Dyhrthomsen

Q: Apple Music plays wrong version of a song when playing an album

When I play certain albums – e.g. The White Stripes – “Elephant” or U2 – “The Joshua Tree” - certain songs are played in incorrect version (i.e. live, bootlegs etc). Other albums are played correctly. The versions played are taken from "My Music" which is connected to iTunes Match. It is only when I use Apple Music the problem occurs. When playing from My Music the songs are played correctly. Any idea what to do?

iPhone 6, iOS 8.4

Posted on Jul 6, 2015 11:23 PM

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Q: Apple Music plays wrong version of a song when playing an album

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  • by Yadmon,

    Yadmon Yadmon Aug 14, 2015 5:13 AM in response to rudiger10
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 5:13 AM in response to rudiger10

    I cancelled Apple Music (they made it SO simple to cancel, too...NOT), deleted Phish from my phone, & re-synced it. I CAN NOW LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE SHOW & the Phish from Vermont are killing it right now.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 14, 2015 7:16 AM in response to rudiger10
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:16 AM in response to rudiger10

    Rudiger10, I'm happy to help in anyway I can. Can I ask a few things first ...Are you a paying subscriber to iTunes Match and on a free trial of apple music? I know that sounds basic, but we need to start at the beginning. ... If you are, is your iCloud 'check box' ticked in iTunes preferences, as shown in the google image in my earlier post?

     

    Next did you run my test of backing up an 'affected' song, then deleting it just from your iTunes library  ... It will just remove the file from your PC, but it will leave a 'cloud link' to re-download it from your icloud. If you are prompted to remove the iCloud copy then say 'no'... As long as you have the original file backed up somewhere there won't be a problem anyway.

     

    Next re-download the track again from your iCloud and see if it differs from your original file..

     

    These are the first tests I would do, before doing anything else... It all needs to be done on your PC.

     

    Note, I'm assuming you are an annual subscriber to iTunes Match... Otherwise you steps will need to be different to the above... Make sure your 'Match' subscription is valid and has not lapsed or failed to auto-renew etc. ... Just in case.

     

    When you have done these things, let me know your answers and results of the test etc and then we can move to the next stage.

  • by Mofo_,

    Mofo_ Mofo_ Aug 14, 2015 8:51 AM in response to KGriff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 8:51 AM in response to KGriff

    KGriff,

         This is the test I have done since your post yesterday.  I have had iTunes match for a couple of years.  I have not touched my iTunes on my computer at all since Apple Music was released so no change there.  I did nothing on my Mac.  None of those tracks should of changed.  I'd be scared to delete one and have it download the wrong version.

     

    On my Iphone6+, I updated to the newest version, logged out of intunes & App Stpore.  loggen out of iCloud.   I then still had music on my phone so i went to settings, usage, storage and deleted all the music.  Once confirmed no music on phone I shut down phone and restarted.

     

    Logged back in to all the services.  Under music I checked "iCloud Music Library"

     

    Then I just focused on one group..Pearl Jam to test it.  I went to a bunch of shows under my music and selected "Make available offline" and then did the same with the studio albums.  Let it download. 

     

    Tried playing a couple studio albums this morning on way to work and it's still happening.  I'm getting live tracks mixed in with the studio albums which is the easiest to spot.  I didn't try it long enough to listen to live shows and have the wrong live songs play.  It didn't work.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 14, 2015 10:00 AM in response to Mofo_
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 10:00 AM in response to Mofo_

    Mofo_, I see you enabled icloud on your device but did you enable iCloud in iTunes as per my google screenshot. see my earlier post and you will need to run the test in iTunes as it looks like your issue is an itunes match one.

     

    I cannot assist if you are scared to back up and delete one track that you know is affected ... Perhaps get hold of a friend who can assist you that understands the iTunes Music folder structure in Media... It's path is stated in your iTunes preferences.

     

    The indications in your post is either you have not turned on iCloud in iTunes or the file match has mismatched to your cloud. It does not appear to be an Apple music app issue from what you have described.

  • by Mofo_,

    Mofo_ Mofo_ Aug 14, 2015 4:12 PM in response to KGriff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 4:12 PM in response to KGriff

    I checked and I do have iCloud checked off on my iTunes on my Mac.  As I said, I've had iTunes Match for years and everything has worked perfectly until Apple Music.  I've streamed and downloaded/re-downloaded my library to many devices at this point and have never encountered this before. Everyone's problems on this thread are from the Apple Music app so I'm not sure why you would say that it does not appear to be an Apple Music problem.

     

    Anyway.. i deleted the download on my Mac for one of the effected songs and downloaded it again.  It was the correct version before I deleted it as well as when I re-downloaded it.  No issues on my Mac's iTunes.   We need an update for the Apple Music App.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 14, 2015 5:03 PM in response to Mofo_
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 5:03 PM in response to Mofo_

    Ok you have run the checks on your MAC ... you have deleted and downloaded a song from your iCloud and confirmed that is correct on your PC ... I assume this track is however not correct in your Apple Music library on your device ... So your next step has to be 'destroy' the library on your device ... And remember this can take a while.

