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Apple Music |OT| Apple Invents Music, Time To Party Like It's 1989!

I guess the first day "OMG Spotify is dead it might as well not exist anymore" stuff is finally subsiding now that people realize Apple Music isn't really so much better.

I'll probably keep using it for the free trial but if you're on a student plan or something with Spotify, I definitely wouldn't give up the discount for Apple Music.
That was really interesting to read how badly people want one service to crush the other, people were talking about Spotify dying before the service even launched. The app on my iPad uses so much ram it closes when I use only one other app, doesn't happen with Spotify, I'll stick with that.
 

ZeroAKA

Member
My iPhone, iPad, and Mac music libraries, which were previously showing different versions of the same playlists, finally synced after about 3 hours. Hopefully the syncing works better/faster after the initial wave of new sign-ups are over.
 

HUELEN10

Member
Well, that's messed up. And it hasn't always been that way.
Well, it hasn't always been that way because this system is brand new. It's not messed up either, and this is coming from someone who hates DRM for purchases goods, but Apple MUSIC isn't goods, it's a service.

Let's say, and this is a real example, you have a home-made album, a Gamerip which you've made yourself.
f7NF3oi.png

It's in its original AAC glory, inside my iTunes library, and on my hard drive with NO DRM; it is mine and I can do what I want with it. If I sync it to my phone, either that same file will be copied, or a space-saving DRM-free transcode will be put on the phone. Now if I want this album to be available across all my devices to listen to it through Apple MUSIC (since it is not on the iTunes store OR Apple MUSIC service for obvious reasons), I can choose for Apple MUSIC to upload it to their servers as part of the subscription service. If I want any other device to pull it form their service as a local file for offline play, it will have DRM on it it. My original on the host machine is never touched, and I own that original forever (and also have a backup of it). The only way I would have a non-DRMed copy is if I lost my host computer or its backup, and could only re-download a DRMed copy for offline play, for use with the service.

Apple MUSIC has a locker-type function as part of its subscription service, but it is NOT a backup or locker replacement. That is one of the many differences between Apple MUSIC and iTunes Match. Because this is a service, and not goods, I am okay with it, and thus don't need iTunes Match for what I need to do; Apple MUSIC's service is fine for what I need it to do. Would a DRM-free service feature be awesome for locker functionality? Absolutely, no one is saying otherwise, but they choose to sell that separately.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
Well, that's messed up. And it hasn't always been that way.

it is only like that way in Music's "match". If you carry itunes Match it still works the same way.

And yes... it has "always been" that if you delete a file from your hard drive... it is gone :p Match just made that better by giving you an online backup that HAPPENED TO BE drm free. It was always a benefit of Match.. not something you are, say, entitled to.
 

Bumhead

Banned
I disagree actually. Very quick for me to figure out. New = curated. For You = algorithm. My Music = personal library. Radio = radio. They all server very different purposes and I think having them broken out at the app tab level makes sense (disclaimer, I don't use spotify, and have probably used it for free like twice in my life)

Agreed.

I'm just not seeing the major problems people have with the UI. For me it's been a very painless process. Each of the "tabs" serves a clear purpose, you can search both Apple Music and your own library from any screen, clicking any band name or album title will take you to their page, where it takes just one click to add them to your library..

I know there's a couple of teething issues with syncing existing playlists and libraries, but that doesn't seem out of character with a brand new software service launch. I don't think this is necessarily the instant death of Spotify, but comments like "Jobs will be turning in his grave" about this UI seem wildly off the mark. What am I missing that's causing so much grief elsewhere?
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
yeah starting to understand how exactly iTunes Match is "complementary". It IS way confusing... but I'm guessing Apple's subscriber numbers for Match are so low (and target audience is so specific) that they just figure those looking to keep both will look into how the two services work together.

I am personally conflicted.. My daughter and I both actually still buy music from iTunes.. and Match has been utterly indispensable in facilitating that.. I do see Music potentially putting an end to buying music(?), but the thought of no longer paying for it and then losing all "new" music.. I wouldn't even be opposed to buying new music still with a Music subscription... but ultimately it comes down to "why???" Everything we are on are Apple devices.. so with a Music subscription there is absolutely no immediate need for the m4a files.

