If you’ve noticed some of your favorite songs missing from your Apple Music playlists, you’re not alone. Over time, songs can be removed from playlists for various reasons, leaving empty gaps where those tracks used to be.
The good news is that it’s usually pretty easy to get those songs back into your Apple Music playlists, whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other device. Here are some of the common reasons songs disappear from playlists and how to add them back.
Songs Removed Due to Expired Licenses
One of the most common reasons you may find songs missing from your Apple Music playlists is because the song’s distribution license expired. This means that Apple no longer has the legal rights to distribute that song on its streaming service.
When this happens, Apple has no choice but to remove those songs from playlists. You’ll see a grayed out track title in place of the song that notes Apple Music no longer has the rights to play it.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to get these songs back until the label or artist renews the distribution rights. You’ll have to wait it out or find another way to listen to those tracks until they hopefully return to Apple Music.
What to do if a song is removed due to an expired license
- Wait and see if the distribution rights are renewed
- Listen to the song through another music service
- Purchase the song/album from the iTunes store
- Check back periodically to see if the song becomes available again
Songs Removed from Playlists Due to Uploads Expiring
If you’ve added your own personal music collection to Apple Music by uploading tracks, those songs remain available in your library for up to a year. After that time, they’ll be removed from your playlists unless you re-upload them.
So if you notice uploaded songs missing, it likely means the year is up and you need to upload them again to regain access. You can re-upload up to 100,000 songs from your computer to Apple Music.
How to re-upload expired songs to Apple Music
- Open the Apple Music app on your Mac or PC.
- Click on your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings” from the menu.
- Click on “Files” in the sidebar menu.
- Locate the expired songs listed under “Music no longer available.”
- Click the cloud icon next to each track to re-upload it.
Once re-uploaded, those songs should once again be available in your Apple Music library and playlists.
Songs Accidentally Removed from Playlists
Another common reason you may find tracks missing from a playlist is because they were accidentally deleted:
- You removed the song manually but forgot you did.
- Someone else with access to your account deleted it.
- There was a glitch that caused random songs to be removed.
Luckily, as long as the song is still available on Apple Music, you can easily add it back with just a few taps:
How to add accidentally deleted songs back to a playlist
- Open the playlist that’s missing the track.
- Tap the + button to add songs.
- Search for the name of the missing song.
- Tap the + next to the song to add it back.
The app should remember the correct sorted order and will re-add the song in its original spot. Just like that, your playlist is restored.
Songs Unavailable Due to Changing Music Libraries
If you’ve noticed multiple tracks missing from your playlists, it could be because an entire album or artist’s catalog has been removed from Apple Music.
Record labels and artists themselves sometimes switch which streaming services they distribute their music through. So if they remove their content from Apple Music, those songs would disappear from your library and playlists.
Below are some options to try in this case:
What to do if an album or artist is no longer on Apple Music
- Search for the artist name to confirm their content was removed.
- Check if the content is now available on a competing music service.
- Purchase the album or songs missing through the iTunes Store.
- Use an alternative music source like YouTube to listen.
- Check periodically if the artist returns to Apple Music.
Unfortunately you’re at the mercy of where the artists distribute their music, but purchasing key albums or tracks can allow you to upload them manually at least.
Songs Unavailable Due to Switching Apple Music Regions
Apple Music libraries vary slightly depending on which country you have set for your account region. So if you change regions, some songs may no longer be available.
For example, switching your account from Apple Music in the United States to Apple Music in Canada could cause some tracks to disappear from playlists.
To restore your playlists, you’d need to switch back to your previous country or region in Apple Music settings. This will again give you access to those region-specific libraries.
How to change your Apple Music country or region
- Open Settings and go to iTunes & App Store.
- Tap your Apple ID banner.
- Tap Media & Purchases.
- Under iTunes Media, tap Change Country or Region.
- Choose your desired country or region.
Give it some time to update, and your full Apple Music library for that location should be restored.
Playlists Shared from Other Users
If someone shared a playlist with you, and you later notice songs missing from it, that could be because:
- The original owner removed tracks from the playlist.
- The owner deleted the playlist entirely.
In these cases, unfortunately you can’t directly get those songs back since you didn’t create the playlist. But here are some options:
What to do if shared playlist content is removed
- Contact the playlist owner and ask them to restore the missing songs.
- Copy any remaining songs to your own new playlist.
- Search Apple Music and add the missing songs manually to your library.
- Ask the owner to share the playlist again once it’s restored.
While inconvenient, collaborating with the original owner is typically needed to regain access to those removed tracks.
Checking a Song’s Availability
If you’re not sure why a specific song is missing from an Apple Music playlist, you can check its current availability:
How to check a song’s availability
- Open the Apple Music app and tap Search at the bottom.
- Enter the track name and artist.
- Select the matching song result.
- Scroll down and check if it says “Available on Apple Music” or another message explaining its status.
This should clarify if the song is currently accessible in your Apple Music region or if it’s unavailable due to licensing or other factors.
Contact Apple Music Support
If you can’t seem to restore missing songs using any of these steps, you can also reach out to Apple Music customer support for assistance:
- Open appleid.apple.com and log in.
- Click Get Support and choose Apple Music.
- Select the contact options to speak with an advisor.
The Apple Music support team may be able to look into the specific issue and help troubleshoot why certain songs disappeared from playlists.
Use a Third Party App
Another option is to use a third party iPhone app that specializes in Apple Music playlist management. Some examples include:
- SongShift – Easily edit multiple playlists and transfer songs between different music services.
- Stamp – A music organizer that helps you manage and enhance Apple Music playlists.
- Musixmatch – Allows song lyric editing and can reconstruct playlists.
Apps like these provide tools to help bulk restore missing tracks, fix mislabeled song info, create backups, and more. They provide more advanced ways to manage your Apple Music library.
Recreate Playlists from Scratch
As a last resort, if too many songs are missing with no way to retrieve them, you may need to simply recreate the playlist from scratch:
- Create a new blank playlist in Apple Music.
- Manually search for and add each song back to the new playlist.
- Arrange the tracks to match the original playlist order.
While time consuming, this allows you to build the playlist back up song by song. Just be sure to title it the same as the previous one so you can find it easily.
Set Your Playlist to Public
To avoid having to recreate playlists again in the future, consider setting them to public:
- Open the Apple Music app and tap on the Library tab.
- Select Playlists and choose the desired playlist.
- Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Choose Make Public.
This means if songs disappear again later, other Apple Music subscribers can still stream the playlist and see the missing tracks. While you may not be able to play the songs, you’ll retain the full playlist information.
Download Playlists for Offline Playback
Another precaution is to download key playlists for offline playback while you still have full access to the songs:
- Open the playlist you want to download.
- Tap the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Select Download Playlist.
This will save a copy of the playlist and all its tracks to your device storage. So even if the songs later disappear online, you’ll still be able to play the downloaded playlist offline.
Conclusion
Having songs mysteriously disappear from your Apple Music playlists can certainly be frustrating. But in many cases, it’s thankfully just a minor setback that can be fixed in a few minutes.
Review the common reasons explored above and use the troubleshooting tips outlined to help add missing music back to your playlists. With a bit of effort, you should once again be jamming out to your favorite tunes.
Just be sure to download or back up key playlists occasionally as a precaution. That way you’ll have a copy to fall back on if tracks do disappear in the future.
Stick with the simple solutions and you’ll be all set. But if you keep running into issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to Apple customer support. They can provide personalized help getting your playlists back on track.