Quick Answer
Yes, backing up an iPhone does save music purchased or downloaded from iTunes or Apple Music. When you back up your iPhone, either through iCloud or iTunes, the backup includes your music library and playlists. So restoring from a backup will transfer the music back to your iPhone.
In-Depth Answer
When you buy music from the iTunes Store or subscribe to Apple Music, the songs are downloaded to your device and stored locally. Your music library lives on your iPhone, not just in the cloud. So in order to preserve your music collection, you need to back it up.
There are two main ways to back up an iPhone – using iCloud or using iTunes on a computer. Both methods will save your music library and playlists:
Backing Up with iCloud
If you have iCloud Backup enabled for your iPhone, your music is automatically backed up each day when your device is charging, locked, and connected to WiFi. iCloud backs up your purchased music, Apple Music songs you’ve downloaded for offline listening, and any music you’ve imported from your computer.
To check that music is being backed up to iCloud:
- Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud
- Make sure iCloud Backup is toggled on
- Under Apps Using iCloud, check that Music is listed
As long as Music is included in your iCloud backup, all your music will be saved there. If you ever need to restore your iPhone, the music will be restored from iCloud.
Backing Up with iTunes
You can also back up your iPhone using iTunes on a computer. Connect your iPhone to your computer via a USB cable, open iTunes, and make sure “Sync this iPhone over WiFi” is enabled on the Summary page.
Then on the Backups page in iTunes, click “Back Up Now” to manually trigger a backup. iTunes will save a copy of your iPhone data, including your music library, to your computer.
The advantage of backing up with iTunes is that it doesn’t count against your iCloud storage limit. The downside is that you need to connect your iPhone to your computer periodically to back up rather than having backups automatically in the cloud.
What gets backed up
No matter which backup method you use, here are the music-related items that will be saved:
- Purchased songs, albums, and music videos from iTunes Store
- Apple Music songs added to your Library for offline playback
- Playlists, including smart playlists and folder structure
- Settings for Music app and EQ presets
If you use iTunes Match or have Apple Music enabled, your entire music library is already stored in iCloud. But you still need a device backup to save offline Apple Music files and playlist data.
What does NOT get backed up
Here are some music-related items that do NOT get backed up anywhere:
- Apple Music songs that are only streamed and not saved offline
- Music stored in third-party apps like Spotify
- Music stored only locally on device and not in Apple Music library
For music that’s only streamed via Apple Music and never downloaded for offline use, this does not need to be backed up. You can always re-download these streams from the cloud. Music from third-party apps is also only streamed.
But any music you’ve added directly to your iPhone’s local storage, outside of iTunes or Apple Music, is NOT backed up. You’ll need to manually transfer this music back to your phone if you restore from backup and lose it.
Steps to restore music library from backup
If you get a new iPhone, reset your current one, or otherwise need to restore from a backup, it just takes a few steps to get your music library back:
- On new iPhone or after reset, choose “Restore from Backup” during setup
- Select desired backup containing music – either latest iCloud backup or iTunes backup
- After restore, open Music app – your songs, playlists etc should be there
- Check Downloaded Music playlist to re-download any offline Apple Music tracks
- Sync with iTunes to transfer any non-Apple music from your computer
Your music library should be back to normal after restoring the backup! Just be aware that music saved only locally on your device will be missing. You’ll need to manually move this music back from a computer.
Finding lost music after restoring backup
If some of your music seems to be missing after restoring an iPhone backup, don’t panic! Here are some things to try:
- Check Downloaded Music playlist for offline Apple Music tracks needing re-download
- Try searching your Music library for missing songs and albums
- Check other apps like Files, Voice Memos etc in case music was saved there
- Connect to iTunes and check for music there under Recently Added
- Search computer and external drives for music files not in Apple ecosystem
- Check if music was purchased under different Apple ID and needs to be re-downloaded
- Consult Apple Music and iTunes Purchase History for download records
- Use a third-party iPhone data recovery app to scan for audio files
With a bit of detective work, you should hopefully be able to locate any “lost” music that didn’t properly restore. Just take it slowly and thoroughly, and don’t hesitate to contact Apple support if you have issues.
Best practices for preventing music loss
To minimize any music library headaches down the road, here are some best practices to follow:
- Use iTunes Match so all music is stored in the cloud
- Enable iCloud Music Library sync between devices
- Turn on automatic iCloud backups for regular saving
- Manually back up to iTunes periodically for redundancy
- Don’t delete music app data before restoring new phone
- Consolidate music into Apple ecosystem rather than scattered across apps and drives
- Check Downloaded Music playlist after restoring to re-download
- Review Purchase History and manually re-download any missing purchased music
The more consistent you are about backing up your music, and the more redundant backups you have, the less likely you are to lose anything when restoring your iPhone or migrating to a new one.
Summary
In summary:
- Backing up your iPhone through iCloud or iTunes does save your music library and playlists
- Purchased iTunes music, Apple Music downloads, and playlist data get backed up
- Stream-only Apple Music tracks do not get backed up
- Locally stored music needs to be manually transferred back after restore
- Enable multiple backup sources for redundancy
- With a few troubleshooting steps, you can usually recover any missing music
So keep calm, back up regularly, and your music collection will be safe even if you need to restore your iPhone!
Conclusion
Yes, backing up your iPhone will save the music you have purchased or downloaded to the device. By using iCloud backups or iTunes backups, you can restore your music library when getting a new iPhone or resetting your current one. Be diligent about consistent backup procedures to prevent music loss. Enable multiple backup sources like iCloud and iTunes for redundancy. With a few simple troubleshooting tips, you can find any tracks that don’t properly restore at first. Backing up provides peace of mind that your music collection is safe.