Music library uneditable (Monterey 12.1)

I posted this in another thread; I'm finding a (tedious) workaround to be effective.

Quit Music on all devices (actually, specifically quit it on all devices) (In my case: iMac, MBP, iPad, iPhone: all QUIT)

Shut down all devices

Start up the Mac you want to edit on; Open Music; Select File > Library > Update iCloud Library, and let it run (you'll see the updating message for a while in the bottom left corner of the window, under playlists)

Make all the edits you want to make on the Mac: ratings, create / delete / move / adjust playlists etc. etc.

When done, Select File > Library > Update iCloud Library, and let it run to completion again. You have now made your edits and (probably successfully) transferred those changes to your library on iCloud.

All of your changes should have stuck.

Now you can open Music on your iOS devices, and they should reflect the changes you've made on your Mac, BUT you will no longer be able to make any new changes stick from the macOS devices, UNTIL you re-run this tedious Quit-Shutdown-Restart workaround again.

This is working consistently for me. Hopefully the fix is not too far away. Good luck all.

Oh my....I discovered thiis issue after upgrading to Monterey too approximately a month ago. Took a weekend to work out what was going on as was making multiple music changes that weekend.....Got onto Apple Support and filed the bug which took like forever

A few weeks back it seemed temporarily to get better but now back to square one. I've tried all the fixes. Like the itunes Match issue last year, once again we seem to need to wait for Apple to resolve it....what is is with Apple the cloud/iTunes match and the music app...problem after problem after problem over the years!!!!!!!!!

Essentially the issue is that nearly all changes you make to tracks synced to the cloud on the Mac are reverted at next sync unless it is the first sync. The only way you can make changes is on the phone/ipad side where they are lead, however you can't change ratings there and titles and so forth as everyone knows.

The only fix I've found is to delete the track on the phone side then again on the Mac, then re- import it to the Mac make all necessary changes then resync to the cloud i.e update cloud library and then it sticks as it is the first time...total pain in the ***.

Come on Apple sort it out soon please!!!

Reboot your computer.

Option-start-Music and explicitly select your active Music Library(.musiclibrary) database.

Make one small change in your library, e.g. add a single track to playlist.

Check to see this change is reflected on your device or at http://music.apple.com when you are signed in.

If so you should be good to make other edits to your library.

tt2

I'm sorry but the issue is still there ...just fully tested on 12.2.1 - to test take a track and sync to cloud. Check on phone/ipad etc fully synched....then make a change to that track on the Mac in the Music App e.g. change album artist

Now re sync and you'll find the ipad/iphone version syncs back to the track on the Mac ...most frustrating!!!

if you then click into Get Info on the track on the Mac you'll find your original edits are there ....crazy....

Only fix is to delete the cloud version (from the ipad/iphone) and then resync from the Mac

With the help of upper level Apple support, this worked for me: System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items Tab, then remove all items, then restart being sure to unselect reopen all windows.

It took several texts, emails, and phone calls to climb the ladder to get to someone who didn't have me going in the unselect and reselect Sync and multiple restarts. It seem that this will stick.

Have you updated?....it all got fixed for me in 12.2 ...fine currently on 12.3.1

I have this issue as well, and it seems to be tied into a mechanic in which the cloud library supersedes anything done locally. From discussions (unofficial) I have had, it seems that the general belief from the AM developers is that a) most users are on an iDevice and b) most users are using Apple Music files and not their own. So it seems to me that Apple deprecated the ability of the desktop jukebox to manage and curate one’s own catalog.

I can’t stay this is exactly the case (and I am kind of hoping that Cunningham’s Law will kick in at this point) but I have spent the better part of this last year fighting with Apple Music’s curation (or lack thereof) of my extensive collection. I’ve even resigned to re-rip my entire CD collection - except I can’t even delete what I have! I have spent the last three days now re-deleting albums over and over again.

This is why I think that Apple changed the logic - so whatever you have in the cloud is the default, which then feeds to all your iDevices - instead of having the desktop be the “hub” like iTunes was under Steve Jobs. And I think because there is no way to manage the Cloud files from your iPhone or iPad (you can only delete local downloads), Apple removed that ability from the desktop app without providing any means to manage your cloud library elsewhere. At least in iTunes you could go to your account settings and “reset” your library (empty it, essentially) if you needed to rebuild from scratch.

And for the record, none of the documented procedures Apple has will address your issues or mine, and all the online guides only work with iTunes.

I reported similar problems in a different thread. On my iMac, Monterey 12.1, whenever I rate songs, or add or delete songs from playlists, or move those playlists, the library refreshes back to where it was earlier, and my changes are lost. Given I am forever tweaking my playlists, this is very frustrating, as it messes with the way I like to listen to music.

I seem to have developed a tedious and less-than-100% reliable workaround that I am finding helpful while we wait for a bug fix.

1. Quit music on ALL of my devices (in my case: iMac, MBP, iPad, iPhone, AppleTV). Quit every app on the iMac and restart (I do this once a week on all devices as a hygiene routine anyway).
2. DO NOT open Music on other devices (MBP, iPad, iPhone, AppleTV). ONLY open Music on the iMac.
3. Go to the File menu in Music on the iMac, and run File > Library > Update Cloud Library.
4. Make my changes for the day / week. i.e. Update ratings, playlists etc.
5. When done, run File > Library > Update Cloud Library again.
6. At this point, if my updates haven't "stuck" the library will revert to the previous version (the problem we're all having). But sometimes, my updates are sticking!

As I say, it's a tedious and hopefully temporary workaround, but it's giving me some relief!. :)

Good luck all and here's hoping for a fix in 12.2

I'm slightly scared to type this but so far macOS12.2.1 has fixed this issue for me - I haven't signed in to sync on any other devices yet but the sync between iMac and the cloud library is now ok... 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

I have now found a way that works !

It's a bit of a nuisance but it works every time.

All you have to do is go to System Preferences, disable Home Sharing, come out and back in System Preferences and enable Home Sharing again.

Next time you have the problem, you have to repeat thee steps.

A pain......I know.

Maybe this helps the Apple developers.

It is working again now after I rebooted my Macbook, but why should I reboot everytime for a simple feature to work. Really disappointed with this.

OK it does now seem to be working again 👏 which is awesome as really speeding up my work flow.

Mac Monterey 12.2.1

12.3.1 is further on...should now be ok. Try signing in and out on all devices and a Mac restart

Is your library available for Home Sharing? Perhaps you have an Apple TV, or iOS device that has accessed the Home Sharing library and hasn't disconnected properly. Try rebooting the computer. If you still cannot switch libraries take the computer offline and reboot once more.

tt2