Icloud Music Library Not Syncing On Mac

24-05-2021
 |  [RAND-100] - Comments

iCloud Music Library is Apple's cloud-based repository for all your music (and music you've saved or downloaded from Apple Music). Anyone who has an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription can take advantage of it. But before you enable iCloud Music Library, there are a few things to know.

Apple Music Subscription

Apple Music is Apple's massive music service, comprising a subscription music catalog, iCloud Music Library syncing across your devices, Beats 1 live and algorithmic radio, customized playlists, and more artist exclusives than you can shake a stick at.

Cloud-based matching can be buggy

iCloud Music Library has come a long way since it first launched with Apple Music in 2015. It syncs more reliably now, and keeps everything in order. But like any computer system, errors are bound to crop up that need your personal attention.

What kind of errors? Stuff like:

2020-4-1  Considering how we don’t always rely on a single device to listen to music, iCloud Music Library comes in handy when we’re constantly switching between devices, whether it’s an iPhone, Mac, Windows PC, iPad, and seamlessly syncing songs, playlists and more within a matter of seconds.

  • Missing or mismatched album artwork
  • Live tracks matched to their studio versions
  • Wrong metadata
  • Albums refusing to sync

The vast majority of people's libraries shouldn't see these errors, but regardless: Before spinning up iCloud Music Library, you should make a backup of your music library. This way, in case anything goes pear-shaped, you have a place to reset.

What do I lose when I disable iCloud Music Library?

If you choose to turn off iCloud Music Library, you'll no longer have access to:

  • A cloud-based copy of your Mac's iTunes library
  • Your Mac's Matched or Uploaded tracks to stream on your other devices (if using Apple Music or iTunes Match)
  • Any saved songs from the Apple Music catalog

Even with iCloud Music Library off, however, you'll still have access to purchased iTunes content; that's always available for streaming across your devices whether you have iCloud enabled or not.

Don't want to use iCloud Music Library but still want to jam out to Apple Music? Here's how to use Apple's subscription service without it. You can also use iCloud Music Library with a secondary iTunes Library if you want to keep your primary music collection separate, but still sync some of your tunes to your other devices.

How to enable or disable iCloud Music Library

If you want to turn iCloud Music Library on or off, here's how you go about doing that.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Music.

  3. Tap the iCloud Music Library switch to turn it to the 'off' position.

  4. Tap Turn Off.

  5. Tap the switch again to turn on iCloud Music Library.

On your Mac

Icloud
  1. Open iTunes on your Mac.

  2. Click iTunes in the Menu bar.

  3. Click Preference.

  4. Click the checkbox next to iCloud Music Library to uncheck it. Click the box again to check it and turn on iCloud Music Library.

A note on iOS 13 and macOS Catalina

In Apple's upcoming iOS 13 and macOS Catalina software releases, these options work as outlined in the instructions above, except that the option is now labeled 'Sync Library' instead of iCloud Music Library, and on macOS, the process takes place in the Music app, rathar than iTunes, which is being split into separate Music, Podcasts, and TV apps.

Any other questions?

Let us know in the comments. (We've also got a bunch of iCloud Music Library troubleshooting articles available.)

Updated August 2019: Instructions updated through macOS Mojave and iOS 12.4.

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Apple Music

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iTunes Match and Apple Music both allow you to sync your tracks to iCloud Music Library, where you can stream and download them to any iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV without having to take up physical storage space.

While both services are incredibly convenient when they work, they aren't completely error-proof either. Whether they're hanging up while trying to sync, or your music isn't showing up on your iPhone or iPad, here are some steps you can take to try and remedy your issue.

Apple Music Subscription

Apple Music is Apple's massive music service, comprising a subscription music catalog, iCloud Music Library syncing across your devices, Beats 1 live and algorithmic radio, customized playlists, and more artist exclusives than you can shake a stick at.

Check iCloud's service status

Sometimes Apple does routine maintenance on specific iCloud services. If you're getting stuck with iCloud Music Library giving you an endless 'Sending information to Apple' error, this is most likely the reason. Before trying to log in, log out, or troubleshoot elsewhere, try checking Apple's Services, Stores, and iCloud system status website.

If the indicator next to Apple Music, iTunes Match, and iTunes in the Cloud is green and you're still having trouble, try the next step listed below. If it's showing up as yellow or red, Apple may be doing a system update; check the status page again later.

Turn iCloud Music Library on and off on all iOS devices

If you're missing a bunch of music that should be there, turning it on and off again in Settings could resolve the issue.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Music.

  3. Tap the iCloud Music Library switch to turn it to the 'off' position.

  4. Turn back On the option for iCloud Music Library.
  5. Tap Keep Music or Delete & Replace.

  6. Launch the Music app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you still aren't seeing the music you want synced, there may be a problem with iTunes. Continue on to the next step to try and resolve it.

Update iCloud Music Library within iTunes

Even though iCloud should update itself regularly, there are occasions that it doesn't happen for one reason or another. Before trying anything else within iTunes, try updating your iCloud Music Library manually.

  1. Open iTunes.

  2. Click File.

  3. Hover your cursor over Library.

  4. Click Update iCloud Music Library.

Turn iCloud Music Library on and off in iTunes

If you absolutely want to force iCloud Music Library to re-sync all your music, turning it on and off is the way to go. I'd recommend this step for anyone who is experiencing freezes or hangups when trying to sync with iTunes Match or Apple Music, especially if you've already tried all the above steps. Just be aware that your whole library may have to be scanned again and, depending upon its size, this could take hours or even days.

  1. Open iTunes on your Mac.

  2. Click iTunes in the Menu bar.

  3. Click Preference.

  4. Click the checkbox next to iCloud Music Library to uncheck it.

  5. Click the checkbox again to re-check it.

Sign in and out of iTunes on your Mac

If simply turning iCloud Music Library itself off and then back on doesn't seem to fix the issue, try signing out of iTunes completely on all your devices, including your Mac or PC. Then sign back in and try syncing your iCloud Music Library again.

  1. Open iTunes on your Mac.

  2. Click Account in the Menu bar.

  3. Click Sign Out to sign out of your iTunes/Apple Music account.

  4. Click Account in the Menu bar again.

  5. Click Sign In….

  6. Sign in to your account.

More iCloud Music Library help

Panic

If you're still experiencing trouble with iCloud Music Library after trying all of the above steps, our iTunes forums are a great place to ask for help. If you still can't find what you're looking for, it may be time to contact Apple to see if they can directly solve your problem.

Sweet Music

Apple Music

Icloud Music Library Not Working On Mac

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