Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Music app on Mac not functioning — Unable to update/save/quit library.

Found this post from over a year ago and am still having this issue and I know of multiple other people who are too. Library won't open and/or update/save (Mu… - Apple Community


Copied from the above link:


— — —


Library won't open and/or update/save (Music app - local library on Mac - NOT ABOUT STREAMING)


Firstly, to avoid confusion, this has absolutely nothing to do with a subscription to Apple Music or streaming from that service. I do not subscribe and I do not stream. This is purely about my local music library and the Music app on my Mac Mini (late-2014), although it may also be a Big Sur issue.


[Sidebar: I hate that Apple has made every software name so utterly generic that it's almost impossible to ask a question without causing misunderstandings and confusion.]


Here are the problems I'm having:


Ever since updating to macOS Big Sur (11.4), the Music app has been a nightmare and pretty much just won't work:


The app rarely opens and loads my library successfully - it goes into a never-ending "Loading Music Library..." status window. I've literally left it for more than a week in case for some reason it feels like it has to reexamine my library in order to load it, but it still never gets anywhere. Trying to quit the app doesn't work - it still can't exit that "Loading Music Library..." status window. The app is still theoretically working - going into Force Quit Applications doesn't show Music as "not responding," but forcing quit is the only way to get out of the app.


On the rare, rare occasions when my library miraculously loads (we're talking one in 10-15 tries, multiple restarts, etc.), I can play songs, add albums, etc., as usual, and the song list and playcounts will update in the app as you'd expect. But the next time I manage to successfully open the app, all updates from the previous session will have disappeared, and the library will be back to its older version. Even though the files from newly ripped albums will show in a finder window of my local library location (indicating that they were imported successfully), they do not show up in the Music app window once it's reopened. This is likely because of the next item...


When trying to quit the Music app (if it was successfully opened), it will go into a never-ending "Saving Music Library..." status window. As with the first problem above, the app is theoretically still working, but it cannot get out of this progress window. The only way to get out of the app is to force quit again - which is likely why the library never retains new playcounts, etc. - it can't seem to save the music library in its updated state.


While Music was caught in one of its never-ending status windows, I opened Music preferences to confirm my library location, and discovered that for some reason, the library location was completely blank. Aha!, I thought - this must be the answer! I directed preferences to the correct library location, closed the window, and... nothing changed. I went to the preferences window again, and the library location was again blank.


FYI, the TV app has identical issues. My iPhone has similar issues showing up in a finder window when connected - the system registers that the phone is connected (it shows in the finder sidebar and main window), but I just get the spinning progress wheel and it rarely actually connects and shows up in the window so that it can be synced or backed up locally.


Some important notes:


  • Yes, I have tried restarting the computer many times.
  • All my OS software and apps are up to date and are on the current official versions (no older versions or betas).
  • My local music library is hosted on my Synology NAS. This has been the case for years with no significant problems. The NAS is constantly mounted and all files are accessible via Finder without issue.
  • My local music library will not show up on my AppleTV units, either. But it continues to show up in Plex with no problems (including the recently added files that won't "take" in my Music library).
  • In Mac Preferences>Sharing, I've discovered that when I highlight Media Sharing it doesn't show me a description the way all the other line items do (File Sharing, Printer Sharing, etc.). It also will not allow me to check the Media Sharing box.


Anyone have any ideas? This has been intensely frustrating, and based on the Media Sharing issues noted above, there may be something more going on than just an issue with the Music app.


— — —


Music has been rendered useless for me for over a year now. I have experienced the issue on an older MacBook and also a brand new spec'd up M1 MacBook Pro.


Need this solved as my entire music library (30k+ songs) is unusable now.


MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Sep 17, 2022 4:09 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Sep 17, 2022 6:57 AM

Is the Music Library.musiclibrary database stored locally or on the NAS? Would recommend it is stored locally.


Occasionally it seems Music can become connected to a cached version of the database. Use the hold-down-option-while-starting-Music method to explicitly select the correct library database.


Try holding down option+cmd as you launch Music to open it in its safe mode which may sometimes repair odd issues with the database.


tt2

Similar questions

6 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Sep 17, 2022 6:57 AM in response to samjones

Is the Music Library.musiclibrary database stored locally or on the NAS? Would recommend it is stored locally.


Occasionally it seems Music can become connected to a cached version of the database. Use the hold-down-option-while-starting-Music method to explicitly select the correct library database.


Try holding down option+cmd as you launch Music to open it in its safe mode which may sometimes repair odd issues with the database.


tt2

Sep 19, 2022 12:44 AM in response to samjones

You can report the issue to Apple using Feedback - macOS - Apple or contact Apple Support, but I suspect they're not really interested in fixing bugs in Big Sur what with Ventura being due out soon. I notice you referenced macOS 12.4 Monterey in your original post. Do you have another machine running Monterey where the Music app behaves normally? Is upgrading from Big Sur not a possibility where you have this issue?


tt2

Sep 18, 2022 7:18 PM in response to turingtest2

Hey tt2, thanks for the reply!


The entire folder including the media and Music Library.musiclibrary database is locally saved to my internal MacBook SSD via Dropbox.


I have frequently redirected Music to open the correct library with no change, but interestingly when I tried your suggestion of opening in Safe Mode it functions a lot smoother. I can quit Music instantly and the changes I make are saved without issue, and can even scroll through songs without it glitching/lagging!


Not sure what to do with that discovery, any ideas?


Cheers

Sam

Sep 19, 2022 12:48 AM in response to turingtest2

All my machines are running Monterey. Sorry, the quote from the post I found from last year references Big Sur, but I guess that just shows the bug has been present across two major releases, and I doubt Ventura is going to solve it.


Thanks for your help, I would contact Apple Support but every time I have in the past I haven't been able to get a solution, feels like they've left local Music libraries to die on this one.


Sam

Music app on Mac not functioning — Unable to update/save/quit library.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.