New to HomePod and Apple Music - What is going on?

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Level 1

7 points

New to HomePod and Apple Music - What is going on?

Hello,

So i'm currently using my free trial with Apple Music but when I initially set up iTunes match on my phone, it was a disaster. My library had duplicates, albums were split in 2-3 different versions, album covers were changed...just awful. I immediately turned it off, and re-synched my phone with my iTunes account and did a little work to get it back to normal. I've been enjoying Apple Music, but have not been able to download/add songs to playlist because iTunes match is off. Am I supposed to do this on my computer's iTunes? I tried but it said I had to pay for the year? Honestly, I don't want all of my albums and work over the years to be destroyed. iTunes is my primary source of music and organization. My library is a collection of 75% ripped albums/tracks from my CD collection and the rest purchased through iTunes. I have some smart playlists that reflect play counts as well.

Now this brings me to the HomePod. I've been wanting this speaker for a while and just bought it last night. I don't think I fully realized that this wasn't Apple's version of a Bluetooth speaker. Somehow I missed this key part of the specs. I know you can use AirPlay which is great though.

I asked Siri to play a playlist that I have in iTunes and on my devices. It plays but skips tracks, doesn't always play in order, and in some cases is playing a different version of the track that I own. If I don't have iTunes match on, how is that even happening?

Next, I asked Siri to play Madonna's "Immaculate Collection" - the version of "Lucky Star" is not the version on the album - that's going to bother me as i'm sure i'm going to come across this on other albums. Perhaps i'm too picky for Apple Music? When I use CarPlay, I ask Siri to play the album from my library and it plays my album - not from Apple Music - because I specified "My Library" in my request. I am guessing I can do that since my phone is connected to the car - it is not connected to my speaker - correct?

Also, what about play counts? As I mentioned, I have playlist that reflect play counts and also use "recently played" a lot - i'm not seeing anything being reflected in my iTunes account on the computer. I'm guessing because I don't have iTunes match set up?

I'm trying to understand what I need to do to get the most out of Apple Music and my HomePod. As i've invested a lot in Apple's products, I want to keep the HomePod, not return it. I'm considering buying into Apple Music once my trial ends, but not if my library is going to be ruined in the process. Any help is appreciated!

Thank you!

Posted on Mar 8, 2020 7:15 AM

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Answer 1

KHonnoll

Level 1

44 points

Mar 10, 2020 8:24 AM in response to LinkLarkin

I totally understand the entire album experience you mentioned. Sadly I think that's going away in the age of digital music. You may want to put together a playlist of the preferred tracks in sequential order to hear the versions you want in place of Apple Music's updated versions. In other words, grab all the songs you like from "The Immaculate Collection" and put them into a new playlist, take out the ones you don't like, add in the versions that you do, label the playlist "My Immaculate Collection" and ask Siri to play it accordingly.

I have found that the hardest songs to get Siri to play are ones that are titled in slang terms or combined words into one word were a "Z" is substituted for a "S", or titles that may have foreign words in them. One example if NWA's "efil4zaggin", which was purposely spelled backwards back in 1991 upon its release so it could be sold in stores. Whether you're a fan or not, GOOD LUCK asking Siri to find that album! She has access to it I can request the individual songs within the album but so far I can't get her to recognize my command to play it by album title! Anyway, keep this in mind when requesting certain works.

I believe you are still getting the play count when using your computer because it's coming from your iTunes songs. When using AirPlay I'm wondering if you're just playing off of Apple Music? It's tricky. After sending you my last comments I did some googling and soon understood the significance of play count. I think Apple Music is more algorithm-driven and will attempt to find songs and create playlists you may like based on the songs you play through Apple Music. It's hard to get used to but the more you use it the better it gets at recognizing your tastes.

If your iPhone can handle all of those tracks then, yes, you can download all the ones you don't have currently on it. But there's a shortcut. On your iPhone, go to iTunes => More => Purchased =>Music => Recent Purchases => Download All. Depending on how many you need to download you may have to have your phone charging or significantly charged as well as a solid, uninterrupted wifi connection. I would suggest doing it overnight while sleeping because it could take awhile.

