Apple Music randomly deletes my music

So glad for you this doesn't happen to you. You go, fella!

You can tell me I'm hallucinating or that this isn't happening but I've worked in this industry for over 30 years, since your iPhone was a NeXT computer, and I have lost an estimated 5,000+ songs over the last 15 years. This is a LONGTIME problem Apple seems to have with personally added music.

I do frequently dump all my songs into a hard drive. But as a professional working in this industry, that's a step that requires direct downloading of dragged and drop files, and while it does help me not lose (some) data forever, it took me a few *YEARS* to realize this was even happening, because Apple likes to delete songs you have not played "in awhile". When you work in an industry with tens of thousands of music files, you don't play every dang song once a month.

And yes, I've done ALL THE HOOPS that our commenter above suggested. None have stopped this problem.

It's has to do with music we pull in off of non-Apple sources that offends iMusic enough to delete the files. Frankly it's a nutty way to run a business - dropping data of your customers. It engenders mistrust, thus my multiple 10 terabyte drives stuffed with these files.

Interesting response but, it's all wrong. Apple readily admits that if you have music in your library that came from other than Apple they will delete your copy and when you play it you are actually playing their copy. If you unsubscribe from Apple Music you lose what ever music files you started with. Most people call that theft. Apple says they are protecting copyright which of course is BS.

So Apple tells me "We removed your post “Apple Music randomly deletes my music.” 

I will try again ... because Apple is deleting my music that I receive directly from musicians, THOUSANDS of files, I am searching for an alternative to iMusic. My comments were regarding how crummy this is and possible not L -egal (since Apple will not let me post that it is indeed T. h. e. f. t.).

Any viable alternatives for a radio producer here building playlists? I mean, I could just use Spotify, but I definitely have some really obscure tracks that aren't even there. Or I used to have those tracks - many have been randomly deleted.

It’s even worse, I have transferred a number of songs from CDs I purchased. Apple apparently does not have the copyright to some of these songs and it deletes them repeatedly and always from my library making it impossible for me to have electronic versions of these songs. It is incredibly frustrating.

I'm sorry to hear about the issues you're experiencing with Apple Music. It can be frustrating when your music library gets disrupted like this. Here are some steps you can take to try and resolve the problem:

1. **Check iCloud Music Library Sync**: Since you mentioned that you turned off and then back on the "sync library" function, it's possible that this action caused some synchronization issues. Make sure that your iCloud Music Library is enabled on both your Mac and iPhone. To do this, go to Settings on your iPhone, then Music, and ensure that "Sync Library" is turned on. On your Mac, open Apple Music, go to Preferences, and under the General tab, ensure "Sync Library" is checked.

2. **Check Your Internet Connection**: Sometimes, issues with syncing can occur due to a poor or intermittent internet connection. Ensure that you have a stable internet connection when syncing your library.

3. **Restart Apple Music**: Sometimes, a simple restart of the Apple Music app can resolve minor issues. Close the app on both your Mac and iPhone, then reopen it.

4. **Re-add Missing Music**: If your music is still available on your Mac, you can try re-adding the missing songs to your library. Make sure the songs are correctly imported into your iTunes library and then add them to your iCloud Music Library.

5. **Contact Apple Support**: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, it might be a more complex problem. Contact Apple Support for assistance. They can help you diagnose and resolve issues specific to your Apple Music account and devices.

6. **Backup Your Music**: To avoid losing your music in the future, it's a good practice to regularly back up your music library. You can create backups of your music files on your computer or use a third-party service to back up your music library.

Remember to exercise caution when making changes to your music library, especially when importing and syncing. It's always a good idea to have backups to prevent data loss in case of unexpected issues.

I’m literally about to ditch Apple permanently because music that I’ve had since 2005, imported into iTunes via CD is now being removed from my devices and Apple says it’s unavailable. All this control over what content is on my phone is getting absurd. So much for trusting this brand…

Apple completely cops to this. They said since they could not prove I had the right to have these songs they deleted them. As long as I subscribe to Apple Music it appears my library is intact. When I unsubscribe they disappear. The Apple tech said I could just copy them back in from CD!?! It is HUNDREDS of CD's. She did offer me credit to download 6 songs - I guess just to be insulting. If they had any integrity they would replace the songs they stole. None of Knowledge seeker's suggestions will bring them back.

Just to double down on this: This is happening to me for years now and I'm about to ditch Apple Music altogether. I'm planning to go "analogue" again, storing my music locally (on my computer, iPhone and iPad separately).

Apple doesn't seem to care about this issue at all. I wrote to their support years ago and nothing is improving. On the contrary, I'm losing even more songs on a regular basis.

For the know-it-alls: This refers to (like some stated before) music that was transferred from CDs that I own. This can also be a country-specific problem, I guess. In my library many German titles have been deleted (meaning they're still there, but greyed out).

To name one international example: I own everything from Garth Brooks, who is not in Apple's library and in the meantime none of the albums has a complete song list anymore.

they either removed them from my backup or I had subscribed to Apple Music long enough that they cycled out of my triple redundant backups.

I don't know where you sourced your "facts" but they are wrong. I have thousands of songs in my music library. and a grand total of ZERO of them came from apple. and I have not lost a single one because they were "replaced" with apple's copy of the song. if you have lost songs, your remedy could likely be addressed by following the advice provided by The_Knowledge_Seeker. their response is spot on.

Apple repeatedly and always deletes songs that I have transferred from CDs and that do not also seem to be in Apple’s library (maybe they don’t have the copyright? For ex various movie soundtracks) The songs initially transfer fine into my library and then a few days later the songs will be gone.

At least once a year ITunes removes all the music I've had from old CD's. It just looks like a scam and they want me to buy it from them. I've kept an old IPod they can't access. It allows me to get my music back, but annoying.

just because “YOU” haven’t seen it before is not proof of it not happening. When Apple Music first hit the scene a few years back it did exactly that. I put it down to Apple Music removing or replacing anything it did not recognise. So obscure outtakes, old captures from my vinyl, home made sounds, live recordings of my father and my kids… all gone. Same happened to various album covers from other country editions etc. I cancelled it immediately and returned to my back ups. So I’m scared of going through that all again.

I still subscribe and my songs get deleted anyway, I am guessing it’s because Apple does not have the copyright to the songs it is deleting, but I bought the CDs. Maddening.

sorry, but I wouldn't believe that apple is deleting the songs. it could just be a glitch with the software. anything electronic can fail and cause issues such as the one you are now facing. that is why, multiple times a day, people here recommend keeping a backup of any data you are not prepared to lose. and since you had songs that are irreplaceable, you definitely should have kept a backup or two.

and, sorry, but I still feel that the music app is the easiest app for creating playlists.