Part of the problem is that I never really used Spotify. My daughter does but only the free version with the limited access that comes with that, hence why she still buys music (i.e. direct instant access). So now that we have a service/sub with instant and direct access to songs on all of our devices, it becomes a hard sell to actually buy new music.

edit - just so I'm not going crazy.... can others verify that if you have a Match subscription, it "copies" that library over to Apple Music, right? All I did was turn on Apple Music and iCloud Music Library and all of my cloud songs are still there.

I am curious, if I cancel my Match subscription, then say 4 months later cancel Apple Music and re-sub to Match, will my previous Match library still be there? That would be awesome.

I guess you need to do some math. The longer you stay in a subscription based service and don't buy music, the more you get tied in because your music collection starts to become more and more from the subscription and less from buying mp3/CDs. And of course those subscription tracks disappear the second you stop subscribing.

If you are primarily a buyer of tracks, you could still do that and use something like google play music to upload and stream them for free, and then other services for discovery like rdio/spotify free etc.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Agreed.

I'm just not seeing the major problems people have with the UI. For me it's been a very painless process. Each of the "tabs" serves a clear purpose, you can search both Apple Music and your own library from any screen, clicking any band name or album title will take you to their page, where it takes just one click to add them to your library..

I know there's a couple of teething issues with syncing existing playlists and libraries, but that doesn't seem out of character with a brand new software service launch. I don't think this is necessarily the instant death of Spotify, but comments like "Jobs will be turning in his grave" about this UI seem wildly off the mark. What am I missing that's causing so much grief elsewhere?

finding new stuff is more difficult than it needs to be - for a streaming service it should be more front and centre. The main search in itunes at least searches the itunes store and you can't stream or add to your collection from there - you need the 'other' search from my music. The whole discovery and finding things to stream needs an overhaul IMO. The streaming of music you already own and have uploaded seems fine, but then thats just itunes match or google play and isn't what the service is being pushed for
 

RevoDS

Junior Member
Agreed.

I'm just not seeing the major problems people have with the UI. For me it's been a very painless process. Each of the "tabs" serves a clear purpose, you can search both Apple Music and your own library from any screen, clicking any band name or album title will take you to their page, where it takes just one click to add them to your library..

I know there's a couple of teething issues with syncing existing playlists and libraries, but that doesn't seem out of character with a brand new software service launch. I don't think this is necessarily the instant death of Spotify, but comments like "Jobs will be turning in his grave" about this UI seem wildly off the mark. What am I missing that's causing so much grief elsewhere?

I spent an hour yesterday helping a friend who subscribed and freaked out because her iPhone music library disappeared until she'd go into settings, enable iCloud Music Library, update iTunes on her computer and match the songs from her iTunes library on Apple music.

I knew how to fix that because I followed the launch and recently bought iTunes Match so I'm familiar with the process, but that's nowhere near an intuitive process right here. It's not the kind of experience you want new users to have with your service.

There are a lot of great things about Apple Music, but the design can be a little confusing both functionally and UI-wise.
 

borghe

Loves the Greater Toronto Area
Agreed.

I'm just not seeing the major problems people have with the UI. For me it's been a very painless process. Each of the "tabs" serves a clear purpose, you can search both Apple Music and your own library from any screen, clicking any band name or album title will take you to their page, where it takes just one click to add them to your library..

I know there's a couple of teething issues with syncing existing playlists and libraries, but that doesn't seem out of character with a brand new software service launch. I don't think this is necessarily the instant death of Spotify, but comments like "Jobs will be turning in his grave" about this UI seem wildly off the mark. What am I missing that's causing so much grief elsewhere?

I am assuming that the problem people have with the UI is simply a learning curve coming from other services (again, I haven't used others, so I don't know). One common scenario is a "follow the leader" sort of product launch, where everything is very similarly laid out or grouped to the market leader.. From the sounds of it that is what people were expecting, BUT sounds like that's not what Apple did.

and in that vein, people are USED TO Spotify, so be default it is the "better" layout (due to familiarity). So something considerably different by default will be "not as good" due to being unfamiliar and having a learning curve.

Actually wonder how that will play out for Apple. From what I see, the only outright advantage for Spotify is the ability to play on a ton of different platforms (PS4, Android, iOS, etc). But in terms of the services themselves, I think from what I see/know, Apple is actually clearly better.. So, for people at least fully inside the Apple ecosystem, it will be interesting to see if Apple can definitely convert those users to Music. You'd think it would be a no-brainer, but the UI differences seem to be throwing a bunch of people.

