Apple Music PlayStation 5 no sound

I actually (finally!) solved this, so I’m posting this to help future people landing here via google.

Symptom: when I try to play music via the Apple Music app on PS5, the UI acts like the music is playing but no audio is heard, and PS5 audio goes silent until the app is exited—or, the sound is significantly quieter than other PS5 audio.

Solution: The PS5 has a dedicated volume slider for “Music” (as opposed to “Game”) audio, and the slider is probably turned all the way down.

Background: the PS5 OS has music player integration, and Apple Music is one such music app (Spotify is another). The PS5 lets you control game vs music audio volume independently.

How to access this volume slider:

1. press the PS button to bring up the switcher.
2. Select the Sound icon and press X (don’t see it? you might’ve customized your icons. press Options and make sure Sound isn’t in the “hidden controls” list
3. Under “Media Volume” select Music and press X
4. use the d-pad to move the slider and press X again to lock in in
5. press Circle to dismiss the menu and press the PS button to close the switcher menu.

That’s it!