I can't transfer Apple Music to iPod Nano

The thing that makes me feel better is that none of the online reports I've read say that the lack of Apple Music is down to a hardware limitation, so there's a chance that customer pressure will cause Apple to make it happen.

If it really is down to hardware then I've just bought a lemon, spurred on by Spotify saying you can sync downloaded music to a N7G, then recanting a few weeks later saying "of course, we meant downloaded PURCHASED music." To have Apple pull a similar stunt by prominently advertising Apple Music on their iPod Nano pages, and vice versa, then recanting in the small print, is similarly a case of very bad sharp practise. Fortunately I'm still on my 3 month trial so I haven't lost anything yet (other than some iTunes Match tracks that got DRMed, but that's another story!) so I can still go back to the 20th century, or put my Nano on eBay and stump up for a Touch. Of course, if the Touch Nano comes out in September...

I got a new iPod yesterday and when trying to sync I am getting this for 8 songs which are off albums I have purchased before Apple Music was released (and I haven't used Apple Music at all yet). Why would that be? Very frustrating.

The simple answer is that the current Nano firmware can't support the Apple Music ecosystem. There's then a strong belief held by many (myself included) that Apple could make it work if they put their minds and their money to it. There's a counter-belief that Apple won't put their money into this idea because the return on investment wouldn't be good enough, and another school of thought that says the hardware isn't powerful enough to support the necessary firmware changes. Apple haven't said WHY they haven't made this change, and they haven't said whether they will or not in the future, and they haven't said whether or not it's technically possible or financially viable. All they've said for certain is that right now Aple Music won't work with an iPod Nano. So, sadly, you'll have to join the ranks of other frustrated recent iPod Nano purchasers. Sorry.

Wasn't sure if this was directed at my post or not so if not apologies but my complaint is around certain songs from an album that I purchased through iTunes last year are coming up with this error message. The rest of the songs on the album have transferred to my iPod with no problem just 3 of them won't so that's my confusion. I have no interest in using Apple Music... 🙂

You are more likely to get an answer if you start your own thread rather than tacking on to an unrelated one.

Karens5565 wrote:

Wasn't sure if this was directed at my post

It was, but I didn't read your post carefully enough. Sounds like you're off-topic - this thread is specifically about Apple Music DRMed tracks not being transferred to iPod Nanos. If you've got iTunes purchased tracks and have never even signed up for Apple Music then this isn't your problem. However ... have you updated to the latest iTunes on your computer? 12.2.1 on both Windows and Mac, I think. Go into My Music and sort by Songs, then turn on the iCloud Status column. If it says your track is Apple Music instead of Purchased then that's your problem. If not, seek help elsewhere - sorry.

I am irritated because I bought the music BEFORE I began the trial subscription and I am not able to download the music from my iTunes library to my iPod (not a nano but a scroll wheel)…get message saying the song is a subscription item???

I bought the song BEFORE I began the subscription so why am I unable to download the song?

Apple can still make it work, especially on the latest iPod nano. They can require nano to be connected to iTunes every 30 days to verify that subscription is still active. Maybe that would require firmware update but it seems feasible.

Have you informed Apple yet? Go here and tell them.

Apple feedback.

"Apple can still make it work, especially on the latest iPod nano."

How do you know? Are you a current/former Apple developer, or have detailed insight into the nano's firmware code and operations?

"They can require nano to be connected to iTunes every 30 days to verify that subscription is still active."

So you know that licensing and other legal agreements between Apple, media providers, and artists include provisions covering a subscription verification method that is very different from that used by all devices that currently support Apple Music?

"Maybe that would require firmware update but it seems feasible."

Feasible, possibly, but is it economically worthwhile for Apple? Do you suppose that Apple haven't done marketing studies and demographic analyses to determine the ROI on providing Apple Music on legacy iPods?

Boo for this one apple...so we don't really own the music...what happens if we stop paying for the subscription? do we loose the 'apple' music that we have made available offline???

ikorg wrote:

Boo for this one apple...so we don't really own the music...what happens if we stop paying for the subscription? do we loose the 'apple' music that we have made available offline???

Yes of course you do. What did you expect? You are not buying the songs - that would work out far more expensive - you are in effect renting them: paying for the ability to listen to them at your leisure as long as you go on paying. If you rent an apartment and stop paying rent you get evicted. If you rent Apple Music and stop paying for it you will not longer be able to stream or play downloaded songs. If you want to keep songs permanently without further payment - buy them.

I have an early iPod nano and it seems to be blocking my ability to sync songs from my computer. I am not a part of apple music, and a lot of those songs were from my original cd's. I never purchased, online, many of the songs that won't sync!

What now?!

blakradish wrote:

I have an early iPod nano and it seems to be blocking my ability to sync songs from my computer. I am not a part of apple music, and a lot of those songs were from my original cd's. I never purchased, online, many of the songs that won't sync!

What now?!

Then your question has nothing to do with the subject of this thread and you should start your own thread where you will be more likely to get an answer. You should give full details of the iPod model and your operating system otherwise answers can be only guesswork.