How to restore lost Apple Music library

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Level 1

9 points

How to restore lost Apple Music library

I had an Apple Music Subscription which I cancelled in January. As part of my phones contract I get a free apple music subscription so I enabled this in February.

When I next opened Apple Music my whole library had disappeared, After speaking to customer service on two separate occasions their conclusion was when you unsubscribe they wipe your library from the iCloud!!

However I have multiple devices that have previous versions of my Music Library (packages I believe) saved in `~/Music/Music/Previous Libraries`. However when holding Option while starting Apple Music app and selecting `Select Library` My old library will load in initially but then gets wiped!!! Whats worse is it updates the package too essentially wiping the old library on that version. Luckily I backed all these up first.

So I assume my iCloud Library is syncing and saying "NOPE your library is empty" and wipes them.

I have tried importing this while not connected to the internet and putting them all in a playlist to export/share but then I can't share a playlists while offline!! As soon as I connect iCloud syncs and wipes the library again.

I have also unchecked the sync option in Apple Music App, but for some reason when I chose a previous library it enables it and wipes it.

How do I update the library in my iCloud with a previous library I have saved.

Why are there so many options to Save/Share/Export your library yet this is so difficult.

Thanks.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro (2021)

Posted on Mar 7, 2024 3:17 PM

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Answer 1

BoB3rt Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 18, 2024 6:49 AM in response to turingtest2

From a customer point of view this is terrible!

There appears to be several methods of exporting libraries and playlists, yet no way to import them. Also what is the point of previous library checkpoints being saved on my devices if they are literally useless when wanting to restore a library back to a previous date?

I have not bothered to add my track back manually yet, still debating switching service because of this. However when I ask Apple Music to shuffle some music for me to listen to it seems to shuffle through every song that was previously stored in my library. So apple have cached my previous library for their benefit, yet storing my Library in the free 5gb of iCloud storage space is not something they can do for a customer.

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

277,799 points

Mar 7, 2024 3:44 PM in response to BoB3rt

My understanding is that you have exactly 30 days in which to resubscribe to avoid having your iCloud Library wiped. The only way to recreate the library now is to take notes in an offline copy of the library, e.g. select all songs, copy, then paste into a spreadsheet, then add back all the items the you want from Apple Music. Any unhidden purchases will already be there. A library exported as an XML file can only be reimported fully if made up of locally stored non-Apple Music content. Locally stored Apple Music content, should you have it, cannot be added back to the library, you must add via the cloud and then download. In brief there are no shortcuts for you.

tt2

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How to restore lost Apple Music library

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