Briefly introduce Apple Music and iCloud Music Library services:
Introduction
Apple Music and iCloud Music Library are music services offered by Apple to iOS, Mac, Apple TV, and Windows users. Apple Music is a paid subscription streaming service that gives access to over 90 million songs, playlists curated by music experts, and online radio stations. iCloud Music Library is a feature included with Apple Music that allows users to store their personal music libraries in the cloud and access their music across devices. Both services integrate with the Apple Music app and iTunes.
iCloud Music Library matches songs in a user’s personal library to songs in the Apple Music catalog. Any matched songs are then made available across the user’s devices. Any songs that are unmatched remain stored in iCloud but can still be streamed or downloaded from the user’s library. iCloud Music Library lets users access their entire music library even with limited local storage on their devices.
This article explores key details around how long Apple retains music in a user’s personal library after an Apple Music subscription ends or content is deleted. It provides helpful information for anyone using Apple’s music services.
Music Purchased from iTunes Store
Music purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store becomes permanently part of your library. Even if you cancel Apple Music or iCloud Music Library, purchased tracks remain yours forever and are not deleted. According to Apple’s terms and conditions, “Products acquired from the Services are licensed, not sold, to you,” so you don’t exactly own the tracks. However, you retain the right to use and play them indefinitely after purchase [1].
Once downloaded, purchased music lives in your iTunes library on your devices. iOS backups through iCloud or iTunes can restore that library in case of data loss. As long as you have an active Apple ID and signed in devices, you’ll always have access to re-download any previously purchased content.
Music Uploaded to iCloud Music Library
When you upload your personal music library to iCloud Music Library, Apple stores your songs and makes them available across your devices. According to Apple’s iCloud terms of service, this content remains available as long as you keep your iCloud account active.
If you cancel your iCloud subscription, Apple states that your data may be deleted anytime between 30-180 days after cancellation. However, some users report that their uploaded music library remained accessible in iCloud for longer than 30 days after cancellation (source).
The key factor is that your personally uploaded music will remain available in iCloud Music Library as long as you maintain an active iCloud account. If you cancel iCloud, Apple gives a 30-180 day grace period before deleting the data. But there are mixed reports on whether personal music libraries are immediately blocked or remain accessible during this period.
Music Added from Apple Music Subscription
If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, you will lose access to any music you’ve added from the Apple Music library. This includes playlists created, albums saved, and any music downloaded for offline listening. According to Apple’s terms, this content is only accessible with an active subscription.
Once your subscription ends, the Apple Music library songs will no longer be playable. Any downloads will be removed from your devices as well. However, your previous playlists and library will be stored for if you resume your subscription later on. So if you rejoin Apple Music down the road, your full library and playlists will reappear just as you left them.
Some users have reported being able to play a few downloaded Apple Music songs for 1-2 weeks after cancellation. But this access is not guaranteed. To continue accessing the Apple Music catalog, it’s best to maintain an active paid subscription.
In summary, Apple Music library content requires an ongoing subscription. Downloaded and added songs will become unavailable upon cancellation of your subscription. The sole exception is any music purchased through the iTunes store, which is yours to keep permanently even without a subscription.
Sources:
https://www.noteburner.com/apple-music-tips/keep-playing-apple-music-after-unsubscription.html
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253567051
Music Deleted from Library
If you accidentally delete songs from your Apple Music library, there are a few options to try to recover them:
For music purchased from the iTunes Store, you can go to the Purchased section and re-download any previously purchased songs. As long as you are signed into the same Apple ID, you should be able to download past purchases again for free (source).
If you deleted songs that were uploaded to your iCloud Music Library from your own personal collection, unfortunately there is no way to recover them through Apple. Your best bet is to try file recovery software to rescue deleted tracks from your computer’s hard drive, if you downloaded them originally to your computer (source).
For songs saved from the Apple Music subscription catalog, you can search for them again and re-add them. They should still be available to stream and save, as long as they haven’t been removed from the Apple Music catalog.
