Apple Music launched in 2015 and quickly became one of the leading music streaming services worldwide. Along with Spotify, Amazon Music, and others, Apple Music allows subscribers to access vast catalogs of songs on demand. However, users sometimes find that certain songs or albums are missing from Apple Music’s library. This raises the question – why doesn’t Apple Music have every song?
Music Licensing Complexities
Streaming services like Apple Music need to obtain licenses from multiple parties in order to legally stream songs on their platform. This includes obtaining licenses from record labels, music publishers, and Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) like ASCAP and BMI. Here’s an overview of the complex web of music licensing for streaming:
Record labels own the actual sound recordings of songs, so services need to negotiate a master use license with labels for the rights to stream their recordings. Major record labels like Universal, Sony, and Warner are powerful gatekeepers that streaming services must make deals with.
Music publishers own the composition and lyrics of songs, so services also need publishing licenses for the rights to stream the underlying compositions. Publishers collect royalties on behalf of songwriters.
Finally, PROs like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC handle public performance licensing. Services require a public performance license from PROs to stream songs to listeners. PROs pay songwriters and publishers for these public performances.
Navigating this complex licensing landscape is a major undertaking. Streaming services have to painstakingly negotiate deals with multiple stakeholders to offer comprehensive music catalogs to listeners.
The Long Tail of Music
The volume and variety of music available is immense. According to one estimate, there are over 70 million songs in the world if you count recordings in all languages and genres (Source 1). However, much of this content is obscure, old, or not officially available in digital format. The “long tail” theory refers to how digital retailing enables access to niche, non-mainstream content. But in music, a significant portion of the long tail is not actually available on streaming platforms.
In fact, data analysis has shown that the long tail may not be as long as once thought. One 2019 study found that on Spotify, 80% of streams came from just 3% of tracks (Source 2). Much obscure, old, and non-Western music has simply not been digitized and added to catalogs. Additionally, for niche tracks that are available, some do not generate enough streams to justify the licensing costs. Streaming services face economic incentives to focus on popular tracks and cannot realistically offer every piece of music ever recorded.
Geographic Restrictions
Licensing deals for streaming services often limit the availability of songs by geographic region. Record labels and publishers typically negotiate licenses that only cover certain territories or countries 1. This means Apple Music may have the rights to stream a song in the United States, but not in the UK or other parts of the world. Securing worldwide streaming rights requires navigating a complex web of rights holders and regulations across multiple countries and regions 2. The fragmentation of rights by territory is a major constraint on the global availability of songs on streaming platforms.
Apple Music and other streaming services aim to offer as much music as possible worldwide. However, licensing restrictions imposed by labels, publishers, and performing rights organizations ultimately limit what can be made available in each country and region. Geographic limitations are an unavoidable challenge for music streaming platforms working to provide a robust, global catalog.
Exclusives
Some artists or record labels make deals to release music exclusively on certain streaming platforms, making their songs unavailable on competing services. As this article explains, exclusives used to be more common in the early days of streaming, with artists like Beyonce, Frank Ocean, and Chance the Rapper releasing albums exclusively on Tidal or Apple Music. However, the music industry has pushed back against exclusives more recently, preferring their music be available widely. Still, some short-term exclusives persist, with artists looking for exposure on certain services or payment upfront in exchange for a streaming exclusive window.
For example, in 2021, Kanye West inked a deal for his album Donda to stream exclusively on Apple Music for two weeks upon release before expanding to other platforms, according to this source. Such exclusives give services like Apple Music temporary competitive advantages by offering content fans can’t get elsewhere. However, these deals also limit availability for listeners, potentially driving some fans to pirate the music instead of subscribing to a particular service.
Catalog Gaps
One major reason Apple Music does not have every song is due to gaps in the catalog from certain labels and artists choosing not to make their music available on streaming. Some prominent examples of artists with significant portions of their catalog missing on Apple Music include The Beatles, Tool, King Crimson, Prince, Thom Yorke, and Taylor Swift’s early albums. Many of these artists have chosen not to participate in streaming for creative or financial reasons. Prince famously pulled his catalog from all streaming services except Tidal shortly before his death.
