Quick Answer
No, you will not lose the music you’ve added to your Apple Music library if you cancel your subscription. The music you’ve purchased or imported will remain in your library even if you unsubscribe from Apple Music. However, you’ll lose access to stream or download the songs available through Apple Music’s catalog of over 90 million songs.
Will I lose my uploaded/imported music if I unsubscribe from Apple Music?
No, you will not lose any music you’ve uploaded or imported into your Apple Music library if you decide to cancel your subscription. Any songs or albums you’ve added from your personal collection will remain in your library and be available to play even without an Apple Music subscription.
Apple Music has a feature called “iCloud Music Library” that allows you to upload up to 100,000 of your own songs to the cloud and access them on any device signed into your Apple ID. Even if you unsubscribe, these uploaded tracks remain safely stored in your iCloud Music Library and can be streamed or downloaded at any time.
So rest assured, any music you’ve uploaded or imported yourself will not be lost if you cancel Apple Music. You retain full access to your personal collection.
Will I lose any music I purchased from Apple?
No, you will not lose any music you’ve purchased from the iTunes Store if you cancel Apple Music.
All purchases made from the iTunes Store are separate from an Apple Music subscription. Any songs, albums, EPs, etc that you’ve bought remain permanently yours regardless of your Apple Music membership status.
iTunes purchases are tied to your Apple ID, so even if you unsubscribe from Apple Music, you’ll still be able to access, download, and enjoy anything you’ve bought from iTunes. This includes both music purchases and movie/TV show purchases and rentals.
So if you cancel Apple Music, you can rest easy knowing you’ll still own and have access to all your iTunes content. Apple Music’s catalog is the only thing you’ll lose the rights to stream upon unsubscribing.
What access do I lose by unsubscribing from Apple Music?
If you cancel your Apple Music subscription, you’ll lose access to:
- Apple Music’s catalog of over 90 million songs to stream on demand. This encompasses the vast majority of popular music.
- Curated playlists made by Apple Music’s editors and algorithms like For You, Browse, Radio, etc.
- New music recommendations based on your taste profile.
- Ad-free, unlimited streaming without having to purchase individual songs or albums.
- Downloading songs from Apple Music’s catalog to listen offline.
- Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio formats.
So in summary, while you’ll retain access to any music you own, unsubscribing means losing the ability to stream Apple Music’s huge library of songs as part of your membership. You’ll have to purchase songs individually or subscribe to another service to get similar access.
What music do I keep full access to after cancellation?
If you cancel Apple Music, you’ll retain full access to:
- Any songs or albums purchased from the iTunes Store.
- Any music you’ve uploaded to your iCloud Music Library, up to 100,000 tracks.
- Any music you’ve imported from CDs or other sources into the Apple Music app.
- Any non-Apple music you own, like MP3s from Amazon, though you’ll need to re-upload them if you didn’t use iCloud Music Library.
So in essence, any music you own – whether bought from iTunes, ripped from CDs, downloaded from elsewhere, or uploaded to iCloud yourself – will remain completely intact in your library after you unsubscribe. You just lose the tens of millions of songs Apple Music grants you access to as part of the catalog.
What happens to my playlists if I cancel Apple Music?
Playlists you created on Apple Music will no longer be available if you unsubscribe. Since playlists containing Apple Music catalog songs rely on your membership, these will gray out and become unavailable to play once you cancel.
However, playlists containing only your own songs – music you uploaded, purchased, or imported into your library – will remain intact and playable after cancellation.
So in summary:
- Playlists with only your own music will be preserved if you cancel service.
- Playlists featuring Apple Music catalog songs will become unavailable.
If you think you may cancel Apple Music in the future, it may be a good idea to make separate playlists for your personal music library and for Apple Music songs while you’re still subscribed. That way you’ll have access to your owned music playlists even without the subscription.
What about music I added from Apple Music to my library?
When you add songs from Apple Music’s catalog to your personal library, they’ll unfortunately be removed once you unsubscribe.
Songs you “save” from Apple Music are not actually owned by you – they are essentially bookmarks that allow you to access songs from the catalog as part of your membership. If you end your membership, access to these songs goes away.
Think of it like checking out a library book. It needs to be returned once you cancel your library privileges. Any music not originally yours will be stripped from your library upon cancellation.
So if you want to hold onto songs from Apple Music even after cancellation, make sure to purchase them outright from the iTunes store rather than just adding to library. Purchased songs are then yours to keep forever!
What about Beats1 Radio or other radio stations?
Without an Apple Music subscription, you’ll also lose access to live and custom radio stations like Beats 1, Apple Music Radio stations organized by genre, and personalized stations based on your taste profile.
Since these stations rely on a paid Apple Music account for licensing reasons, you won’t be able to tune in once you cancel your membership. This applies to both live stations like Beats1 and custom stations generated by Apple Music’s algorithms.
If you cancel, you’ll have to switch to free alternatives like Spotify’s free tier, Pandora, iHeartRadio, or standard AM/FM radio to get similar radio-style music streams. Or you could purchase songs you hear and enjoy on radio stations before you cancel to ensure you keep access.
Can I re-download music I streamed with Apple Music after cancelling?
Unfortunately, no. To re-download songs from Apple Music’s catalog after cancellation, you’ll need an active subscription.
When you download a song for offline listening from Apple Music while subscribed, you’re essentially “renting” it rather than owning it. This rental expires when your membership lapses.
So if you cancel your subscription, any Apple Music songs you downloaded for offline access will be removed from your devices. You won’t be able to re-download them without paying for a membership again.
Downloaded music from Apple Music relies on server-side verification of an active subscription. Once that subscription ends, your access rights expire as well.
What about early releases or exclusives?
One of Apple Music’s major selling points is early releases and exclusives from top artists. When you unsubscribe, you’ll immediately lose access to any songs or albums that haven’t been officially released yet.
Full, early access to upcoming projects is a benefit reserved for paying Apple Music subscribers. Once your membership lapses, you’ll have to wait along with everyone else for the public release date.
It’s the same with Apple Music exclusives that are only available to stream on their platform. Without an active subscription, you won’t be able to listen to exclusives like Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape.
Can I see my Apple Music listening history after cancelling?
Unfortunately your Apple Music listening history won’t be accessible after you cancel your subscription.
Your full history of played songs, albums, artists, etc disappears once you end your membership. Unless you screenshot your listening stats beforehand, they’ll be gone for good once your access to Apple Music lapses.
Listening history relies on a live connection to Apple Music servers. Without that connection, the data gets wiped from your account. So if you’re interested in looking back on your Apple Music listening stats, be sure to take screenshots before cancellation!
Conclusion
The bottom line is that unsubscribing from Apple Music will not cause you to lose any songs that you personally own – including music purchased on iTunes, ripped from CDs, or uploaded to iCloud. However, you will immediately lose access to stream or download the 90+ million songs in Apple Music’s catalog.
While Apple Music subscriptions provide tremendous value by allowing unlimited access to new releases and hits, you won’t be left completely empty-handed if you decide to cancel. The key is knowing which portions of your library are safely yours, and which are essentially “rented” from Apple’s servers as part of the subscription.
So review your library beforehand and back up any playlists featuring your owned content. Take screenshots of listening histories you want to remember. And don’t hesitate to purchase favorite songs and albums outright if you think cancellation could come one day but want permanent access. Do that, and you’ll have minimal regrets if you eventually move on from Apple Music!