What is iCloud Music Library?
iCloud Music Library is Apple’s service for storing your personal music library in the cloud. It allows you to access your music collection across all of your devices that are signed in to your Apple ID. iCloud Music Library stores songs purchased from the iTunes Store, ripped from CDs, downloaded from other sources, and more.
When you enable iCloud Music Library, your music library is uploaded and stored in iCloud. This includes any songs that you’ve added from sources outside of iTunes, such as ripped CDs or downloads from other stores or sites. Any songs already purchased from iTunes will be automatically matched to songs in the iTunes catalog so you don’t have to re-upload those. This gives you access to your entire music library no matter where you are or which device you’re using, as long as you have an internet connection.
One of the key features of iCloud Music Library is the ability to download songs for offline playback. You can save storage space on your device while still having access to your full library by selectively downloading just the songs, albums or playlists you want for offline listening. The rest of your collection stays safely stored in iCloud until you’re ready to download it.
Enabling iCloud Music Library
Before you can access or use your iCloud Music Library, you need to enable it first. iCloud Music Library is disabled by default across your Apple devices and iTunes/Music app.
To enable iCloud Music Library on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 13 or later:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap on your Apple ID banner at the top
- Tap on Music
- Toggle on Sync Library
To enable iCloud Music Library on iTunes or the Music app on your Mac running macOS Catalina or later:
- Open iTunes or the Music app
- Go to Account > Settings
- Under Music, check the box for Sync Library
Once enabled, any new music you add across devices will be automatically synced to your iCloud Music Library and available everywhere. You can also upload your existing local music library if desired (more details below).
Viewing Your iCloud Music Library
Once enabled, your iCloud music collection can be accessed across devices logged into your Apple ID. To view your iCloud music library on a Mac, open the Music app and select “Library” in the sidebar. This will show all the songs uploaded to your iCloud Music Library. You can also view your library under the “Albums”, “Artists”, and “Songs” sections in the sidebar.
On an iPhone or iPad, launch the Music app and tap on the Library tab at the bottom to see all your iCloud music. The songs stored locally on your device will be mixed in with the songs stored in iCloud here. Tap on the Downloaded Music section to only view songs saved locally.
To see just your iCloud music on iOS devices, enable the “Show Apple Music” setting under Music in the Settings app. This separates the on-device music from your iCloud collection. You can then access all your iCloud songs in the Apple Music section of the Music app.
Your iCloud music can also be accessed on a Windows PC with the latest version of iTunes installed. In iTunes, click on the “Library” button and select “Songs” to view your full iCloud music library (source).
Downloading Songs for Offline Playback
One of the key benefits of iCloud Music Library is the ability to download songs for offline listening when you won’t have access to the internet. This allows you to save cellular data and listen to your music even without a WiFi or mobile data connection.
To download music from your iCloud Music Library for offline playback:
- Open the Music app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
- Tap on the Library tab at the bottom.
- Find the song, album or playlist you want to download and tap on the download icon next to it. The icon looks like a downward pointing arrow.
- Your selected music will begin downloading for offline playback. You’ll see a progress indicator while it downloads.
Downloaded music will have a checkmark next to it in your library. You can access downloaded music by tapping on the Downloaded Music section in the Library tab.
One thing to note is that there are restrictions on how many devices you can download to. Generally you are limited to downloading on 10 devices total (source).
Adding Songs to Your Library
Any songs you purchase from the iTunes Store or rip from CDs using iTunes will automatically be added to your iCloud Music Library. iTunes and Apple Music will scan the songs and match them to songs already in the Apple Music catalog. If a match is found, it won’t need to upload the full song file – just the metadata.
You can also manually add music files downloaded from other sources, like mp3s you’ve downloaded from the internet. To add these songs, simply drag and drop the files into your iTunes library on desktop Mac or Windows. The songs will be analyzed and uploaded to your iCloud Music library if Apple Music doesn’t already have a copy.
According to Apple’s support documentation, you can upload up to 100,000 songs to your iCloud Music Library that were not purchased from the iTunes Store [1]. The songs can be common audio formats like MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, or WAV.
Uploading Your Existing Music Library
One of the main benefits of iCloud Music Library is that it allows you to upload songs you already have stored locally on your devices. When you first enable iCloud Music Library, it will automatically upload your entire existing music library to iCloud so it is accessible from all your devices.
The upload process begins as soon as you turn on iCloud Music Library in the Music settings on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. Your device will start uploading any songs, playlists and albums you have stored locally that are not already matched in the Apple Music catalog. This includes any MP3s or other audio files you may have added from outside sources.
