How do I stop Apple Music from launching whenever I connect a Bluetooth headset to my MacBook?

I don't have those same options, and options under that section shouldn't have anything to do with the issue, e.g. I want to see star ratings etc. Tried unchecking those, didn't do anything to resolve.

I downloaded the NoTunes app but it doesn't launch. What's the secret?

Apple Music is driving me crazy. It seems with every "upgrade" I dislike Apple more and more. I've been using Apple since the late 80's. Love has consistently turned to the opposite. What is this crappola they keep giving us?

firtree wrote:

I downloaded the NoTunes app but it doesn't launch. What's the secret?

Apple Music is driving me crazy. It seems with every "upgrade" I dislike Apple more and more. I've been using Apple since the late 80's. Love has consistently turned to the opposite. What is this crappola they keep giving us?

Try If an app is not from the Mac App Store - Apple Support.

tt2

The same thing again in 2024... and it is not the "ecosystem", it is simply lack of respect and apathy. It has literally ruined public presentations for me. Not only have I lost a business opportunity, but it has embarrassed me and generated states of anxiety that still attack me with anger years later.

I simply wanted to surprise an important client with the combination of slide projection and a pair of brand new homepods that I bought for the occasion. You can imagine... Siri's stupid loud voice, announcing to me that she couldn't find a playlist... then she started bombarding the room with even stupider music from AppleMusic... my pulse still accelerates when I remember it.

My new laptop (M3Max MBP) is running 14.4.1 and still has the same problem.

Seems to occur every time I'm using bluetooth headset for a video call. As soon as the video call ends (browser stops using the bluetooth headset/mic device) apple music app opens. I've never used apple music app and don't want to. So this is super awful user experience.

I feel like maybe Apple folks are in a little bit of a filter bubble using the same app/hardware combinations and so they don't run into these bugs/UX-issues themselves...or they would have been annoyed and fixed them already.

I don't know why but in the last years it feel like the user experience and bugginess of macOS has been getting worse and worse. I'm a tech guy (devops and software dev) and usually have no problem figuring out problems between the chair and the keyboard (ie network mis-config issues on linux)...so it really seems like these are real issues that just somehow don't get noticed in the Apple world.

To add insult to injury i find that if i am on a Zoom meeting and decide to use my earbuds - mid meeting... the sound does not switch to bluetooth buds. The zoom meeting is set to follow computer sound, other sound comes through the buds, but not zoom. When i tried this same steps on a windows machine, the buds connect.

So Apple seems to want to decide what i should and shouldn't listen to!

Having the same issue, Sonoma 14.1.1, but with a Bluetooth Soundbar - when it wakes seems to send a command to open Apple Music (not in my auto login list either as that was not relevant).

You're welcome. Glad to hear it is doing the trick for you. 🙂

tt2

This doesn't work on macOS 14.1.2. Apple Music isn't in the list.

Not installing a 3rd party app to fix Apple bug, thanks anyway.

Thank you @GBMCB. That worked great. Hated it starting Apple Music on my Macbook when trying to play music on my iPhone. Great write up and easy to do. Worked for me as well.

Thank you for this solution to this problem Apple created. (smh...)

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

Came here looking for a solution to apple music auto launching on Mac and trying to onboard. What a stupidly annoying issue that only mac has.

It is so annoying, this feature.