You'd also think Apple would have released a Spotify migration tool. This one is just flat out baffling.

finding new stuff is more difficult than it needs to be - for a streaming service it should be more front and centre. The main search in itunes at least searches the itunes store and you can't stream or add to your collection from there - you need the 'other' search from my music. The whole discovery and finding things to stream needs an overhaul IMO. The streaming of music you already own and have uploaded seems fine, but then thats just itunes match or google play and isn't what the service is being pushed for

?? There are two whole tabs on iOS dedicated to discovery (and IMHO aptly named). New and For You.

Similarly, when you search on iOS, it actually defaults to Apple Music, and shows right in the search box "Apple Music" or "My Music". The ONLY way you can get to the store from Music is to tap the "..." next to a song and choose "Show in Store"

itunes I thought (will have to double check tonight) showed Apple Music, Store, and My Music results right in the fast search results. I even thought the "..." icon showed up in the results.. not 100% positive as I was only able to mess with itunes 12.2 for a little bit last night. oh and on OS X... so not sure if things are different on Windows.
 

Luke_Wal

Member
... Are playlists stored locally on the device?!?

I was having issues with my phone, and as part of the troubleshooting process on the phone with Apple, I had to do a full restore. Now both of the playlists that I made yesterday and all of the music that I added to "My Music" are gone? What the heck?

EDIT: Never mind! iCloud Music Library had gotten turned off in the process.

Second update: Oddly enough, one of my playlists synched over completely, while the other one only appeared in iTunes on my Mac, not on my phone, so I had to re-create it. Didn't take long, but still a total pain, especially reconsidering I'll get a new phone in a day or two. Hope that doesn't happen again.
 

iMax

Member
Well, it hasn't always been that way because this system is brand new. It's not messed up either, and this is coming from someone who hates DRM for purchases goods, but Apple MUSIC isn't goods, it's a service.

Let's say, and this is a real example, you have a home-made album, a Gamerip which you've made yourself.
f7NF3oi.png

It's in its original AAC glory, inside my iTunes library, and on my hard drive with NO DRM; it is mine and I can do what I want with it. If I sync it to my phone, either that same file will be copied, or a space-saving DRM-free transcode will be put on the phone. Now if I want this album to be available across all my devices to listen to it through Apple MUSIC (since it is not on the iTunes store OR Apple MUSIC service for obvious reasons), I can choose for Apple MUSIC to upload it to their servers as part of the subscription service. If I want any other device to pull it form their service as a local file for offline play, it will have DRM on it it. My original on the host machine is never touched, and I own that original forever (and also have a backup of it). The only way I would have a non-DRMed copy is if I lost my host computer or its backup, and could only re-download a DRMed copy for offline play, for use with the service.

Apple MUSIC has a locker-type function as part of its subscription service, but it is NOT a backup or locker replacement. That is one of the many differences between Apple MUSIC and iTunes Match. Because this is a service, and not goods, I am okay with it, and thus don't need iTunes Match for what I need to do; Apple MUSIC's service is fine for what I need it to do. Would a DRM-free service feature be awesome for locker functionality? Absolutely, no one is saying otherwise, but they choose to sell that separately.

Of course it's messed up. Goods and services are the same thing nowadays and should be protected accordingly.
 
Can someone point me toward how I can get my local songs uploaded and living on the cloud? Is it just as simple as enabling iCloud Music Library on my updated Mac? How do I then go about selecting what lives locally on the device?
 

iMax

Member
it is only like that way in Music's "match". If you carry itunes Match it still works the same way.

And yes... it has "always been" that if you delete a file from your hard drive... it is gone :p Match just made that better by giving you an online backup that HAPPENED TO BE drm free. It was always a benefit of Match.. not something you are, say, entitled to.

I think I'm entitled to a DRM-free copy of my own DRM-free purchased music from other stores if I pay Apple for a service that advertises itself as a cloud locker.
 

holygeesus

Banned
iCloud Music Library must work on some bizarre voodoo because I've just had a very, very odd experience with it.

I've just ripped my own retail copy of Modest Mouse's 'Moon and Antartica' to my iTunes library - it did it's processing, or whatever it does, I added artwork, as the album is on neither Apple Music or the iTunes store, and it played back absolutely fine.

I then deleted the local files, and tried playing it back from the cloud, and it is playing back live versions of the tracks that aren't even on the CD!

