There are a few reasons why someone may want to completely delete their Apple Music library and start over. Some key reasons include:
– You want to re-download only your favorite songs and playlists to save storage space. Over time, your Apple Music library can become cluttered with songs you no longer listen to. Wiping it gives you a fresh start. (Source)
– You want Apple Music recommendations to be more tailored to your current taste. If you listened to different genres years ago, Apple may still be recommending those in your “For You” section. Resetting allows Apple Music to learn your current preferences.
– You switched Apple IDs and want to use your new Apple ID for Apple Music instead. The only way to link your new ID is to delete your old library and re-add under the new ID.
– You’re troubleshooting issues with iCloud Music Library syncing or downloading. Sometimes wiping the slate clean is the easiest way to fix stubborn technical problems.
Before deleting, it’s important to back up your music library so you have a copy. Then you can delete the entire Apple Music collection from your devices and account to start fresh.
Back Up Your Library Data
Before deleting your entire Apple Music library, it is crucial that you back up your library data. This will allow you to restore your playlists, preferences, downloads, and other important data if needed after resetting Apple Music. Having a backup saves you from losing data and preferences that you may want to keep.
There are a few ways to back up your Apple Music library data:
- Use iCloud Music Library – This syncs your Apple Music library data including playlists across devices signed into your Apple ID. Enable this in the Music app settings.
- Sync with iTunes – Connect your device to iTunes on a computer and sync the Apple Music collection. This will save the library locally on that computer.
- Export playlists – You can export specific playlists as XML files to save elsewhere before deleting the library.
No matter which backup method you choose, be sure to complete the backup before proceeding to delete your library. Having this data safely stored elsewhere gives you the flexibility to restore information if something goes wrong or you change your mind. As the experts at viwizard.com suggest, “It is better to be safe than sorry.”1
Turn Off Sync Library
Sync Library allows Apple Music to sync your music library across all your devices that are logged into your Apple ID. When you turn off Sync Library, it stops this syncing process so that any changes you make to your library on one device will not carry over to your other devices.
To turn off Sync Library:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
- Tap on your name at the top of the screen.
- Tap on iCloud.
- Scroll down and tap on Music.
- Toggle the Sync Library switch to the OFF position.
Once you turn off Sync Library, your Apple Music library will no longer stay in sync across your devices. This means playlists, liked songs, downloaded music and other library changes will be isolated to each device. Turning sync off is required before you can delete your entire Apple Music library and start fresh.
Source: https://darwinsdata.com/what-happens-if-you-turn-off-sync-library-apple-music/
Delete Downloaded Music
To remove any downloaded music from your devices, you first need to go to Settings > Music and turn off the setting for “Download Music.” This will prevent your device from automatically downloading any additional songs from your Apple Music library.
Next, open the Apple Music app and go to the Library tab. Here you will see any music you have downloaded for offline listening. Tap the Edit button in the upper right corner. This will allow you to select songs and albums to delete. Tap the delete icon next to any downloaded content you want to remove.
Deleting downloads will remove them from your device but not from your Apple Music library. You can always re-download anything from your library as long as you maintain your Apple Music subscription. After deleting all unwanted downloads, your device’s storage should now be freed up.
To check how much space you have gained back, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. This will show you a detailed breakdown of how your storage is being used. The amount listed under Music should have decreased after deleting downloads.
If you want to delete all downloaded music at once, you can tap “Remove Downloads” at the top of the Music section in iPhone storage. This will quickly clear any songs, albums or playlists you’ve downloaded for offline listening.
Just remember, any music removed from your device will still remain safely in your Apple Music library for streaming and re-downloading later. Deleting downloads only removes the songs physically stored on your iPhone or iPad.
Source: http://upnd.qk.su/m3qjzj7y.htm
Delete Playlists
Deleting all of your Apple Music playlists is simple but can be time consuming if you have a lot of them. Here are the steps to delete playlists:
On your iPhone or iPad, open the Apple Music app and tap on the Library tab at the bottom.
Tap on Playlists to view all of your playlists.
Tap and hold on the playlist you want to delete until a menu pops up. Tap on Delete from Library to delete that playlist.
Repeat this for every playlist you want to delete. There is no option to mass select and delete multiple playlists at once, so you’ll have to delete them one by one.