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Mar 8, 2020 2:30 PM in response to LinkLarkin

Review the link I posted earlier and make sure that everything in your music library is showing up as matched, uploaded, purchased, or Apple Music. Resolve any issues with duplicates, content that shows as error or ineligible, etc. Smart playlists in Apple Music cannot reference other playlists. which might be a factor with your recently played list.

tt2

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Answer 3

LinkLarkin Author

Level 1

7 points

Mar 14, 2020 7:32 AM in response to KHonnoll

Sorry for the delay but I want to thank you for your suggestions and let you know that everything seems to be working quite well! I'm really getting the hang of it now. It's strange sometimes not to see what's playing - I'm used to visualizing what tracks are playing and listening to music in a different way - picking songs on my phone by hand, rather than using Siri. HomePod gives more variety - not just because I have access to the entire Apple library, but now I don't listen to the same playlists over and over again.

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Answer 4

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Mar 8, 2020 9:53 AM in response to LinkLarkin

If you have Apple Music then you don't need iTunes Match. Both services create an iCloud Music Library. In principle your existing iTunes Library shouldn't be adversely affected by enabling either service although it is possible that the matched versions of your content that would play or stream on a different computer or device might not always be identical. Typical issues are clean vs. explicit mismatches. For purchased items you may also see the original store metadata reassert itself over any custom changes you have made.

The approach I took was to make a separate library, originally for iTunes Match, but I later moved over to Apple Music. I have an original library of some 60k tracks which is only on my main computer and a 10k iCloud Music Library which I can access in the cloud on my iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and HomePods. I gradually add new content that I want into my iCloud Library, cleaning up any issues as I go rather than relying on iTunes to correctly integrate all of my media in one hit.

If you go the regular route then iCloud Music Library should integrate your existing play counts, and it should update plays when using HomePod etc., although that isn't a function I've paid close attention to.

Siri on HomePod can play natively from your purchase history, or from your iCloud Music Library if you have iTunes Match or Apple Music. It is possible you are accessing the old iTunes Match iCloud Music Library as well as new Apple Music content, even though iCloud Music Library is disabled on your computer. That might be why it makes some attempt to play from your playlists. It may not have up to date copies of those in your library, or have access to all of the tracks of it. To review the iCloud library you could press and hold down shift (Win) or option (Mac) when launching iTunes to create a new library, then enable iCloud Music Library to see what is held in the cloud over and above your purchase history. See Identify cloud status icons in your music library on your Mac or PC - Apple Support to see what has been matched, uploaded, or has an underlying issue that needs to be resolved.

tt2

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Answer 5

LinkLarkin Author

Level 1

7 points

Mar 8, 2020 1:15 PM in response to turingtest2

Hello,

Thank you for the response. So, I do have Apple Music and I went into iTunes and checked off "iTunes music library". After a while, and few errors, my iTunes library was synched with Apple Music. My HomePod now plays my playlist, in order, regardless of whether the song came from a CD or a track that I purchased from iTunes. I can also use Apple Music to download a track and add it to a playlist - great! I did have a few albums that separated in my library which I was able to fix. The only problem i'm left with is my "Most recently played" smart playlist has an error that states that it can't be synched with iCloud because it includes items that are not eligible..." they are all music tracks so i'm not sure what to do here?? Also, I noticed that the playlist hasn't been updated since yesterday afternoon. I know i've listened to music since them and even today, nothing is updating. Not even outside of the playlist are my play counts/last time listed to - being updated anymore :(

Now, it looks like I need to turn on "Synch Library" on my iPhone - correct? otherwise music from Apple Music won't show up in my playlist or library - correct? I had to wipe my library clean from my phone because when I synched it after updating iTunes, it was a disaster and some tracks were greyed out saying they couldn't be played in my country??

As far as asking my HomePod to play an album, I have to just come to terms that I am going to get is offered in Apple Music, rather than what may have been released on CD years back - unless I ask for one of my playlists to play - in which it will then use my version. That is somewhat frustrating.

I know I have asked a lot more questions, but this is quite helpful for me and as I said, I want to get the most out my new purchase!

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Answer 6

LinkLarkin Author

Level 1

7 points

Mar 8, 2020 8:15 PM in response to turingtest2

I did review the link, which was helpful! All issues resolved there.

I recreated a smart playlist which seems to be ok.

