As an Apple Music user and owner, I was frustrated when I found out that not all songs were available on the platform. After doing some research and testing, I wanted to share my experience and the solutions I discovered to this common issue. In this blog post, I will explain why aren’t all songs available on Apple Music and provide different solutions to the problem.
| Tips for Apple Music Issues |
|---|
| Apple Music might not have some songs due to artist schedules and licensing. |
| To fix the glitch or error, try restarting the app or updating it to the latest version. |
| If a song is not available in your region, try changing your VPN or location settings. |
| Some songs might be greyed out due to being classified as explicit content, and you can remove the restrictions in the Screen Time settings. |
| Occasionally, songs might be renamed or have changes to their information after release. |
| Check your phone’s privacy restrictions to ensure that Apple Music is allowed to access your media library. |
Why Aren’t All Songs Available on Apple Music?
Apple Music allows you to use Siri for fetching songs you dream of, but there’s no guarantee Siri will find all songs. Here are some of the most common reasons why Apple Music doesn’t have all songs.
- Bug Issue
Occasionally, you might be unable to play a song on Apple Music because it’s greyed-out. In that case, if you tap the song, you’ll receive an error message. This is a bug issue that is more likely to happen after you’ve updated the phone’s software.
No worries though, in many cases this bug issue can be resolved with a simple fix.
All you need to do is delete the greyed-out song. Then, search Apple Music’s library for the same song and add it to your playlist.
- Apple Music is Different from iTunes
If you’re wondering why Apple Music doesn’t have all the songs on iTunes, then it’s better to know how Apple Music and iTunes are different in the first place. This will give you a clear idea about the next point in the article.
Similar to Netflix, Apple Music is a subscription service that charges its users a reasonable amount of money for an endless music streaming experience.
On the other hand, the iTunes app makes money every time you download a song. This makes iTunes more profitable to artists, which brings us to the next point: the artists who don’t prefer Apple Music.
- Artists Remove Songs from Apple Music
Some artists might refuse to license their songs on subscription-based music apps, like Apple Music. In a similar case, popular artists like Taylor Swift and The Beatles have declined to release their works on Spotify.
To clarify her decision, Taylor Swift stated that the music industry underpaid valuable songs, like hers. While not all artists follow this position, Apple Music still can’t provide all songs because of disagreements over licensing.
- Artists Change Songs
After releasing a song, some artists might change its name or other information. So, it won’t show in your playlist.
Therefore, you’ll need to search Apple Music’s library to know if the song is available under different details. In case you find it, add the missing song to your playlist. This should make the song available again.
- Delayed Song Release Date
If you just downloaded a new album, some of the songs might not have been released yet. Unreleased songs will remain in grey until they’re released by the artist.
- Song Isn’t Licensed for Your Region
Occasionally, Apple Music might inform you that the song you’re trying to play isn’t available in your region. That’s because some songs might only be licensed for a specific country. Therefore, Apple Music won’t make them available worldwide.
More specifically, Apple Music might not offer songs that national governments censor in some countries.
To get around region-specific restrictions, you can change your VPN to receive the songs available in another country.
Read more: Why aren’t all songs available on Apple Music?
- Device Synchronization
As we mentioned, Apple Music might not make some songs available in certain countries. However, this warning message can sometimes appear randomly in Apple Music, even if you burned albums from a CD a long time ago.
If you receive this warning message, try to reset the warning dialogue and then re-synchronize your device. Hopefully, this step will show all your music again after synchronizing.
On a side note, we don’t recommend you synchronize over WiFi. Instead, connect your device to the PC using an official Apple cable.
While synchronizing, make sure your device is unlocked and the Homescreen is opened.
- Explicit Content
Apple Music might grey-out some songs because they’re classified as explicit content. You can optionally remove the restrictions on explicit content from Screen Time settings.
Beware though, that screen time restrictions protect your child from inappropriate content. Additionally, restrictions limit Siri web search as well as App Store purchases.
Wrap Up
Finally, why aren’t all songs available on Apple Music?
Apple Music might not have the songs you’re searching for because of artist schedules and licensing. If this is the case, you’d better follow your favorite artists on other platforms.
In some cases, however, you’re in control of the situation. You can fix the glitch, change the VPN, or remove your phone’s privacy restrictions.
As the music industry leans more towards artist fans, you’ll surely find a way to reach those missing songs.
