me play them with there so called Block Explicit music filter on. I complained about this to Google and they gave me 3 month refund.

Also the sound quality on Apple Music is better. Also the Android app is much more stable since I first used it.

 

[bushido]

i started to hate it as soon as it replaced most of MY music files with AM music files without even askinh or any indication. i only noticed after i quit the trial and i could barely play any of MY songs anymore. I didnt care much as i went back to Spotify but i can see how that could be trouble for lots of people

now i still pay for iCloud Music Library and i just tried to download one of MY albums and all i get is those lovely error pop ups even though it streams them just fine

short: I HATE IT

 

[Benjamin Frost]

i started to hate it as soon as it replaced most of MY music files with AM music files without even askinh or any indication. i only noticed after i quit the trial and i could barely play any of MY songs anymore. I didnt care much as i went back to Spotify but i can see how that could be trouble for lots of people

now i still pay for iCloud Music Library and i just tried to download one of MY albums and all i get is those lovely error pop ups even though it streams them just fine

short: I HATE IT

That's why I've never dared turn Apple Music on.

 

[tonyr6]

What is the most annoying part anything Apple not just music is the constant Apple ID popup. How many times do they need my password to do a simple thing like change my phone number then ask for it again when I just want to see if it changed.

 

[riverfreak]

And here's yet another tale of woe from the unmitigated disaster that is Apple Music.

Today, in my copious amounts of free time, I wanted to see just what the heck Apple Music has been doing. My music library had broken references to many, many files. We're talking about 20% of a 65,000 track library. Missing. Poof. Gone.

These files had been "Matched" and converted to "Apple Music" status in the library. I don't give a rats a** what the status is but these are certainly not "Apple Music" tracks. They were no longer listed as being locally available. Why? They were never deleted by me or my RAID5.

But sure enough, the files are GONE. I went back to my last pre-Apple Music backup (October 2015) and there are my files.

The only thing I can conclude -- it's not logical, I realize, but nothing about the operation of Apple Music is logical -- is that once a tentative match had been made, AM decided to wack the local files. No, I didn't click "Delete from my library" anywhere, on any device.

I know we'll have the usual crew weighing in saying, "works for me" and "no issues". Thanks for your insight. Meanwhile, I'm filing an issue with AM support and chortling at the documentation they have online, that explain things like the meaning of the various icloud icons. Yes, amazing usability :rollseyes:

 

[M. Gustave]

They were never deleted by me or my RAID5.

Running a Level 5 RAID at home is already well outside the norm. What does Apple say about it?

 

[yep-sure]

Sometime in the last 2 months, all the live concerts I have on my phone automatically converted to the studio/album versions of the songs. I haven't checked my Mac yet.

My Library has become a complete mess and I can't face going in to try and fix it just yet.

Oh and I'm still experiencing the same bugs I have since it was first released, where playing songs, even songs stored locally, randomly stop playing and you have to click play again. And the other classic, despite having about 30 songs in the Up Next playlist, it gets to the end of one song and starts playing an album you were listening to hours ago, and you check the Up Next list and your 30 songs are gone, replaced by this album you never selected.

Solid product Apple Music.

 

[Julien]

Sometime in the last 2 months, all the live concerts I have on my phone automatically converted to the studio/album versions of the songs. I haven't checked my Mac yet.....

Your iPhone has the music tracks synced and downloaded from Music to it. On your Mac as long as you have not deleted the originals they will still be there. Apple doesn't 'log' into your Mac/PC and delete or replace files.

On your Mac you should rename the tracks (like put 'in concert' at the end of all names). This should 'force' Music to upload the tracks instead of matching them to Music tracks.

Of course you should keep at least 2 backups. One of just your 'permeant' music library.

 

[navaira]

On your Mac you should rename the tracks (like put 'in concert' at the end of all names).

So much fun when you have multiple live recordings in your iTunes! Well done, Apple.

