Where did my playlist go in my library, everything is gone? How do I recover my music?

I recently had my subscription stop for non payment. This is the first time I hadn’t paid it for maybe 2weeks. When I repurchased my family account my music was completely gone. All the music I’ve had saved from years of Apple Music just gone. It usually gives me the option to sync my music. Can someone help me? I used the same iCloud account

iPhone (6)

Posted on Jul 25, 2023 4:38 PM

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30 replies

Jul 23, 2024 12:54 PM in response to stefanyfromdallas

Just a word on this — I’ve had this happen to me before BUT I’ve noticed it is possible to recover playlists that you’ve shared with others, or for which you’ve saved a link. Basically I shared a playlist with someone and then my subscription lapsed and I thought I’d lost it, but then I scrolled through my messages with that person and found the link I shared with them. It still works! The playlist doesn’t show up in my Apple Music account, but it’s there floating around. So I guess if you wanted to avoid losing playlists as a result of subscription lapses, you could just create a share link and save that somewhere. Better than nothing!

Aug 2, 2024 6:59 AM in response to cultinc

cultinc wrote:

Apple music removed my playlists that I created based on music that I purchased on CD. Apple are despicable low-lifes using every trick they can to take money from us.

Your songs are still available on the device you used to import them from the CD. This is likely a PC/Mac since you cannot import music from a CD directly to your iPhone. When you use Apple Music on that PC/Mac, it will make your music available on all of your devices that are also set to Sync Music. Once you cancel the subscription, the music is removed from the other devices just like it was before you signed up for the subscription, but still remain on your Mac/PC. If you are unable to find you Music on your Mac/PC, then contact Apple directly:

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Apr 22, 2024 11:51 AM in response to stefanyfromdallas

Renting music is a ridiculous option. Not only do they erase your library—I just tried to switch payment types and they erased it. So I said NO! NEVER AGAIN! The whole rent thing is crazy. Many people cannot afford it. They are charging us hundreds to thousands of dollars to buy music we have to keep paying over and over to listen to without end to the payments. Then if we don’t keep paying they take the music back. You basically could have spent a thousand dollars for a playlist that is now unplayable and no longer even exists. That U2 or Police album you just spent 500 dollars on is back on the sale shelf at the record store. This rent set up is basically like going to a record store in 1970s buying a ten dollar record album, but you have to pay every month for it over and over without end. After paying a 120 dollars or more a year you don’t own the music and they come to your house and take away your Rush and Police record albums. In 1970’s 80’s 90’s 2000 this repossession of music you paid hundreds of dollars for would have been seen as crazy. It would have been crazy then, and it is crazy now just the same. How many hundreds or thousands of dollars should we pay for an album and then not have access to it? Also Apple has begun to not sell stuff instead they force us to rent. I found a bunch of music I can only rent not buy. So I bought a CD and it is so far impossible to get it on my iTunes library playlist. An iTunes playlist filled with purchased music can also mysteriously disappear. They don’t know where it went. They are beginning to do a sloppy job with the purchased music so they can make us all rent. For sure renting is horrible for consumers. We have to say a collective NO! Sell it to us or forget it.

Apr 22, 2024 2:37 PM in response to fannare

You are correct, Apple deletes the playlists that were created and any downloaded music when the subscription has ended. I guess my music taste changes frequently as I am always creating new playlists and creating one does not seem like a big deal to me. It would seem worse to keep a playlist of songs that you will not be able to listen to since you no longer have a subscription. Maybe providing a 30 day grace period to reinstate the playlist would make everyone happy, but I would not expect that they would hold on to them forever.

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Jun 1, 2024 7:19 AM in response to gberg1312

gberg1312 wrote:

I just had the same issue and cannot believe that for non-payment for a short time they have deleted my playlists. That took years to build. Shocked?! Is there any way to get them back...?

You will need to create your playlists again. Apple does not hold on to your data if you no longer use the service. At least it is easy to create playlists.

Apr 22, 2024 5:25 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Much of my rented apple music library turned out to be not available to buy on iTunes. It can only be rented with an Apple Music subscription. Renting, as I pointed out, is ridiculously expensive. If I pay 11 dollars a month for a year shouldn’t I own something? I want to own something. Not keep endlessly having to come up with more and more money. With the way digital music is going, I would rather go to a store, buy a CD, and have a way to put it on a phone to play it. In the 70’s-80’s if the record store guy came to your house and took back your Blue Oyster Cult record because you had stopped paying every month you would have had a mob problem- Hey that is a nice record collection ya got there too bad if somethin would a happen to it.

Apr 23, 2024 6:40 AM in response to jamm8

jamm8 wrote:

Much of my rented apple music library turned out to be not available to buy on iTunes. It can only be rented with an Apple Music subscription. Renting, as I pointed out, is ridiculously expensive. If I pay 11 dollars a month for a year shouldn’t I own something? I want to own something. Not keep endlessly having to come up with more and more money.

You're certainly entitled to want what you want. But that doesn't mean anyone has to give it to you. You'll need to take this up with the rights holders who have chosen only to offer their content through subscription, not for purchase.

With the way digital music is going, I would rather go to a store, buy a CD, and have a way to put it on a phone to play it.

That is certainly an option. If it works better for you, you should do that.

Apr 23, 2024 7:58 AM in response to jamm8

jamm8 wrote:

Much of my rented apple music library turned out to be not available to buy on iTunes. It can only be rented with an Apple Music subscription. Renting, as I pointed out, is ridiculously expensive. If I pay 11 dollars a month for a year shouldn’t I own something? I want to own something.

$11 for unlimited music is expensive? Just buying ONE album will cost that much.


Not keep endlessly having to come up with more and more money. With the way digital music is going, I would rather go to a store, buy a CD, and have a way to put it on a phone to play it.

That’s exactly what I do. I just bought Jordi Savall’s masterfully recorded set of Beethoven’s 9 symphonies performed by Le Concert Des Nations. 6 CDs, about $70. iTunes had symphonies 1 to 5, but was missing the 2nd half of the set, so I bought the CDs from Amazon, imported them into the Apple Music App, and synced them to my iPhone, my iPad, and 3 iPod Classics I keep for old times’ sake.


I don’t subscribe to Apple music; I buy the music I want from either Apple, or CDs from ArchivMusic or Amazon.


I DO subscribe to Idagio.

May 27, 2024 5:13 PM in response to stefanyfromdallas

I woke up today to find an out about 5 years worth of curated playlists gone from my phone. All my subs were current when I checked on my phone I had a frozen CC for payments and had it debuted. Charged from both accounts and no music on my phone. They only thing I was left with were about 20 albums I purchased in 2018. I’ve had similar issues with iCloud and lost years of photographs. Just a nightmare given the amount of money I have spent of the past 15 years. Beyond disappointed with customer service today and overall Apple experience.

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Where did my playlist go in my library, everything is gone? How do I recover my music?

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