Apple Music Family Plan w/macOS

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62 points

Apple Music Family Plan w/macOS

For years my wife, daughter, and I have used iTunes and now the Music App on macOS to rip and store our CDs, and HDTracks downloads. We have a common Mac mini with our own accounts, but share the same music library. Each of us also syncs our iPhones by plugging in to the Mac and then selecting which CD's or songs we want to sync.

We now have an Apple One family subscription, and I have begun using Apple Music to augment my library and sync music between my devices (iPhone, iPad, TV). As far as I can tell, my account is working fine on all my devices, if I add music on any one, it shows up on the others.

Now I want to get my wife & daughter 'switched over' to using Apple Music as I am, and want to do it right, if that's possible. My inclination is to have them log into the Mac and make changes in Music Preferences as I did, primarily to turn 'Sync' on for their Apple ID, then if that goes well, do the same for their other devices -- including the shared TV.

So I ask the experts, Is this a good strategy? Or is there a better way to handle Music with our family plan and use scenario? Does the common library on the Mac present an issue, or will our separate accounts handle the situation?

I thank you for your help and advice!

Posted on Jul 12, 2021 10:24 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Teddy_B

Community Specialist

Jul 13, 2021 9:24 AM in response to A07570

Hi A07570,

It looks like you have some questions about your family joining Apple Music. Since you've already begun the Apple Music Family Sharing subscription with Apple One, the music on their device that is currently available on Apple Music should have already converted over to the Apple Music version. All of your music will remain separate as long as you're using your own Apple ID accounts.

It is recommended for them to Turn on Sync Library with Apple Music so their music is available across all devices.

Hope that helps!

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Answer 2

Leanne_68

Community Specialist

Jul 14, 2021 2:55 PM in response to A07570

A07570,

Your music will store to your device if you have it downloaded. Otherwise, it will stream from Apple Music when played from your library. Apple Music is not a backup source, so it is recommended to keep a recent backup of your data.

You can find out what's taking up space in your iCloud storage with the steps here: Check your iCloud storage usage online or on any device.

It can take some time for larger libraries to sync. Keep in mind that it may pause the sync if the battery gets too low, it disconnects from Wi-Fi, or Low Power Mode is enabled on the device.

Cheers!

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Answer 3

A07570 Author

Level 1

62 points

Jul 14, 2021 11:48 AM in response to Teddy_B

Teddy—

Thanks for confirming my plan, I logged into the Mac with my daughter’s account & AppleID, then started the syncing process (wanted to get that right before messing with my wife’s account 🙂). It’s now been “Updating Cloud Music Library” for about 24 hours, which seems longer than mine took (which was also long), but we do have a slow rural ISP. My router shows my upload speed at the limit so I’m just letting this run for now. I don’t suppose there’s anyway to know what the status of the sync is?

Also a follow up question, Is the “Cloud Music Library” space part of our 2TB family allotment, or something else?

Thanks again for your help!

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Answer 4

A07570 Author

Level 1

62 points

Jul 14, 2021 4:09 PM in response to Leanne_68

Thanks for your reply Leanne--

First, thanks for your clarification on Cloud Music Sync, there is probably some ambiguity on iCloud and the Cloud. What I've found is that my own recorded music, only ever stored in my own local library, is now available to listen to on my other devices, so if that's not using "my iCloud" then Apple must be storing it on their servers or "the Cloud". This seems to be similar to what "iTunes Sync" is described as -- however, to my knowledge, that is not (formally) part of the Apple One / Apple Music subscription (or is it?). In any case, I now know it's not using my iCloud.

I'm using a Mac mini, hardwired to Ethernet, no battery, no low power, probably a medium size library. I think my slow upload speed (max 3Mbps) caused the sync process to stall or hiccup; after I wrote the message above I decided to play an album from my daughter's library while the sync was completing. When the album was over and I navigated back to the Artists view, the "Updating" message was gone, meaning to me it was done. So possibly my navigating or playing, or maybe just coincidence caused the process to finish. In any case I've now also synced her iPod and the library looks correct so all is well. I'll do her iPad next and tackle my wife's devices next.

Thanks for your help.

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Apple Music Family Plan w/macOS

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