I’ve spoken with countless people over the years about how I use Apple Music, and how I get the most from the service. One thing I noticed is that many of these people stopped using the service and only listened to songs they had downloaded on their iPhone. I believe the reason they do that is they feel overwhelmed.
Having access to 40 million songs is a beautiful thing, but it can also be daunting. One common thread from the people I talked to is how they tried to use Apple Music.
For the most part, people would think of bands that they liked and try to add all of those albums to their Library. After days of searching and adding music, remembering bands and adding them, Apple Music became more of a chore than an enjoyable app for them to open.
So, I set out to find a way to help these people enjoy Apple Music, build up their Library, and make their For You section customized, so they could instantly listen to Playlist and albums recommended by Apple Music.
There are two main things I came up with to make this happen:
• Apple Music should be something you listen to, not work on all the time. In other words, you shouldn’t have to continually search and add music for the service to work correctly.
• You have to give Apple Music feedback. They say that feedback is a gift—in this case, it’s true. Apple Music will reward you for your efforts.
One of the friends I tried this approach with likes the same type of music that I do—Hard Rock, Metal, Classic Metal, and Classic Rock. I could see and evaluate his results because I knew the music. I also tried it with other people—they used different genres, and it worked just as well.
What I told them to do is very simple: Stop worrying about adding music to your library and listen. I recommended listening to the Apple Music Radio stations for the music genres they liked. As they heard songs they enjoyed, Love them. If they truly loved a song or album, add it to their Library.
This approach did a few things for them. It allowed them to get away from the drudgery of just searching and adding music to their Library, and let them enjoy music again. It also increased the chances that their For You section was giving them music that would want to listen to, from new and recommended albums, to daily Playlists.
Each one of them is building up their Library organically now, instead of trying to do it all at once. They also don’t have to think about what they want to play because Apple Music Radio does all of the thinking for them.
In my opinion, the Apple Music Radio genre stations are the best in the business, and they have changed the way I listen to music. I have a great mix of classic songs and new music that keeps me interested and listening every single day.
This approach is a straightforward way to enjoy Apple Music, but it’s one that has worked for quite a few people.
Taking away that feeling of being overwhelmed by 40 million songs and having people listen to, and enjoy, the music feels like a triumph. That is, after all, what Apple Music is all about—listening.
For the songs that you truly love, do you “Love” them first, then add them to your Library? Or is just adding it to your Library enough for the algorithms?
Adding will certainly help, but I would do both.
For me, the issue with Apple Music is the hardened rules. I use it, but I hate that I do. I cant do something simple like change my apple id to redeem a card on my wife’s account (Our primary for movies) without “infecting” both her and my library with our VERY different tastes. I cant just turn on purchase sharing for her and myself, it has to be for everyone in my family, including my 18 year old who now HAS to use my payment method, so I have to turn it off. Lots of little things bug me, but I’m trying. Putting effort to use something seems like a bit of a kick in the pants tbh.
This is the tact I’ve started to take as well. You kind of have to forget that old model of finding something you want and then taking possession of it. There no reason to do that anymore. I listen to the cultured playlists or browse the new releases and Love the songs I dig. I will only add something to my library now that I don’t want to forget about.
So now that I have thousands of loved songs, I have one smart playlist that I’ll just kick on random and know that every song is killer. And I also have a smart playlist that has the last 50 loved songs in it for when I want to listen to my favorite new stuff.
There are some quirks with Apple Music and the way it deals with files that were imported or previously bought. Every so often I’ll end up with duplicate files, or albums missing songs that used to be complete albums and have yet to figure this out.
Is there any way to see an artist’s albums in a useful way? All I get is a grid of images — mixed album covers and singles releases. No indication which are real albums and no way to see what year they were released, total length, number of songs, and so on, without tapping into them.
Another way that works well is to subscribe to the For You playlists: I use the New Music list mostly which updates weekly, but if you add several similar songs to your library a new mix will show up so I also have a Chill mix I’m enjoying.
I haven’t found one yet. The Albums cover flow is mostly in Release Year, then Alphabetical By Album name (I think – sometimes very new singles will be at the very beginning regardless of the alphabet), but there doesn’t seem to be a way to change the view options on either iOS Music or iTunes…
Wish I had the success you have. New Music is a constant disappointment. I usually try to listen to the first 10 tracks with open eagerness and usually, I have to check ‘Dislike’ to 9 out of 10 of them. There is still room for Apple Music to grow here.
Example
Most of the songs in my Heavy Rotation are classical music with a handful of soundtracks. There are no classical or soundtrack tracks in my New Music. Seems like there should be. Maybe Apple is pushing tracks on a Pay to Play scenario that record labels have exploited forever
I gave up on Radio. Maybe, I’ll give it another shot, maybe. Pandora has been serving this one well.
Classical Radio Station playlist
1. Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata (yes, the famous one, aye, yaye, yaye )
2. Mozart “Jupiter” Symphony, 3rd mvt. (hoe hum…)
3. Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture (ok, this is more like it)
4. Suk: Serenade in E-Flat Major, III. Adagio (nice, sweet spot!)
5. Ravel: Miroirs, M. 55: I. Ondine. Lent (okay, something I’m not familiar with, but interesting)
6. Saint-Saëns: Suite in D Major, Op. 49, R. 165: IV. Romance (okay, this is good)
I brief listen, but is seems much more promising than it was a year ago.
When I had spotify, “loving” songs significantly changed the stations to the point where those songs went into HEAVY rotation. It’s the main reason I left spotify. Will the same thing happen on Apple Music? I don’t want that to happen again.Basically, i’m afraid to “love” songs
This is good advice, but I’ve found no rhyme or reason on how the currently playing song is displayed on the lock screen in terms of what lock screen actions are present. For example, I’m listening to an alternative radio station right now while at work. I’ve come across a song that I like. The only way to tell Apple Music that I like it (love it), is to unlock my iPhone, go to Apple Music, go to the Now Playing screen, tap on the 3 dot ellipsis in the lower right corner and then tap on Love. Or, I can do it with a couple fewer steps on my Apple Watch, but still with some considerable delay. I can’t remember the exact scenario of when an actual Love/Dislike button is present on the lock screen, but I don’t get why there has to be so much friction and inconsistencies in Apple Music’s user-facing interactions.
I’m listening to more music since I got the HomePod than I probably listened to in many years. it’s literally on 8+ hours a day. I listen to my favorites of course but other times I listen to radio stations based on music I like. Heck, I even play Lullaby radio for the puppies.
I also love being able to say Play Rolling Stones and get a personalized station of the Stones – and that applies to any artist I like.