Some purchased music not playing on Apple TV

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Level 1

4 points

Some purchased music not playing on Apple TV

Hi. I had an Apple Music monthly subscription for a while, but canceled it not too long ago because of budget constraints. Since then, I noticed some of my previously-purchased music is not playing on my Apple TV, despite my having an iTunes Match subscription (that I've had for at least a decade).

Any other music that I did not purchase but added to my library while having the Music subscription will play a second or two then cut off and jump to the next song - this is what's also happening with some of my purchased music (I've noticed it with the two Taylor Swift albums Folklore and Evermore in particular, where they'll play a second or two then skip).

I double-checked to make sure I actually purchased those albums and didn't just add them to my library while subscribed, but I did. I also made sure to check for all available downloads on my laptop for my account. I'm also having this weird issue where I checked Authorizations and was offered the option to authorize my laptop, did so, and was told it was already authorized and was now re-authorized. AND, I checked on iTunes Match just now, was told to add my laptop to iCloud to share its music with other devices, clicked Add This Computer, typed in my password - and nothing happened (but I can already see all its music on the Apple TV and on my iPhone anyway...). Here's what that screen looks like:

Anyway, so why can't I play those albums that I bought on my Apple TV anymore? The songs work on my laptop and my iPhone...

Thanks.

Apple TV

Posted on Nov 9, 2022 8:22 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TammyW_03

Community Specialist

Nov 11, 2022 11:49 AM in response to liliath2379

Hello liliath2379,

Since you're seeing the alert that you need to authorize your computer, even though it shows as authorized, you'll want to deauthorize them all and then authorize again to help refresh it. Those steps can be found under the section "If you need to deauthorize a computer that you don't have access to" here: Authorize or deauthorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases - Apple Support

1. Open the Apple Music app or Apple TV app.

2. Choose Account > Account Settings.

3. Sign in with your Apple ID and password. Forgot your Apple ID?

4. At the top of your Account Information page, go to the Apple ID Summary section.

5. Next to Computer Authorizations, click Deauthorize All.

6. Authorize each computer that you use again.

If the behavior continues with the songs not fully playing, delete the song from your library and add it back.

Let us know how it goes.

Take care!

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Answer 2

liliath2379 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 23, 2022 1:07 PM in response to Eric--F

Oh! I meant to thank you - this seems to have worked. I was able to remove the music from my library and re-download it, since it was purchased with the same Apple ID.

I know I've changed the email associated with my Apple ID in the past, though - but it should still be the same account. Would that affect my being able to do this process with music that was purchased prior to changing the email? I mean, it's not a totally different account - it's just a different email attached to it.

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Answer 3

Eric--F

Community Specialist

Nov 14, 2022 5:49 PM in response to liliath2379

Hello liliath2379,

Thanks for that info.

Any music that was purchased, should be available for redownload as long as it was purchased with the Apple ID that is signed in.

Download previous iTunes Store purchases in Music on Mac - Apple Support

Restore purchased and deleted items to iPhone - Apple Support

If you can't find them, it may have been purchased under another Apple ID:

If there's an issue when you redownload apps, movies, or other content from Apple - Apple Support

If you backed up your music library before upgrading to Apple Music, you can restore from your backup. These two article show Time Machine backups include your music library, and will help you restore the backup:

PC - Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC - Apple Support

Mac - Restore your Mac from a backup - Apple Support

Thanks.

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Answer 4

liliath2379 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 14, 2022 5:36 PM in response to TammyW_03

Well, I deauthorized all my computers and at least re-authorized my one laptop, but that didn't work.

Now how do I "delete the song from my library and add it back" without having to re-buy it, though? I just tested this with a song I don't even remember buying that I don't really care too much about, and deleted it from my library - but when I go to check for available downloads there aren't any, and when I go to the iTunes Store for that song, it shows it as needing to be paid for again.

Here's the screenshot from before I deleted it, with "Cloud Status" showing so you can see the song was Purchased:

And now here's after I deleted it from my Library, when I look up the same song in the iTunes Store:

I can't afford to re-buy all the music that is skipping on my Apple TV that I've already bought, so how do I do what you suggested?

By the way, some of these songs that are skipping on the Apple TV (but play on my phone and laptop) also make this horrible scratching sound when they start - not just on the Apple TV (before then skipping), but on any device, it seems.

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Some purchased music not playing on Apple TV

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