Why Won't My Homepod Recognize My Music Library?

Question

Why Won't My Homepod Recognize My Music Library?

I am seriously regretting having purchased this HomePod mini. I cannot figure out how to get it to recognize my music library on my iMac. It keeps trying to access some non-existent Apple Music subscription, which I no longer have. I canceled it last year because it decimated my personal music library when trying or match music in my library to Apple Music's music. Instead of leaving what it didn't recognize alone, it went and stripped all the information from almost three thousand song files I had. I have a lot of obscure music files, but it shouldn't have just stripped them simply because it couldn't find matches. Some of those files were field recordings, and/or projects I created, etc.

When I ask my HomePod to play any song, or a particular playlist, genre, or artist, the HomePod responds that it can't find it in my Apple Music Library. I am beginning to think that in order for the HomePod to work, you are required to subscribe to the Apple Library. But, there wasn't anything that said so in the information stating that. It's a terrible thing to do, Apple should have been up front about it. Yet, if it is true, that would make the HomePod nothing more than a speaker specific to streaming accounts and not your own music at all. In any case I refuse to subscribe, and if this is all the HomePod can do then I'll just have to live with a glorified speaker that can tell me the weather and convert metric on the fly lol.

I do hope I'm wrong, because I am getting tired of wishing that Saint Steven Jobs was here to make things right again. LOL.

So, If anyone has a workaround, I would greatly appreciate it. I would simply like to be able to say, "hey Siri", play all music by Tiny Tim in my music library. Instead, it just replies, "I'm sorry I cannot find Tiny Tim in your Apple Music library." I do remember the days when Apple products simply worked, and that was it.

But now I just don't know what to do.

Thank you.

HomePod mini, 14

Posted on Sep 21, 2021 6:15 PM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

279,207 points

Sep 25, 2021 7:25 PM in response to databank-aftwo

Siri on HomePod is able to access your iTunes purchase history, or your iCloud Music Library if you have a subscription to Apple Music or iTunes Match (*). Playlists are only available with iCloud Music Library. The alternative if you don't want to pay for a subscription is to AirPlay content from a computer or device.

tt2

(*) May not work if recognize my voice is enabled.

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Answer 2

Rob_H1

Community Specialist

Sep 22, 2021 1:14 PM in response to databank-aftwo

Hey there databank-aftwo,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you're wanting to play music on your HomePod. We're happy to provide some assistance.

Take a look at this helpful resource with step-by-step instructions on how to play music on your HomePod:

Use HomePod with Music on Mac

Also, as mentioned at the top of that article, "You can use HomePod to play music from the Apple Music catalog. After you set up your HomePod, it plays audio directly from Apple Music or audio sent from an iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Apple TV."

We hope this helps.

Have a great day!

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Answer 3

Oct 21, 2021 1:47 AM in response to databank-aftwo

Apple's handling of music files that are sitting on your Mac, but which you want to be played through the HomePod Mini by way of your iPhone is really poor. They extol the virtues at how Siri can now play millions of tracks just by asking for it (at an extra cost) but they conveniently sidestep the issue that you need to subscribe to Apple Music to be able to do this. Apple have become exceedingly greedy in this respect at shutting out non-subscribers. My iPhone when plugged into the car will play a specific track when I ask Siri but not at home through the HomePod Mini... not really logical is it? Yes, you can play a specific track through AirPlay but it is not the same as asking for a specific track when you are nowhere near your phone. I have thousands of music tracks sitting on my desktop Mac in Music that have taken years to amass and curate, so why would I need an Apple Music subscription? They talk and talk at how great they want the music experience to be but quietly don't want to know if you are not paying extra. The Music app won't even support hi-res audio files so wanting you to have the best experience is just plain hogwash. Take note Mr Cook.

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Answer 4

Sep 25, 2021 3:38 PM in response to Rob_H1

No. I am referring to my own music library in music on my iMac. As I mentioned in my question I don’t have Apple s subscription service any more as the last time I did it stripped all my personal field recordings of their tagging information. Three thousand files - poof! After three years of nothing but frustrating attempts to get it to work for me, I unsubscribed.

Remarkably, all my problems were resolved after doing that. And thank the gods for physical backups. As I’m certain Apple wouldn’t pay for the man hours to retake all those files even if they could be.

What I want is for my HomePod to do one simple thing and one simple thing only. When I say,

“hey Siri please play my playlist 1970s.”

The last thing I want to hear from that $100 little gray ball as a response is,

”I’m sorry, I cannot find playlist, 1970s in your Apple Music playlist.”

Especially when I am staring right at it in Music on my iMac. When did Apple go from things just working, to being one great big pain in the bottom? This is exactly why I haven’t laid out cash on the new shiny iMac yet. If apple can’t get something simple as this right I doubt that I will be happy after spending big dough on the new iMac.

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Answer 5

Sep 27, 2021 6:39 AM in response to turingtest2

It would have been nice if Apple had been directly upfront with that little bit of insignificant piece of information rather than skit around it. Looking at the product information and now having purchased the thing I can see more clearly how their wording throughout the ad carefully avoided stating the necessary subscription requirement for all functions to work while even suggesting it works the same way regardless. In this case referring to Music alone and Apple Music as well as the word library is confusing since they all can refer to either their subscription service or your own personal library on your devices. That and the emphasis that the HomePod seemingly made to work with iPhones and iPads over the iMac and other full computers of their brand.

And as mentioned before I will not subscribe to their service after the three years of having done so created a disaster with my own music files of which they had no match for. Had it not been for physical backups, I would have lost almost three thousand field recordings simply because their service couldn’t match them. I would have them have left them completely alone in that case. Instead it stripped all identifiers from them leaving no information whatsoever but “track 01”…

Customer support was anything but that, as I sometimes could find a resolution long before they could if at all.

it would seem in these past ten or so years, Apple has become increasingly disinterested in the actual experiences their customers have. That and their funny way of releasing new whatever’s without really spending the necessary time to see whether they live up to their claims. A rather blatant and common issue that was previously not so much.

I’ve long since handed in my “Devoted Apple Sycophant Membership Card”, as a result and now see them no differently than any other corporate entity. It would seem that today Apple is hoping to get by on previous years of reputation building as the more personable computer company than all the rest.

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Why Won't My Homepod Recognize My Music Library?

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