To avoid accidentally deleting songs in the future, you can enable the setting to confirm before deleting items in your music library. Go to Settings > Music and turn on “Confirm before deleting songs.” This will prompt you to confirm each deletion.
Account Cancellation and Closure
If you decide to cancel your Apple Music subscription or close your Apple ID account entirely, this will impact the availability of the music in your library. According to Apple’s support article, “How to cancel Apple Music” (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212047), when you cancel your subscription, you’ll no longer be able to access Apple Music, but you can continue to play music you’ve downloaded to your device from your iTunes library. However, as explained in a thread on Apple’s discussions forum (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253827357), if you allow your subscription to lapse for more than 90 days, you will lose access to any content that is only stored in iCloud, including any Apple Music songs you’ve added to your library.
If you decide to close your Apple ID account completely, you will lose access to all purchases and content associated with that account, including any music you’ve purchased or downloaded from Apple Music, according to Apple’s support article “If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple” (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039). So if you cancel your account, be sure to download any purchased music or important content beforehand so you still have access. In summary, cancelling an Apple Music subscription prevents you from streaming but allows downloaded music to remain, while closing an Apple ID removes all associated purchases and content.
Family Sharing
With Apple’s Family Sharing feature, up to 6 family members can share subscriptions to Apple services like Apple Music Share Apple Music with Family Sharing on Mac. However, each family member gets their own personal Apple Music library and playlists. Family members do not share one centralized music library Can family members share my Apple Music library?.
So while you can share the cost of an Apple Music family subscription with up to 5 other people, each person has their own separate iCloud Music Library that is not synced between family members. You can make shared playlists to easily share music picks with family, but you will not have access to other family members’ full personal libraries or playlists. Overall, Family Sharing allows shared access to Apple Music streaming but keeps personal libraries and listening history private for each individual user.
Limits on Library Size
The iCloud Music Library does have limits on the number of songs that can be stored. According to Apple’s support article, the iCloud Music Library can hold up to 100,000 songs (Apple Support). This limit includes both songs purchased from the iTunes Store as well as songs uploaded to the library. Songs purchased from the iTunes Store do not count against the 100,000 song limit.
There are also file size limits per song. Each individual song file cannot be larger than 200 MB in size. This is to ensure that large files do not take up a disproportionate amount of storage space in the library.
If you reach the 100,000 song limit, you will not be able to add any more songs to your iCloud Music Library until you delete some existing songs to free up space. The service is designed to accommodate most people’s music libraries, but very large collections may hit the limit.
Apple Music on Android
Apple Music is also available on Android devices through the Apple Music app. However, music retention policies work differently compared to iOS. According to Apple’s privacy policy, personal data is only retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes it was collected for (Apple Privacy Policy – Legal). This suggests Apple may delete music from an Android user’s library sooner after cancellation compared to iOS, where music purchases are retained indefinitely.
On Android, locally downloaded music will no longer be accessible after an Apple Music subscription is cancelled. However, playlists and library data may remain for a grace period before being deleted. Overall, Android users should expect much shorter music retention after cancellation compared to iOS.
Summary
In recap, the length of time Apple retains your music depends on where it came from and what service you use:
– Music purchased from the iTunes Store stays in your library forever, even if you cancel your Apple ID.
– Music uploaded to iCloud Music Library also remains indefinitely as long as you keep your subscription active. If you cancel, the music stays for an additional 90 days.
– Music added through an Apple Music subscription remains available only while your subscription is active. If you cancel, you immediately lose access to the songs.
– Music you add manually to your library stays unless you actively delete it. There are storage limits though based on your device.
– With Family Sharing, all users keep their personal libraries even if the family group is disbanded.
– On Android, music from Apple Music will no longer be accessible if you cancel the subscription. Purchased music remains.
The key takeaway is that purchased music is yours to keep forever, while streamed/subscribed music depends on an active subscription. iCloud Music Library offers a middle ground, retaining your uploads for 90 days post-cancellation.