The time it takes to finish the upload will depend on the size of your music library and your internet connection speed. You can monitor the progress in the Music app. All the songs will appear with a cloud icon next to them until the upload is complete. Then the cloud icon will disappear, indicating that your song is now stored in iCloud.
One thing to note is that any songs purchased from the iTunes Store do not need to be uploaded, as they are already stored in iCloud. But your personal ripped or downloaded MP3s will all be uploaded so you can access them seamlessly across devices. Just make sure you have enough iCloud storage space for your full music library before enabling the feature.
Overall, the auto-upload makes activating iCloud Music Library a breeze. It brings the full benefits of cloud access to your personal music collection with minimal effort on your part.
Smart Playlist Syncing
One of the handy features of iCloud Music Library is that it syncs your playlists across all your devices, including smart playlists you’ve created based on metadata. Smart playlists are playlists that automatically update based on rules you set up, like “Songs I’ve listened to in the last month” or “My Top 25 Most Played.”
When you enable iCloud Music Library, any smart playlists you’ve created on your Mac or iOS devices will get synced across all your devices. So if you make a change to a smart playlist on your iPhone, that updated playlist will automatically appear on your Mac as well. This makes it easy to keep your curated playlists up to date no matter what device you’re using to listen to your music library.
The syncing happens through iCloud, so you don’t have to manually transfer smart playlist settings. As long as the devices are connected to the same iCloud account with iCloud Music Library enabled, your smart playlists stay in sync automatically.
One thing to note is that there are limits to the number of songs and playlists that can be stored in iCloud Music Library. So if you have an extremely large personal library, you may run into issues with syncing and storage capacity. But for most users’ music collections, iCloud Music Library handles smart playlist syncing seamlessly.
Limits and Restrictions
iCloud Music Library has some limits and restrictions to be aware of when using the service. The most notable limit is on library size. iCloud Music Library allows for up to 100,000 songs to be stored in the cloud1. This includes both songs uploaded to iCloud from your personal music collection as well as any Apple Music songs you have added. If your library exceeds 100,000 songs, you will not be able to add additional music until you delete some existing songs first.
There are also restrictions around what file types can be uploaded. Songs must be under 200 MB in size and standard music file formats like MP3, AAC, ALAC, and WAV are supported. However, songs with DRM protection cannot be uploaded to iCloud Music Library2. So any iTunes music purchases with FairPlay DRM will be ineligible.
In terms of devices, iCloud Music Library can be enabled on up to 10 devices maximum per account. So you can sync your cloud music collection with iOS devices, Macs, PCs, HomePods etc but there is a cap at 10. If you try to set it up on an 11th device, you will need to remove access on another device first.
Troubleshooting Issues
Here are some common troubleshooting fixes for issues with iCloud Music Library:
If songs are missing from your library, make sure your computer is connected to the internet, then go to File > Library in the Music app and choose ‘Update iCloud Music Library’. This will sync and refresh your library (1).
To fix issues with iCloud Music Library not showing up, you can try turning the feature off and back on again under Settings > Music. Give it 10-20 seconds before turning it back on to refresh the sync (2).
If you reach your iCloud storage limit, you may need to upgrade your iCloud storage plan to continue adding songs. iCloud Music Library uses space from your total iCloud allowance.
For missing albums or corruption issues, you may need to delete the library and re-add it. Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Manage Storage > Music and delete the library, then re-enable iCloud Music Library.
As a last resort, you can restore your entire iCloud Music Library from a backup or re-upload your music files if needed.
Alternatives to iCloud Music Library
For users looking for alternatives to Apple’s iCloud Music Library, there are several other popular cloud music services to consider:
Spotify (https://www.spotify.com/) – Spotify has a huge music catalog of over 70 million songs that users can stream on demand. Spotify offers a free ad-supported tier as well as paid premium plans. With a premium account, users can save songs for offline listening and get advanced features like higher quality audio, no ads, and unlimited skips.
YouTube Music (https://music.youtube.com/) – YouTube Music gives access to official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos. There is a free ad-supported tier as well as a paid YouTube Music Premium plan.
Amazon Music (https://www.amazon.com/music/unlimited) – Amazon Music Unlimited provides access to over 75 million songs for streaming or downloading to listen offline. It features curated playlists and personalized stations. Amazon Prime members can get discounts on Amazon Music subscriptions.
Google Play Music (https://play.google.com/music) – Google Play Music offers 50 million songs for free radio-style streaming with ads. Upgrading to a paid subscription enables on-demand playback, offline listening, and ad-free experience. Users can upload up to 50,000 of their own songs to stream through the service.
These cloud music services give you similar capabilities to iCloud Music Library without being locked into the Apple ecosystem. They allow you to stream from vast catalogs, create playlists, listen offline, and access your music across devices.