My question is WTF? I can't see any way of fixing that.
 

Luke_Wal

Member
iCloud Music Library must work on some bizarre voodoo because I've just had a very, very odd experience with it.

I've just ripped my own retail copy of Modest Mouse's 'Moon and Antartica' to my iTunes library - it did it's processing, or whatever it does, I added artwork, as the album is on neither Apple Music or the iTunes store, and it played back absolutely fine.

I then deleted the local files, and tried playing it back from the cloud, and it is playing back live versions of the tracks that aren't even on the CD!

My question is WTF? I can't see any way of fixing that.

My guess would be that somebody else had uploaded those live versions to Apple Music and gave the files the same name, and for some reason they're streaming you those versions. Just out of curiosity, why'd you delete the local files? Just to test?
 

Kinsella

Banned
I guess the first day "OMG Spotify is dead it might as well not exist anymore" stuff is finally subsiding now that people realize Apple Music isn't really so much better.

I'll probably keep using it for the free trial but if you're on a student plan or something with Spotify, I definitely wouldn't give up the discount for Apple Music.

Yeah, the hyperbole was funny. In the end what I have with Apple Music is a UI that is actually worse than Spotify and a music selection that has pretty much the same exact limitations that I have on Spotify with a few exceptions here and there (Spotify has exclusives, Apple has some). But the real differentiator for me comes down to the number of places I can use each service and price. Spotify can be used in the background on PS4, which for me is the killer app. It can also be used in a web browser, which is huge for me.
 

Kaladin

Member
iCloud Music Library must work on some bizarre voodoo because I've just had a very, very odd experience with it.

I've just ripped my own retail copy of Modest Mouse's 'Moon and Antartica' to my iTunes library - it did it's processing, or whatever it does, I added artwork, as the album is on neither Apple Music or the iTunes store, and it played back absolutely fine.

I then deleted the local files, and tried playing it back from the cloud, and it is playing back live versions of the tracks that aren't even on the CD!

My question is WTF? I can't see any way of fixing that.

It's an issue with iCloud Music Library and iTunes Match that I've seen recently.

Even The Verge had a piece on it today:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/1/8877129/apple-music-icloud-problems

I dunno...I have a large library of tracks and I'm leaving it untouched by ICML till I read that the issue is fixed.

As it stands, they have 3 months to do that.
 

RevoDS

Junior Member
Can someone point me toward how I can get my local songs uploaded and living on the cloud? Is it just as simple as enabling iCloud Music Library on my updated Mac? How do I then go about selecting what lives locally on the device?

Once iCloud Music Library's enabled and your files are either matched or uploaded (this process should be automated, but you can check if it's done by enabling the "iCloud Status" indicator in your song list), you'll be able to delete songs you don't want physically on your Mac. It'll ask if you also want to delete it from iCloud, just say no and the song will remain available to stream and a little iCloud button will allow you to download it again if you so choose.
 

neshcom

Banned
Scheduled a call with Apple this evening to find out why sharing a playlist of mine pulled out my non-matched tracks and made it unable to sync to iCloud. Ridiculous.

edit: Shit, just realized I backed up that specific playlist to Winamp a few days ago! Gonna see if Apple has a cleaner solution than hoping that m3u imports though.
 

SeanR1221

Member
Nothing is grabbing me and wanting me to switch from Spotify (which has all my playlists there already)

I'll keep trying it out. We'll see what happens by October.

Your @ handle, is that unique? I was surprised I had no problem getting my first and last name.
 

Kinsella

Banned
Nothing is grabbing me and wanting me to switch from Spotify (which has all my playlists there already)

I'll keep trying it out. We'll see what happens by October.

Your @ handle, is that unique? I was surprised I had no problem getting my first and last name.

It's unique, yes.
 

holygeesus

Banned
My guess would be that somebody else had uploaded those live versions to Apple Music and gave the files the same name, and for some reason they're streaming you those versions. Just out of curiosity, why'd you delete the local files? Just to test?

You would have thought that more people would have uploaded the studio tracks and called them the same, and that the law of averages would make it the one the program auto selects though - I didn't realise it worked liked that. I genuinely thought files were transcoded and uploaded uniquely. Yeah I deleted the local files, as I want to keep everything in the cloud, and as a kind of test, I guess.

It's an issue with iCloud Music Library and iTunes Match that I've seen recently.

