Unlike Spotify, Apple Music doesn’t offer a free tier. But sometimes you might need to pause your subscription for a while. If you’ve built a massive music library with years of curated playlists, the thought of losing it can be nerve-wracking. Unfortunately, some users have encountered this issue.
This guide will help you to get back your Apple Music library after a subscription pause, and discuss ways to back up your library and playlists to prevent future music loss. With a little planning, you can enjoy Apple Music’s flexibility without worrying about losing your precious music collection.
If you cancel your subscription to Apple Music, your music library, including downloaded songs, will be removed. You can restore your library after renewing your subscription, but you’ll need to redownload any songs for offline listening.
To restore your Apple Music library, you’ll need to use the “Sync Library” feature. Here’s how to sync your library across different devices:
When you turn Sync Library on, Apple stores your songs on iCloud and makes them available across your devices. However, Apple will delete your iCloud music library after you cancel Apple Music. This deletion can occur anywhere between 30 and 180 days. While some users have reported longer retention, it’s not guaranteed.
If you find your Apple Music library and playlists missing after resubscribing, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try to recover your music:
Try turning off the “Sync Library” setting in your Apple Music settings, then turn it back on. This can sometimes trigger a resync of your library data.
Sign in to Apple Music on the web player (music.apple.com) or a different device you use with Apple Music. This will help you see if your library is still accessible elsewhere. If it is, the issue might be specific to the current device you’re using.
Sometimes, restoring your library can take a while after resubscribing. Be patient and allow Apple Music some time to sync your data. Some users have reported that Apple can take more than one hour or even one day to restore their Apple Music library.
In some cases, regional restrictions might play a role. If you’re currently outside your home region, Apple Music may only show content available in your current location. try using a VPN to switch the server to your home region and see whether your Apple Music library shows up.
Apple allows you to request your listening data, which might include playlists. However, keep in mind that it won’t restore your entire library. You’ll have to manually add your songs and playlists back to your account.
Here is how you can request your Apple Music data:
If you are thinking of canceling Apple Music, here are three options to back up your playlists and library. This way, even if your music disappears after resubscribing, you can easily restore it.
Apple Music allows you to export individual playlists and your entire library in XML format. While you can also export playlists to TXT or M3U formats, XML is recommended for importing them back into Apple Music.
Important Note: While Apple Music lets you import exported playlists back in, there’s a chance the songs might not show up correctly. They might appear greyed out with error messages. If you encounter issues importing your playlists back into Apple Music, consider using playlist transfer tools like TuneMyMusic or Soundiiz. These tools can help import and match your saved playlists back to your Apple Music library.
A playlist transfer tool is a software application or online service that helps you easily migrate your playlists or entire music libraries between different music streaming platforms. These tools can also be used to export playlists to common file formats like TXT or CSV for backup purposes, and even import them back later.
Some popular playlist transfer tools include TuneMyMusic, Soundiiz, and FreeYourMusic. They typically offer both free and premium plans, with the free versions often limiting the number of tracks you can transfer.
If you previously exported your playlist as a file (XML, TXT, CSV, M3U, M3U8, PLS, WPL, and XSPF), you can import it back to Apple Music by choosing “Upload File” when selecting the source in TuneMyMusic. Follow the on-screen instructions for a smooth import process.
The ultimate solution to back up your Apple Music Library is to download them to commonly supported format files such as MP3. This allows you to enjoy free Apple music forever and access your music collection on any device even after your subscription expires.
Tools like Pazu Apple Music Converter offer this capability, empowering you to download any Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists to universally supported formats like MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, M4A, and AIFF. It runs on both Mac and Windows platforms and ensures no loss in audio quality during conversion. In addition, Pazu Apple Music Converter can download your music collection at speeds up to 10 times faster than other similar software, saving you valuable time. It seamlessly integrates with the web player, eliminating the need for iTunes or the Apple Music app.
The following tutorial will show you how to download Apple Music to MP3 and get Apple Music for free.
Download, install and run Pazu Apple Music Converter on your Mac or Windows.
Click the gear icon to customize the output format or output folder. The default format is M4A in 256kbps. Apple Music Converter also supports MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and AIFF.
Search for a playlist, artist, or album you want to download. Click the “Add to List” button to load all songs in the album or playlist.
Uncheck the songs you don’t want to download if there are any. Click the “Convert” button to download Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists to MP3.
After downloading, click the clock icon in the upper right to view the converted Apple Music songs. You can play them on any supported device, even after canceling your Apple Music subscription.
Download Apple Music to MP3, M4A, etc.