 

[Julien]

So much fun when you have multiple live recordings in your iTunes! Well done, Apple.

Apple is starting to use 'fingerprinting' instead of metadata. Once it is fully implemented it will all but element the metadata naming problem. It does take a lot longer to scan your library but will be a big improvement.

 

[navaira]

Oh! I thought that was WITH fingerprinting. My bad, sorry.

 

[Julien]

Oh! I thought that was WITH fingerprinting. My bad, sorry.

Yea, it looks to be kind of a slow process. It would probably overload Apple servers to do it faster. It looks like it is about 1% to 2% of users per day and it started near the end of July or first of Aug. Probably complete in the US by now and moving into other countries (pure speculation). Here is a good article on it.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...tch-acoustic-fingerprinting-method-of-song-id

 

[Adam Warlock]

Oh and I'm still experiencing the same bugs I have since it was first released, where playing songs, even songs stored locally, randomly stop playing and you have to click play again.

Huh. Happens once in a while to me too, but I always assumed the problem was related to Bluetooth streaming to my wireless headphones. Glad to hear it's not just me!

 

[yep-sure]

Your iPhone has the music tracks synced and downloaded from Music to it. On your Mac as long as you have not deleted the originals they will still be there. Apple doesn't 'log' into your Mac/PC and delete or replace files.

On your Mac you should rename the tracks (like put 'in concert' at the end of all names). This should 'force' Music to upload the tracks instead of matching them to Music tracks.

Of course you should keep at least 2 backups. One of just your 'permeant' music library.

Thanks for the reply, but there's no way I'm doing that. I have a lot of concerts. It would be a ridiculous undertaking.

I'd rather just accept that my Music library is now a complete mess due to Apple Music, complain about it on this forum, and put off migrating away from it until I have time/mental energy to do so.
[doublepost=1471740285][/doublepost]

Huh. Happens once in a while to me too, but I always assumed the problem was related to Bluetooth streaming to my wireless headphones. Glad to hear it's not just me!

Wired headphones here, it's not a Bluetooth problem.

 

[Julien]

Thanks for the reply, but there's no way I'm doing that. I have a lot of concerts. It would be a ridiculous undertaking.

I'd rather just accept that my Music library is now a complete mess due to Apple Music, complain about it on this forum, and put off migrating away from it until I have time/mental energy to do so.....

By then you will probably have fingerprinting and the problem(s) solved.

 

[navaira]

By then you will probably have fingerprinting and the problem(s) solved.

It's coming with the Mac Pro update!

 

[Julien]

It's coming with the Mac Pro update!

It is actually backend.

 

[Playthatfunkymusic]

Sorry in advance for the rant. I'm just frustrated.

I had such deep hope for Apple Music. The promise of integrating my personal collection with a streaming service and having all my music available on the road from all my devices was enticing. The reality is something else altogether.

In fact, I find Apple Music incredibly frustrating to use. I can't find the music I'm looking for. The interface is non-intuitive, overly precious, and hard to use. The performance is slow and unpredictable.

Here's just a few of my gripes. Death by 1000 cuts.

1. Sorting by {first name} {last name}

I don't know who the genius is that thought of this. Have they never been to school or in a library, or for god's sake a record store? Worse yet, music from my library that matched is now under the idiotic sorting, but music that didn't is available under the logical method. That means I need to look in at least two places to try to find albums that should be in one.

2. Having to toggle between "All Apple Music" and "My Music"

I understand the rationale for this in some situations. But this toggle is too prominent. You shouldn't have to toggle back and forth all the time as it destroys the perception of integration.

3. The "feature" that only shows a few songs per album and the extra "show complete album" tap.

Just show me the full album. What's the point of only listing a few songs when there is enough screen real estate to full the show list?

4. In general way too many clicks to do routine tasks.

Example: I'm listening to a playlist. A song comes on that I like. I want to hear more of that artist but from a different album. From the main menu on Spotify you can "show artist" and "show album". Apple Music? Tap the "..." menu. Tap the non-intuitive right arrow. Tap the band name. Three taps for something that should be far more obvious.

