Apple Music skips about 2 seconds into track on macOS and tvOS

I'm making tests, my results are as follows:

1. It only happens with Lossless AND streaming. I tried downloading some songs and I never get skipping with downloaded songs. I also tried disabling Lossless and it doesn't skip with regular AAC when streaming.
2. I tried reproducing the problem (using Lossless with Streaming) with a playlist in both normal and random order, in both cases I advanced to the end of a song (about 10 secs before ending) and when the next one is played the skipping doesn't happen.

This only points to caching, the Music app must be loading a lower (or different) bitrate song before loading the Lossless stream version (just like any streaming video) when a song is requested on demand and this is causing the skip, hence when playing it on an ordered manner it doesn't skip. A list wether random or normal is still an ordered list, the random list is generated when the first chosen song is played, and we can go forward or backwards through the songs in that "random" list.

Given that I’ve had opportunity, I can confirm the following

• It occurs on latest macOS (M1 MBP) and tvOS (4k 2G and 4k 1G)
• It occurs over wired or Wi-Fi connections
• It occurs over any WAN connection I tested (50Mb, 150Mb, 2Gb, 10Gb from multiple ISPs)
• It only occurs when using the lossless codec
• It is agnostic to output type — including a brand new set of HomePod 2’s
• I also tested bufferbloat as a *just-in-case* — results were between 40-50ms where I had opportunity to test

I would find it hard not to characterize this as a problem in software (music app, macOS/tvOS) or protocol (apple’s servers and how they are handling streaming the lossless codec).

I am having the same issue but on iOS. iPhone 13 on 16.4.1.

There is skipping at the beginning of songs when lossless is on. It doesn’t matter if I’m on Wi-Fi or 5G. Then when I turn lossless off the problem goes away.

I really hope this gets fixed because I notice a marked difference between the non lossless codec and CDs I play in my car. I had lossless turned on by default because of that, but now I’ve turned it off again.

OP’s post where they show the comparison of the waveforms is spot on. I originally thought it was an error when transcribing the track but the regularity of it near the beginning of the song made me think otherwise.

I FOUND THE PROBLEM and a work around.

As soon as the song starts playing it detects whether its a Dolby track or regular. If its dolby it will skip a beat and turn on Dolby on the song, hence the skip beat.

If you want to work around the issue is easy, remember those hidef - highly boasted speakers your MBP has? we'll just turn off DOLBY sound. It doesn't solve it, just work around it, so you just have to settle for mediocre sound on you $3K computer. And let's hope it gets fixed sometime in the next 30 yearly updates.

Well I removed lossless from everything and guess what the skipping has stopped. I also submitted another feedback notice to Apple. I think this problem deserves proper attention from Apple. People are paying for this service and it’s not being delivered.

I am having this also.

I am using a LG 2.1 soundbar connected via optical.

I have discovered the issue goes away away when either using the TVs speakers, or going into my Sony X90s settings and disabling PCM audio. (Which is recommended for my soundbar)

Is anyone experiencing this issue NOT using optical cables for their audio? If no, then I believe this is the issue.

Thanks for testing that and getting back to us, philfnyc1. We appreciate you clarifying that it does also occur with your Apple TV from your first message. The goal is the narrow down the underlying cause to determine why this is occurring.

Are both your Mac and Apple TV devices using the same Wi-Fi network? Have you restarted your router to see if that helps?

We also noticed you mention your OS versions. Your macOS is fully updated, but there is a tvOS 15.4.1 update out now. We'd recommend making sure your Apple TV is fully updated, let it restart, then see how those streamed tracks do again. We look forward to hearing back from you.

About Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD software updates

Best regards.

Dear philfnyc1,

It sounds like there might be a buffering or streaming issue with Apple Music on your macOS and tvOS devices. Here are a few potential solutions you could try:

1. Check your network connection: Ensure that your internet connection is stable and has sufficient bandwidth to stream music without interruptions.

2. Reset Apple Music: Try signing out of your Apple Music account on both macOS and tvOS, then sign back in. This can sometimes resolve temporary glitches.

3. Restart your devices: Sometimes, a simple restart can fix various software issues. Try restarting both your Mac and Apple TV.

4. Update software: Make sure your macOS and tvOS are both updated to the latest versions. Sometimes, software updates include fixes for known issues.

5. Contact Apple Support: If the issue persists after trying the above steps, it might be worth reaching out to Apple Support for further assistance. They can provide personalized troubleshooting steps and may be aware of any known issues or fixes related to this specific problem.

Give these steps a try and see if they help resolve the issue. If not, contacting Apple Support would be your best next step.

Best Regards, anasamrgalal

I think I have a pretty good workaround: turn on crossfade. The minimal amount works fine, even for hi-res losless.

Interestingly enough - with the most recent updates to tvOS and PodOS we’re no longer experiencing skipping with Atmos and non-Atmos lossless content. Note this is playing to 2ndG HomePods through AppleTV.

philfnyc1,

We'd recommend trying a different Wi-Fi network to also help to narrow down the issue.

If that persists, reach out to our team here: Get Support

Take care!

Hello philfnyc1,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. 

We’d like you to try some isolation troubleshooting steps to isolate the cause. Please try the steps here: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support We also recommend trying the steps in the section titled “Add a user” here: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

Let us know if you have further questions.

Take care.

This. I can absolutely confirm this has been a problem for YEARS and was the reason I went to Spotify long ago. Within the 3-Month free testing period of Apple Music I had this exact problem all the time. And this was before lossless was even available! I am only back with Apple again due to their Apple-ONE pricing model. It’s the better offer for me and my family compared to Spotify. However, this skipping within the first 2-5 seconds of almost every song on every platform is VERY annoying to say the least. Apple has to fix this and it is unacceptable. It happens less when lossless is disabled but I can confirm it sometimes happens even with normal quality settings. On cellular, on wifi, on any network even with very fast bandwidth. This problem is 100% on Apple’s end and it needs to be fixed. It’s a complete joke having to deal with this kind of issue in 2022 while every other streaming provider runs smoothly without any problems at all. Why this issue has jot been addressed yet is beyond me.