What Happens When Your Apple Music Subscription Ends?
Apple Music subscriptions last for 1-12 months depending on the plan you choose. When your subscription ends, you lose access to stream or download new music from the Apple Music catalog (over 75 million songs). However, you do get to keep any music you’ve purchased or uploaded to your Apple Music library.
According to discussions on Apple’s website, “Once your Apple Music subscription is canceled you will lose access to the playlists you created and any music you’ve downloaded. Also, your listening history will be cleared.” [1]
So while purchased and uploaded songs remain accessible, the ability to stream Apple’s full music catalog is lost until you renew your subscription. Your Apple Music profile and data also remain intact after cancellation.
You Don’t Lose Purchased Music
Music that you have purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store will remain in your library even after your Apple Music subscription ends. This includes individual song purchases as well as full album purchases. Apple confirms that “Any music you’ve purchased or downloaded can be played without an Apple Music membership” (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204939).
So you can rest assured that any music you’ve bought via iTunes does not suddenly disappear if you cancel Apple Music. Those purchases are yours to keep forever and are not tied to an active subscription. Your purchased music library will remain intact and playable on your devices. Just keep in mind that any music you’ve only streamed through your subscription will be inaccessible if your membership lapses.
You Keep Uploaded Music
Music you upload to your library isn’t lost either after your Apple Music subscription ends. Uploads stay in Apple Music even after subscription ends according to Apple’s discussions page (source). This means any songs or albums you’ve added through iTunes Match or have personally uploaded will remain in your library. You just won’t be able to play or download them unless you renew your subscription.
According to the blog Tunemymusic (source), your uploaded music is stored in iCloud separately from the Apple Music catalog. So even though you lose access to stream the Apple Music catalog of over 90 million songs when your subscription lapses, the songs in your personal iCloud Music Library stay there waiting for you if you resubscribe.
You Lose Access to Apple Music Catalog
Once your Apple Music subscription expires, you can no longer stream songs from the Apple Music catalog of over 90 million songs. This includes any playlists featuring songs from the Apple Music catalog as well. Downloaded songs that came from the Apple Music catalog are also removed from your library after your subscription ends, as you no longer have rights to access them without an active subscription.
According to discussions on Apple’s support forums, when a subscription expires, “Any Apple Music tracks in your library will be deleted.” [1] This means any downloads from the streaming catalog are removed. However, any music you purchased or uploaded to your library will remain after cancellation.
Playlists Created May Be Limited
Playlists that you create while subscribed to Apple Music remain in your library even after your subscription ends. However, you will only be able to play the songs in those playlists that you actually own or have uploaded to your personal library. Any songs from the Apple Music catalog that were added to your playlists will be grayed out and unplayable after your subscription lapses.
For example, if you created a playlist called “My Favorites” that contained a mix of songs purchased from iTunes, songs uploaded from your own collection, and songs streamed from Apple Music, after your subscription ends you would only be able to play the purchased and uploaded tracks. The streamed Apple Music tracks would remain in the playlist but would be grayed out.
So in summary, you get to keep the actual playlists you created but with limited functionality, only being able to play the songs that are part of your permanent personal library.
Listening History is Preserved
Even if you cancel your Apple Music subscription, your listening and play activity history on the service is still saved and preserved. However, without an active subscription, you lose the ability to actually play or view any songs, albums, or artists that were part of the Apple Music catalog. You may still see song titles and metadata in your listening history, although the content itself becomes inaccessible unless you re-subscribe.
According to discussions on the Apple Support Community forums, Apple does retain users’ full listening histories after they end subscriptions. This includes any songs you listened to, playlists you created, and stations you tuned into using Apple Music. So your history and profile data remains intact, it just goes dormant.
If you later resume Apple Music by starting a new subscription, your entire listening activity picks up right where you left off. Everything will be restored, allowing you to again play and view all previous content from Apple’s catalog. So even though it becomes unavailable for a time, cancelling does not cause you to lose your Apple Music listening history forever.
renewing Restores Full Access
If you decide to renew your Apple Music subscription after it expires, you’ll regain full access to the Apple Music catalog and your account just as it was before. Resubscribing gives you full Apple Music access again, with your entire library and playlists intact, like you never left at all.
According to discussions on Apple’s support forums, your Apple Music library and playlists remain stored in your account even after cancellation. So if you resubscribe, everything will be waiting for you just as you left it (Source). Your listening history is also preserved, so Apple Music’s recommendations can continue where they left off.
Essentially, resubscribing restores the full Apple Music experience, access to over 100 million songs, custom playlists, downloading abilities, and more. It’s as if your subscription never ended. So you can take a break from Apple Music when needed, without worrying about losing your carefully curated library and preferences.
Non-Renewal Doesn’t Delete Account
An important thing to note is that canceling your Apple Music subscription does not delete your Apple ID or account settings. According to discussions on the Apple forums, your Apple ID, preferences, and settings remain intact even after unsubscribing from the service.
This means that if you decide to restart your Apple Music subscription down the road, it will be easy to resubscribe and pick up where you left off. Your previous playlists, favorites, and listening history will still be associated with your account. Essentially, not renewing does not delete or remove your account, it just limits access to the full Apple Music catalog and features.
So you don’t have to worry about losing your account or settings if you cancel Apple Music for a period of time. You can resubscribe anytime to regain full access with just a couple of clicks.
Alternatives for Listening
If you don’t want to renew your Apple Music subscription, there are some alternatives for listening to music:
You can switch to free music streaming services like Spotify Free or Pandora, which allow ad-supported streaming. The free versions of these services have limited features compared to paid plans, but allow basic on-demand streaming.
Another option is to purchase songs or albums outright from the iTunes Store. This allows you to own the music permanently. Purchased iTunes music can be downloaded and listened to even without an Apple Music subscription.
The downside to these alternatives is you lose access to the full catalog of over 90 million songs available through Apple Music. But switching to free streaming or buying select music can be more cost effective if you don’t want an ongoing subscription.
Tips for Preserving Your Library
If you want to preserve access to songs from Apple Music’s catalog after your subscription ends, here are some tips:
Before your subscription expires, make sure to download any favorite songs to your device that you want to keep access to. Downloaded songs will remain available even after you unsubscribe.
You can also back up your Apple Music library and playlists using iTunes on your computer. This will preserve a copy of your playlists and settings that you can later restore if you resubscribe [1].
For playlists containing songs you haven’t downloaded, consider converting them to regular playlists and removing any unavailable tracks before your subscription lapses. This will preserve the playlist structure even if some songs become unavailable.
While offline listening and playlist backups won’t give you access to Apple Music’s full catalog after canceling, they can help preserve your favorite content and listening history.