I am having major trouble with play counts and tracks getting updated with last played date and time though. I’ve noticed that if I use AirPlay to the HomePod no info is recorded in iTunes. If I play the song in iTunes and the audio is coming from the computer, it’s fine. It also seems to work ok if I play the song through my phone - I will get the play count updated. That’s very strange to me.

I then went to work in my phone and gave it Apple Music another shot at syncing my library. My phone is now a disaster and some stuff is either missing, split into multiple albums, has random artwork - same as the last time I tried this.

After spending a whole day on this I’m not sure what to do anymore. I love the speaker but I’m just not getting it.

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Answer 7

KHonnoll

Level 1

44 points

Mar 9, 2020 9:03 AM in response to LinkLarkin

I'm wondering if the multiple albums is because you've downloaded different versions of the same songs over a time. For example, I have four versions of the Cult's "Rain" on my iPhone and three of them come from different albums/EPs. Also, some of my albums don't have all the songs attached because I never purchased the entire album before migrating over to Apple Music. I don't mind this kind of fractured categorizing, but I can see how it would be difficult to navigate.

I've learned to be as specific as possible with Siri over the Homepods, but there are still limitations. So, if you are saying that "Lucky Star" from Madonna doesn't sound like it's the same version of the song as you think it should be (totally get that as it's listed as the US ReMix Version on the "Immaculate Collection" album) then you would want to ask Siri to play Madonna's first, self-titled album.

*Hey, Siri, play the album, "Madonna", by Madonna

Since "Lucky Star" is the first song on that album, you're going to hear the original version.

So, in other words, you kind of have to learn some trickery. It takes a little bit of research first to locate a version of the song you like and then getting Siri to play it. Also, if you have a version of a song in your library then you can ask Siri to play that song from your library.

Let me ask...why the necessity to update your play count? I have to admit I'm lost to the concept.

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Answer 8

LinkLarkin Author

Level 1

7 points

Mar 9, 2020 7:56 PM in response to KHonnoll

Hi,

Yes, I do have multiple versions of songs - for example, I have Madonna's "Vogue" on 3 different albums. I actually have my iTunes account looking OK right now, but the phone is were it's just really a mess.

Speaking of "Lucky Star", my CD copy from years ago is the one i'm used to hearing when i'm listening to the album as a whole. When asking Siri to play "The Immaculate Collection", I get the version with the US ReMix that you speak of. I tried asking Siri to play that album - from my "library" and it played my version of the song - and then theirs before it moved on to "Borderline". This isn't a huge deal, but there are times I like to hear an album from beginning to end - and this is one of them.

You're right, if I want to hear "Vogue" from "I'm Breathless" thanI need to specify what album I want to hear it from. So, it would be "Hey, Siri, play "Vogue" from the album "I'm Breathless". Just tried it, and it worked - it's a different version of the track. One day I asked for a song (Not a Madonna song) that I had only one version of in my library - iTunes picked a version i've never heard - I asked Siri to play the track from my library - and got the right one. I think i'm getting the hang of it now.

As far as play count is concerned, honestly, I think it's the novelty and probably very unnecessary. I've had iTunes for years now and have loved making playlists, having smart playlists by play count, recently added, etc. Playlists were great because when you hooked up your iPod in the car it was much easier to scroll and find music - pre Siri. I just realized that it's pretty unnecessary now although it is nice to see what song(s) I tend to favor once in a while. I deleted my smart playlists - they were causing too much trouble in iTunes and the merge with Apple Music. I just realized that play counts weren't working for the last month or so. I have no idea why - I synched my phone and nothing - I'm guessing it had to do with either a software update somewhere or Apple Music. The only time I get a play count now is if I play a song directly from my computer - not even when using AirPlay - has to be the computers speakers. Very strange.

Now, the last thing. I'm not thrilled with how my music looks on my iPhone 11. I've got my library, and my downloaded music. I want my entire library to be exactly the same as my downloaded music - All tracks. I have the space for it. I seem to only have a handful of of songs - do I really have to click on each cloud to download all of them?

I know that's a lot of questions, but I feel a little unorganized and really want to know what i'm doing on top of being satisfied. I'm loving the speaker for texting and phone calls too!

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