You can also delete playlists using iTunes on your computer. Click on Playlists on the left side menu and right click on a playlist to select Delete. This will also delete the playlist from your synced devices.
According to discussions on Apple’s forums, there is no quick way to mass delete all playlists. You’ll have to select and delete each one individually.
Sign Out of iTunes & App Store
One way to reset your Apple Music library is to sign out of your iTunes and App Store accounts. This will unlink your Apple ID from the music and app services. Here are the steps:
- Open the iTunes app on your computer and click on Account > Sign Out. This will sign you out of the iTunes Store.
- On your iOS device, go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and tap on your Apple ID. Then tap Sign Out to sign out of your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to icloud.com and click Sign Out to sign out of iCloud.
- Open the App Store app and tap on your profile picture, then tap Sign Out.
Signing out of these services breaks the link between them and your Apple ID. This can help reset your Apple Music library when you sign back in later.
Disable iCloud Music Library
The iCloud Music Library is what syncs your Apple Music content across your devices. To fully delete your Apple Music library, you’ll need to turn off iCloud Music Library.
To disable iCloud Music Library:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
- Tap on your name at the top of the screen.
- Tap on iCloud.
- Under Apps Using iCloud, toggle the switch off for Music.
This will prevent your Apple Music library from syncing across your devices. According to discussions on the Apple forums, disabling iCloud Music Library will remove Apple Music content while keeping your purchased iTunes music.
Delete Cache Files
One way to completely reset Apple Music is by deleting its cache and temporary files. These files store data like artwork, playlists, recommendations, and other information that Apple Music uses. Removing the cache forces Apple Music to start fresh when reconnecting to your library.
To delete the cache files:
- Open Finder and select the ‘Go’ menu.
- Hold the Option key and click on ‘Library’ to open your user library folder.
- Open the ‘Caches’ folder.
- Look for any files or folders with “com.apple.music” in the name and drag them to the Trash.
Deleting these cache files clears out old data from Apple Music so it can rebuild a new library for you. This is an important step in completely resetting Apple Music and starting your library over from scratch. Just be aware it may take some time for Apple Music to re-index your music after deleting the cache.
For more details on locating and removing Apple Music cache files, see this helpful guide: https://www.drmare.com/apple-music/apple-music-not-working-on-mac.html
Reset Apple Music
One way to start fresh with Apple Music is to completely reset the app data and preferences. This will clear out all previous likes, dislikes, listening history, recommendations, playlists, and other personalized elements from your Apple Music profile. According to a thread on Apple’s forums, resetting Apple Music is the best option if you want to remove all songs and personalization from your music library and start over from scratch.
To reset Apple Music on an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, and tap “Reset” then “Reset All Settings.” This will reset your device preferences without erasing content. You can also turn off Personalized Recommendations and Allow Explicit Content in Settings > Music. On a Mac, go to Music > Preferences > General and click “Reset All Warnings.”
Resetting Apple Music completely will remove all your previous data and customization, allowing you to re-input your preferences and rebuild your library again from nothing. It is the most thorough option if you want an entirely fresh start.
Start Fresh
Starting fresh with a clean Apple Music library allows you to wipe the slate clean and repopulate your library from scratch. This can be helpful if your library has become cluttered with duplicate tracks, songs you no longer listen to, or if you simply want to reorganize your library.
To start fresh, you will first need to delete your entire current Apple Music library by removing downloaded content, playlists, and ensuring iCloud Music Library syncing is disabled. This completely dissociates your library data from your Apple ID.
Once your library data is wiped, you can then re-enable iCloud Music Library to sync a fresh, empty Apple Music library that you can start populating from scratch. Your previous library data cannot be recovered after deletion, so be sure to back it up externally before deleting if you want to save any of it.
Overall, wiping your library completely and starting fresh gives you a blank slate to rebuild your ideal Apple Music collection from the ground up.
Some key steps to start fresh include:
- Back up existing library data externally
- Delete all downloaded music and playlists
- Sign out of iTunes & App Store
- Disable iCloud Music Library
- Delete cache/local files
- Re-enable iCloud Music Library
Following these steps will dissociate your Apple ID from any existing library data and allow you to start fresh.