Why are playlists syncing between computers?

Question

Why are playlists syncing between computers?

I've noticed that changes made to playlists on one of our computers are synced to all other computers, though I'm not sure whether it's through home sharing or iCloud.

It doesn't really make sense to me, why would one user want to see playlists created by another? e..g. My 8 year old son doesn't need to see my Slayer playlist 😎, and if my wife deletes a playlist on her iMac it disappears from mine too 😠. Is there a way to stop this from happening?

Cheers.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 3.4GHz i7, 16GB RAM, AMD 6970M 2GB

Posted on Feb 14, 2012 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 14, 2012 10:11 AM in response to Shuttleworth125

Do you have iTunes Match enabled on your household computer?

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Answer 2

Feb 14, 2012 10:20 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

Michael Allbritton wrote:

Do you have iTunes Match enabled on your household computer?

Yes, it's on all 4 computers.

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Answer 3

Feb 14, 2012 11:23 AM in response to Shuttleworth125

Then what you're seeing is the proper function of iTunes Match. This is how the service is designed to work and at this time there is no way to keep one user from seeing one or more particular playlists.

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Answer 4

Feb 14, 2012 4:20 PM in response to Michael Allbritton

Thanks, I guessed that may be the case as it changed playlists consistently, but I can't for the life of me work out why they would set it up that way, it makes no sense to me to share all playlists between different users libraries. Is there any logic to it? I feel a feedback report is on its way!

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Answer 5

Feb 15, 2012 2:17 PM in response to Shuttleworth125

Shuttleworth125 wrote:

but I can't for the life of me work out why they would set it up that way, it makes no sense to me to share all playlists between different users libraries. Is there any logic to it?

Yes, there is. I need my playlists at work to stay in sync with my playlists at home, and vice versa. Everything from tracks to ratings, I want them exactly the same on my devices, and that's exactly what is advertised.

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Answer 6

Feb 15, 2012 4:15 PM in response to tjfromalbany

Yeah, I realised after I posted that it'd be handy for people who have more than one computer. It would be nice to be able to choose whether playlists sync or not, but that's not a very apple way of doing things!

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Answer 7

Feb 16, 2012 12:31 AM in response to Shuttleworth125

Apple generally seem to assume that different family members have their own independent libraries. Everything that I have seen of iTunes match seems to have been based round it being used by individuals, rather than shared.

If you take your example of why your son would want your Slayer playlist, you could just as easily ask why he would want the music at all.

Personally, I think that iTunes match just isn't designed to be used he way you are. It may ven be worth considering removing it from some of the libraries.

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Answer 8

Feb 16, 2012 2:08 AM in response to KeithJenner

Good point Keith, perhaps just disabling Match on his computer and letting him copy across the music he wants via Home Sharing is more sensible.

We all have our own libraries, mine has everything on it and is used for syncing our phones and streaming to two AppleTV's, the other libraries just have music and video for that particular user.

I think I will just move playlists into individually named folders for my wife and myself and leave iCloud on, it gives her access to the whole library when my computer is turned off.

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Answer 9

Feb 16, 2012 4:55 AM in response to Shuttleworth125

By the way, I have just thought of a way of stopping the playlists syncing over the cloud, which may help you.

Just add a file into the playlist which isn't eligible for iTunes Match. I guess a good option would be a digital booklet (or other PDF), as this won't then try to play.

If you have a non eligible file in the playlist then it iTunes Match will ignore the playlist and it won't sync over the cloud. You just have to remember to keep that file in the playlist.

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Answer 10

Feb 16, 2012 10:48 AM in response to KeithJenner

Keith is right. My speculation is the single-user "restriction" has been imposed on Apple by the record labels. We know they hate for us to get or use their product for "free." But, this is just my speculation.

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Answer 11

Feb 16, 2012 10:49 AM in response to KeithJenner

KeithJenner wrote:

Just add a file into the playlist which isn't eligible for iTunes Match. I guess a good option would be a digital booklet (or other PDF), as this won't then try to play.

I actually thought of suggesting this, Keith. But then wouldn't the playlist also not be available on the OP's iDevice? I believe that will be the case.

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Answer 12

Feb 16, 2012 12:20 PM in response to Michael Allbritton

Yes Michael, that is correct.

It isn't clear whether that would be a problem for the OP (he may only use some playlists on his computer) so I thought I'd mention it.

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Answer 13

Feb 16, 2012 12:49 PM in response to KeithJenner

Thanks again guys, I think it could be the way forward for me, I don't tend to use playlists on my iOS devices so it could work for me, so I will give it a try.

Cheers!

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