In addition, some prominent indie rock labels like Domino, Matador, and Saddle Creek have chosen not to license their full catalogs to Apple Music. This means seminal albums by artists like Pavement, Sleater-Kinney, and Bright Eyes are missing. Such omissions can be frustrating for fans of those artists who want to experience their full discographies within Apple Music’s library.
Indie Labels
One of the biggest challenges streaming services face in achieving full music catalogs is obtaining rights from independent labels. Indie labels represent a significant and growing portion of the overall music market. In 2021, indie label revenue share in the US grew to 27.8%, up from 23.7% in 2020 according to Hypebot. This amounts to over a quarter of the market. Globally, indie music market share also reached a high of just under 27% in 2021, boosted by major growth in hip-hop/R&B catalogue share according to Independent Music Insider.
With so much music controlled by thousands of independent labels and distributors, it can be a major undertaking for streaming services to license all these rights. The sheer volume makes it difficult to get every indie artist onto platforms like Apple Music. Estimates suggest Apple Music likely only has rights to 60-70% of existing music from indie sources. Closing these catalog gaps takes extensive outreach and negotiations, which is an ongoing process.
User-Uploaded Content
One key difference between Apple Music and YouTube Music is the ability for users to upload their own content. On YouTube, users can upload covers of songs, live performances, remixes, and more. This vast amount of user-generated content significantly expands YouTube Music’s catalog beyond what is officially available from record labels and artists.
In contrast, Apple Music does not allow users to upload their own music or videos. The Apple Music catalog is limited to content that Apple has licensed from record labels, musicians, and other rightsholders. While the official licensed catalog is quite extensive, it does not include user-generated content and remixes commonly found on YouTube.
For users interested in listening to covers, live versions, and alternate recordings, YouTube Music’s integration with YouTube’s user-uploaded content grants far more variety. Apple Music’s walled garden approach means users are restricted to officially released music. This gives YouTube Music an edge for people seeking more obscure recordings.
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Looking Ahead
Apple has made significant efforts in recent years to expand its music catalog and licensing deals. In 2021, Apple announced a new multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Music Group to provide Apple Music subscribers with access to WMG’s entire music catalog. This followed similar deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music. According to Apple, this expanded licensing now provides Apple Music access to the largest music catalog of any streaming service.
Apple also recently launched the dedicated classical music app, Apple Music Classical, further expanding its catalog into the classical genre. The new app provides unlimited access to what Apple claims is the world’s largest collection of classical music, spanning over 3,000 years of history.
Looking ahead, industry experts predict Apple will continue seeking licensing deals to fill any remaining gaps in its catalog. With its vast resources and influence, Apple is well positioned to acquire rights to even obscure, niche recordings. However, some live recordings, remixes, and other exclusives may remain restricted. Nonetheless, most analysts expect the Apple Music catalog to approach near-comprehensive levels for commercially available music. Apple’s wealth of metadata around albums, composers, performers, etc also helps improve music discovery and recommendations.
Apple seems committed to making its catalog as robust as possible. While no service can license every single song in existence, Apple Music aims to provide an unparalleled classical and contemporary selection. Ongoing licensing efforts and new vertical expansions like Apple Music Classical point to an even more complete universal jukebox in the future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several factors that contribute to why Apple Music doesn’t have every song available in its catalog. The complexity of music licensing means Apple has to negotiate with many different rights holders to include songs and albums. The long tail of music, including obscure, indie, and user-uploaded content, is difficult for a service of Apple’s size to fully encompass. Geographic restrictions also force Apple to vary content availability by region. On top of this, exclusivity deals for certain artists mean some music isn’t available on all platforms.
While Apple Music has over 90 million songs in its catalog, gaps will inevitably remain due to these challenges. But Apple continues working to secure more licensing deals and expand region availability. So while Apple’s streaming music catalog remains incomplete, it strives to deliver one of the most robust libraries available to satisfy diverse listeners.