Even The Verge had a piece on it today:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/1/8877129/apple-music-icloud-problems

I dunno...I have a large library of tracks and I'm leaving it untouched by ICML till I read that the issue is fixed.

As it stands, they have 3 months to do that.

Many thanks for that. At least it is a known issue.
 
on itunes, "clicking add to my music" while listening to Beats1 does nothing

It's an issue with iCloud Music Library and iTunes Match that I've seen recently.

Even The Verge had a piece on it today:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/1/8877129/apple-music-icloud-problems

I dunno...I have a large library of tracks and I'm leaving it untouched by ICML till I read that the issue is fixed.

As it stands, they have 3 months to do that.


iTunes Match has been SHIT since day 1, nothing has changed, iCloud Music is the same thing with a new name, people expecting to not fuck up their library anytime soon are in for a rude awakening
 

Ermac

Proudly debt free. If you need a couple bucks, just ask.
Does signing up for the trial of Apple Music automatically turn on iCloud Music Library?
 

Kaladin

Member
Does signing up for the trial of Apple Music automatically turn on iCloud Music Library?

No, you can keep it off.....but you won't be able to put music from Apple Music into your library.

Basically you'll be limited to streaming from the album pages and their playlists and listening to Beats 1.
 

strikeselect

You like me, you really really like me!
All the iTunes Match/iCloud Music Library problems have me shaking my head. When will Apple EVER get their cloud services right? It's the one area that keeps haunting them over and over again. They really suck at it.

The things I would do for a Google OS/Apple Hardware phone...
 

HUELEN10

Member
I guess I've had good luck; of over 400 matched albums, only 7 are giving me issues and I am fixing them as I go along.

Then again, I do my library ENTIRELY as album-based collections. How do you guys do it?
 

MercuryLS

Banned
The biggest reason I will stick with Apple music is 256kb AAC. Quality is great and it doesn't decimate my local storage on my phone like 320kb MP3 does. Sounds better too. With spotify you have to either choose the high bitrate and use up tons of storage or very low, crappy bitrate MP3. Why don't the competition use AAC when it's far superior?
 
Honestly, I think I'm turning off all this Apple Music stuff until they sort some of these issues out. I'll check back in in a month, and just continue to buy music or use Spotify in the meantime

I want Apple to succeed with this. I want my purchased library and my streaming library to be intertwined, but there's so much stuff at the moment that impedes my enjoyment, most of it on the desktop app.

Scrap iTunes, make a new Music app.
 

Ermac

Proudly debt free. If you need a couple bucks, just ask.
No, you can keep it off.....but you won't be able to put music from Apple Music into your library.

Basically you'll be limited to streaming from the album pages and their playlists and listening to Beats 1.

basically making the service unless lol

Wait, really? I can't download Apple Music albums for offline use unless I turn on iCloud library?? Why are they hiding that feature behind iCloud library? I don't want to turn it on.
 
Honestly, I think I'm turning off all this Apple Music stuff until they sort some of these issues out. I'll check back in in a month, and just continue to buy music or use Spotify in the meantime

I want Apple to succeed with this. I want my purchased library and my streaming library to be intertwined, but there's so much stuff at the moment that impedes my enjoyment, most of it on the desktop app.

Scrap iTunes, make a new Music app.

iCloud Music should be separate from Apple Music, because as iTunes Match user I knew how shit the service has always been, now the masses are experiencing it
 
iCloud Music should be separate from Apple Music, because as iTunes Match user I knew how shit the service has always been, now the masses are experiencing it

I've been using iTunes Match for a while and never had major issues with it. I don't have a large ripped collection, though.
 

Kaladin

Member
Wait, really? I can't download Apple Music albums for offline use unless I turn on iCloud library?? Why are they hiding that feature behind iCloud library? I don't want to turn it on.

If I had to guess, it's probably something to do with DRM.
 

MercuryLS

Banned
Honestly, I think I'm turning off all this Apple Music stuff until they sort some of these issues out. I'll check back in in a month, and just continue to buy music or use Spotify in the meantime

I want Apple to succeed with this. I want my purchased library and my streaming library to be intertwined, but there's so much stuff at the moment that impedes my enjoyment, most of it on the desktop app.

Scrap iTunes, make a new Music app.

I bet you they will, they killed the awful iPhoto app for a version that's an offshoot of the iOS photo app and it was much better. They're probably working on it right now for next year.
 
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