Using Apple Music

Question

Level 1

8 points

Using Apple Music

I've read dozens of posts but they either don't apply to my iPad (MAC or iPhone), they don't work on my iPad, or they just don't address my issues.

I have 2 issues. I have music stored in folders on a NAS. How can I access the NAS from Apple Music on my iPad?

There are several users of my iPad, each having their own music preferences. The total number of artists and or albums is well over 100. How do I create different libraries so each user doesn't need to scroll through a list of hundreds of artists he/she doesn't want to listen to? Would also be nice to show albums in a playlist and not have to scroll through each track. For example, lets say I want to have a playlist that just has classical. I could have 10 albums, each with 15 tracks. That would be 150 tracks, when I just want to listen to all tracks on 1 album.

Attached is a screenshot (with eclectic tastes in music removed). I see no way to make configuration changes, add a remote drive, etc.

Help! I am thoroughly confused!

Thanks.

Dave

iPad Air (3rd generation)

Posted on Mar 25, 2023 4:00 PM

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Answer 1

nathan430

Community Specialist

Mar 26, 2023 6:53 PM in response to dw_apple

Hey there, dw_apple,

Thanks so much for using Apple Support Communities. We see that you're encountering some issues when organizing your music library. We are more than happy to help figure this out with you. We'll start with your first question, regarding the network-attached storage drive you're using and go from there. When it comes to external storage on your iPad, you are mostly going to utilize the Files app. The built-in Music app on your iPad is not able to be configured to access music on an external drive, whether it's physically connected or a network-attached drive.

With regard to multiple libraries, this is also not a feature currently supported by the Music app. You could utilize playlists to accomplish something similar, where each user could have their own playlist with as many songs of their choosing as they'd like. This article has some more info: How to make a playlist in the Apple Music app - Apple Support

If multiple users are listening to Apple Music in this way, another good option would be setting up a Family Sharing group for Apple Music. This would let each user have their own separate Apple Music Library, allowing them to track their own listening history and utilize the personalization features available in Apple Music on a more personal level. You can learn more about that here, if you're interested: Get an Apple Music family subscription - Apple Support

Last but not least, if you think that these features would be helpful then it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave feedback for the Apple Music development team. This can be your way of letting the appropriate developers know that you'd enjoy these features in a future Apple Music update. Feel free to leave feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple

We hope that this information is helpful.

Have a great day!

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Answer 2

alma1090

Community Specialist

Mar 28, 2023 11:14 AM in response to dw_apple

Hey there dw_apple,

Viewing your network storage from the Apple Music app is not supported. If you believe this should be a feature, please leave your feedback here: Product Feedback - Apple

Kind regards.

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Answer 3

dw_apple Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 28, 2023 10:11 AM in response to nathan430

Thanks nathan430.

First step, get Files connected to NAS. A search turned up this link:

Connect external devices or servers with Files on iPad - Apple Support

That works, though I tried a bunch of things before I ended up with just the plain old IP address. Would have been nice to have an example which is not a plain URL. I now have my iPad seeing my network drive.

I looked at a bunch of links on how to add music to Apple Music. Most of them are for the Mac, not the iPad and at least not with the options I have in Apple Music on the iPad. I don't see a way to have Apple Music see any. I see references to iTunes which I believe is obsolete.

Here is all I see in Music:

How do I make this next step?

Thanks again.

Dave

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Answer 4

JessS19

Community Specialist

Mar 28, 2023 10:40 AM in response to dw_apple

Greetings dw_apple,

To clarify, is NAS an external hard drive? If so, you'd need to move the music files into the Music Library in order to access them with the Music app.

Learn how to change where your music files are stored: Change where your music files are stored on Mac

Best wishes.

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Answer 5

dw_apple Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 28, 2023 4:07 PM in response to alma1090

Bummer!

Thanks.

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Answer 6

dw_apple Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 28, 2023 10:59 AM in response to JessS19

Thanks JessS19. Yes, NAS is network attached storage.

I opened your link and the first thing it says is "Change where your music files are stored on Mac." Well, I don't have a Mac, and my iPad does not have a "Files" option in Music. That's why I posted a picture of the app.

Thanks anyway.

Dave

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