Oh, and if you tap on the band or album name, it toggles the star rating for the song. That's obvious.

5. Precious interface that's painful to navigate.

I guess this is just a carry over from the iOS guidelines but the interface is a pain to use, especially if you are walking around and trying to select songs. From the tiny search icon, to navigating from a playing song to other things.

And take a look at Apple Music on an iPad Pro. Absolutely awful.

View attachment 620905
Great use of screen real estate on the iPad Pro. That's a NOT joke for ya.

6. General UI quirks

Sometimes the download from iCloud option is available. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes clicking it (for example, for an album) works and the tracks download. Sometimes it does nothing. Sometimes it only downloads one or two songs from the total then disappears.

Sometimes tapping on an artist tags one to the artist page. Sometimes nothing. Just a blank page. No indication that content is loading.

7. Syncing personal library simply does not work consistently.

My complete library is synced. I had 19 albums from Brian Eno. Now here is what I have in "My Music" for Brian Eno:

View attachment 620904
Music. Poof. And only a few songs per album are actually available.

And take a look at the iPad screenshot above. An album in my collection with only one song. I don't know where the other songs are. They are just gone.

8. General performance is laggy with high resource use and frequent crashes.

I listen on Bluetooth headphones. Apple Music magically stops all the time, even in songs I've marked for offline access. Sometimes it crashes. Sometimes it freezes. Really temperamental app and service. Then you get all kinds of informative messages like this:

View attachment 620906
Trying to play songs from the AM library sometimes gives this informative error. This was my music that was matched and uploaded. Now I can't listen to it.

9. Matching is opaque, inconsistent, incomplete, and error prone

Some albums have been matched. Some have had their artwork completely replaced with something else. Some are matched and have the correct metadata but now play completely different content. Some albums are just plain missing.

Matching needs to be done with the hugest of fidelities. If a match is made, ALL metadata should be preserved. If there is the slightest chance that there is no match, leave it alone.

--

This is just the top of my head list. Like I said I really want to use Apple Music for its integration. But for me, using it is an exercise in frustration. And I'm not really seeing any progress in fixes to the service, having been using it since the beta days.

Someone fill me with hope that Apple is doing something -- anything -- about the disaster that is Apple Music. Has anything improved since the public beta days?

I hear you. I am so frustrated with Apple music too. Apple must have one of the lowest levels of customer service out there. They need to fix the old issues before expanding their product line and creating more issues.

 

[tonyr6]

I hear you. I am so frustrated with Apple music too. Apple must have one of the lowest levels of customer service out there. They need to fix the old issues before expanding their product line and creating more issues.

Apple Music support is great. I always get Americans on the phone. Try Dell, Microsoft and Amazon you will want to throw your phone against the wall after talking to those outsourced idiots.

 

[girlgirl]

Sorry in advance for the rant. I'm just frustrated.

I had such deep hope for Apple Music. The promise of integrating my personal collection with a streaming service and having all my music available on the road from all my devices was enticing. The reality is something else altogether.

In fact, I find Apple Music incredibly frustrating to use. I can't find the music I'm looking for. The interface is non-intuitive, overly precious, and hard to use. The performance is slow and unpredictable.

Here's just a few of my gripes. Death by 1000 cuts.

1. Sorting by {first name} {last name}

I don't know who the genius is that thought of this. Have they never been to school or in a library, or for god's sake a record store? Worse yet, music from my library that matched is now under the idiotic sorting, but music that didn't is available under the logical method. That means I need to look in at least two places to try to find albums that should be in one.

2. Having to toggle between "All Apple Music" and "My Music"

I understand the rationale for this in some situations. But this toggle is too prominent. You shouldn't have to toggle back and forth all the time as it destroys the perception of integration.

