Apple Music Library Disappeared Mac

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After an article went live last week accusing Apple Music of deleting your local music and replacing it with Apple Music DRM-protected copies, we put out an explainer detailing how Apple Music works — TL;DR: It's not designed to remove anyone's local library.

Here’s how.You may have heard that it’s important to clear the cache on your various electronic devices every once in a while. Mac delete library caches. Luckily, it’s easy to get those cached files deleted from your (even if your shortcut buttons aren’t working).

Jan 12, 2020 Apple hides the Library folder by setting a file system flag associated with the folder. You can toggle the visibility flag for any folder on your Mac; Apple just chose to set the Library folder's visibility flag to the off state by default. Sep 19, 2019 If songs are missing from your music library after you turn on Sync Library - Check these things first Make sure that your devices have the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or iTunes for Windows. Make sure that Sync Library is turned on for all of your devices. Connect all of your devices to. Solution 1: Rebuild iTunes Library in Windows and Mac OS You should know that iTunes keeps a copy of previous iTunes libraries every time you upgrade to a new version of iTunes. One way to fix the iTunes Library disappeared issue is to rebuild your iTunes library from a previous one. IPhone and iPad. Open Settings. Swipe down to Music. Tap the toggle next to iCloud Music Libary to recover your Apple Music Library. It make take some time for your library to repopulate in the Music app. Limited-time offer, offer may end at any time. Free Apple TV+ access for students ends when you no longer qualify or do not renew your Apple Music student subscription. Offer is good for verified university students only and does not extend to a Family Sharing group. 'Dance Monkey” is written by Toni Watson.

We weren't ruling out a bug, however; after a very helpful chat with designer Robert Etropolsky, whose library had also seemingly disappeared, along with several other reports, we kept digging. And after enough digging, we may have discovered what happened here.

I will reiterate: Apple Music is not automatically deleting tracks out of your Mac's library, nor is it trying to force you to stay subscribed to the service. In this instance, it appears that Apple Music is an unfortunate scapegoat: The real problem may be a bug with the subscription service's container application, iTunes.

Based on several Apple Support threads, it appears that the most recent version of iTunes 12.3.3 contains a database error that affects a small number of users, and can potentially wipe out their music collection after the update. The error has been mentioned a few times, primarily on the Windows side, in the weeks since the 12.3.3 update, but appears to be rare enough that it hasn't previously received major press. Apple did put out a support document shortly after the 12.3.3 update that walks you through some fixes if you find that your local copies of music are missing.

I can't state for certain that Etropolsky and Pinkstone fell victim to this bug, but based on their descriptions and screenshots, it seems likely that the following happened:

They subscribed to Apple Music.
At some point after March 21, they updated to iTunes 12.3.3. Etropolsky sent iMore screenshots from his Time Machine backup that show his tracks disappearing between April 7 and 12th.
The update appears to have wiped parts their music library due to a database error; however, because Apple Music had already uploaded and matched their collection to iCloud, it still presented to the user as a complete library — one that was now cloud-based, as you would see if you were on a secondary Mac.
When the user tried to play a track, the track would present as missing, and prompt to either locate the track, or download a copy from iCloud.
Because both Pinkstone and Etropolsky only subscribed to Apple Music, any re-downloaded matched tracks would download from the Apple Music catalog — even if the match was incorrect, and connected to the wrong file.

As a result, it appeared to both users as if their library had been automatically replaced by Apple Music-sourced files. Unfortunately for Apple Music, the service's prior problems with metadata-based matching and DRM-encumbered files made it an easy target for blame.

I don't want to incite mass panic, here: This bug appears to have affected a very small number of users, and if you didn't have local files disappear after updating to iTunes 12.3.3, your library is likely just fine. You can check to see if your library is locally-stored by turning on the iCloud Status and iCloud Download icons; if you've been affected, I suggest restoring from a backup or following Apple's Support document.

But these kinds of bugs — however few people they affect — emphasize just how important it is to keep physical backups of your content. Both Pinkstone and Etropolsky were lucky enough to have full backups of their iTunes Library, but there may be users out there who weren't so lucky. Digital software can always fail, and if it's managing something as precious as your music, it's vital that you back up your information before upgrading that software, turning on music subscription services, or anything that affects your data.

Sep 27, 2016 Open Finder, or just click on the desktop. Then click “Go” in the menu bar, and select “Go to Folder”. You can also skip all this clicking by pressing Command+Shift+G on your keyboard to access the Go to Folder menu. Type /Library in the box and hit Enter. You just need to do the following: Open the Finder. Go to your Macintosh HD folder (access this from Devices in the left column). Hold down Cmd + Shift +. All the hidden files will become visible. (dot) a second time to hide the files again. Jan 22, 2019 The easiest way to find your hidden /Library/ folder is to do the following: Open Finder. Hold down Alt (Option) and choose Go from the dropdown menu bar at the top of the screen. You will see the /Library folder listed below the Home folder. Jan 12, 2020 Launch Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities. Enter the following command at the Terminal prompt: Press Return. Once the command executes, you can quit Terminal. The Library folder will now be visible in the Finder. Should you ever wish to set the Library folder back to its default hidden. Access Hidden Library Menu Option On Mac. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac. This will reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar of your Mac. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar of your Mac. While you are still on the Go option, press and hold the Option.

Regardless, it doesn't reflect well on either of Apple's music properties for the company to stay radio silent about potential bugs. Even if it's a one-off aberration that affects as few as five people, the amount of potential panic inherent in 'Apple Music deleted my library' is dangerous; it scares current users and gives the service a terrible reputation — even if, as in this circumstance, Apple Music wasn't to blame: It interpreted the missing library as a secondary cloud-based library and delivered tracks accordingly.

Unfortunately, Apple Music is intrinsically tied to its container applications: If there's a bug with iTunes, confidence in Apple Music is adversely affected. When the Music app on your iPhone automatically cache clears your saved tracks to try and make storage space, confidence in Apple Music is adversely affected. And when iCloud Music Library doesn't match tracks to their correct versions, confidence in Apple Music is adversely affected. Now is the time for the company to recognize that without stable base applications, Apple Music will always be plagued with accusations and problems — even if it doesn't always rightly deserve them.

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