3. The "feature" that only shows a few songs per album and the extra "show complete album" tap.

Just show me the full album. What's the point of only listing a few songs when there is enough screen real estate to full the show list?

4. In general way too many clicks to do routine tasks.

Example: I'm listening to a playlist. A song comes on that I like. I want to hear more of that artist but from a different album. From the main menu on Spotify you can "show artist" and "show album". Apple Music? Tap the "..." menu. Tap the non-intuitive right arrow. Tap the band name. Three taps for something that should be far more obvious.

Oh, and if you tap on the band or album name, it toggles the star rating for the song. That's obvious.

5. Precious interface that's painful to navigate.

I guess this is just a carry over from the iOS guidelines but the interface is a pain to use, especially if you are walking around and trying to select songs. From the tiny search icon, to navigating from a playing song to other things.

And take a look at Apple Music on an iPad Pro. Absolutely awful.

View attachment 620905
Great use of screen real estate on the iPad Pro. That's a NOT joke for ya.

6. General UI quirks

Sometimes the download from iCloud option is available. Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes clicking it (for example, for an album) works and the tracks download. Sometimes it does nothing. Sometimes it only downloads one or two songs from the total then disappears.

Sometimes tapping on an artist tags one to the artist page. Sometimes nothing. Just a blank page. No indication that content is loading.

7. Syncing personal library simply does not work consistently.

My complete library is synced. I had 19 albums from Brian Eno. Now here is what I have in "My Music" for Brian Eno:

View attachment 620904
Music. Poof. And only a few songs per album are actually available.

And take a look at the iPad screenshot above. An album in my collection with only one song. I don't know where the other songs are. They are just gone.

8. General performance is laggy with high resource use and frequent crashes.

I listen on Bluetooth headphones. Apple Music magically stops all the time, even in songs I've marked for offline access. Sometimes it crashes. Sometimes it freezes. Really temperamental app and service. Then you get all kinds of informative messages like this:

View attachment 620906
Trying to play songs from the AM library sometimes gives this informative error. This was my music that was matched and uploaded. Now I can't listen to it.

9. Matching is opaque, inconsistent, incomplete, and error prone

Some albums have been matched. Some have had their artwork completely replaced with something else. Some are matched and have the correct metadata but now play completely different content. Some albums are just plain missing.

Matching needs to be done with the hugest of fidelities. If a match is made, ALL metadata should be preserved. If there is the slightest chance that there is no match, leave it alone.

--

This is just the top of my head list. Like I said I really want to use Apple Music for its integration. But for me, using it is an exercise in frustration. And I'm not really seeing any progress in fixes to the service, having been using it since the beta days.

Someone fill me with hope that Apple is doing something -- anything -- about the disaster that is Apple Music. Has anything improved since the public beta days?

[doublepost=1498008625][/doublepost]I wrote this a while ago in my notes app and didn't know where to post it so here you go I really hope someone from Apple sees this

Ways Apple Music could improve:

-better curators for playlists, Spotify has more variety and better songs with wider range of artists

-easier navigation, i.e. Spotify: search has last typed option, curated playlists are easily set up

-make it easier to find and organize playlists I've created

-have a last played list like Spotify so I don't have to go down and select each individual album

-why can't I delete playlists that are shared with my Apple Music account? I don't want to see my sisters playlists

-things load too slow

-where is the music that I downloaded prior to having a streaming service and why can't I play it in Apple Music

-lyrics genius on Spotify is an amazing idea just saying

-I often experience glitches and have to shut down the app and restart

-I want to strangle something when it takes 10 seconds to load something (every time)

-when I add albums (life of Pablo for example) it won't add to my library or download to iCloud. Seriously??? Get your **** together Spotify would never do that to me if I wanted to listen to Kanye jeez

 

[bigpoppamac31]

I read threads like this and know I'm making the right choice by not using streaming music services. I've just tried Spotify and it's crap. Seems like I actually have to have a paid account to use it fully. The "free" option sucks.