     

    I have given the instructions earlier. Give it some time to allow the library structure to delete... I would say 10 mins or so and do a soft reset before reinstating the library.

     

    When you set it back up, you will be invited to 'merge' or 'replace' the library ... Select replace and then play (or download and play) the same song that you chose as your test-sample track and it should be the same as the one on your MAC ... it can't be any other track because you will have deleted the library... If it isn't then I suspect you have somehow corrupted the device library and it is not actually deleting it... The only solution for that is to wipe and do a full reinstall of your phone with the latest firnware using a cable link to your MAC.

     

    I know you are saying its Apple Music app that is at fault but I can assure you my music is working just fine with different versions of songs, whether they be live or studio versions etc ... And I have over 28,000 songs in my own iCloud with 24,581 songs matched/uploaded to my cloud via iTunes Match and I am yet to encounter a single issue of a wrong version of a song/track by any artist.

     

    I'm not convinced this is a 'common fault' with the new music app, but think the answer to this issue lies elsewhere. Why would it 'work' fine for me if there was a problem and why didn't the last update 8.4.1 fix it?  ... The update was to fix the main issues with Apple Music and I would have thought that such an error would have been seen by the team as a priority.

     

    Its likely to be the 'fall' before the next iOS update, unless this latest update brings unforeseen 'new' problems. Well that's what is being reported by those who monitor the updates.

     

    image.jpg

  • by Paul Slovin1,

    Paul Slovin1 Paul Slovin1 Aug 14, 2015 5:01 PM in response to Dyhrthomsen
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 5:01 PM in response to Dyhrthomsen

    I have the same problem. I had Springsteen's Born to Run in my iTunes and on my phone, before setting up iCloud Library. Now when I play the album on my phone, it selects a live acoustic version from another album. It happens with other artists as well. iCloud library also messed up the album artwork on my phone big time. I called tech support and they said that apple uses the basic album info to match songs and album artwork, rather than a digital fingerprint the way other app do. It's a bummer.....

  • by Mofo_,

    Mofo_ Mofo_ Aug 14, 2015 6:31 PM in response to KGriff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 6:31 PM in response to KGriff

    KGriff,

         If you remember I did that yesterday and it didn't work.  Then you said it must be my iTunes on my machine.  I know it can be confusing with multiple people replying in a thread.  You can run back through all my responses to this thread if you'd like.  So all tests now are done.  Of course if I delete everything and only download 1 version of a song it will work.  There is nothing else for it to get confused with.  The problem only occurs when the app confuses multiple different versions of the song.  You have to pay attention to catch it.  It does not display the wrong version.. only plays the wrong version.  All indications are that it is the correct version except what is coming out of the speakers.  An indication is when you start a studio version of a song and it starts off with applause for example.  I'm not convinced that just because you have not noticed it yet in your massive library, that doesn't mean you are unaffected.  It's great if you are not having the problem.  But you're highly outnumbered.  You are the only one in this thread who doesn't have the problem.  So being the lone minority... it's not very effective when you say "Why would it work for me....."   

     

    It's great if you don't have the problem though.  Maybe there is another reason.  Do you have any unique tagging that you do in iTunes or anything like that, that would maybe help the app differentiate the songs more?

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 14, 2015 7:32 PM in response to Mofo_
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:32 PM in response to Mofo_

    I use a set of scripts to tag all my songs before importing them into my iTunes library. The scripts are straight forward, nothing special. I use mp3Tag and iTunes API and get the metadata and covers. It includes the usual sort fields, CD and track numbers etc. and it gets rid of any comments and non-relevant tags. It adds album art which I set at 600x600 pixels and finally I add lyrics and beats per minute (BPM) using BeaTunes.

     

    I then import the album via the the file menu ...Match it or upload it and then I have a second PC on my network that automatically takes a copy using 'second copy8' and then overnight the newly added songs are written to my NAS box raid for safe storage.

     

    Anyhow I will keep an eye out for this error of playing the wrong track but in the past few hours I have been playing a variety of 'studio' and 'live' music from several artists and I have streamed them, copied them to the device, removed them etc etc... But so far I haven't stumbled across the issue.

     

    I think I have mentioned everything I can to help, so all I can do now is keep playing my own tracks and see if i encounter the problem over time. If I do, I will then post here again.

     

    I hope you get to the bottom of this problem soon and that you get this matter resolved.

     

    Kind Regards...

  • by swandy,

    swandy swandy Aug 14, 2015 8:15 PM in response to KGriff
    Level 4 (1,537 points)
    Apple Music
    Aug 14, 2015 8:15 PM in response to KGriff

    KGriff - I am sure that everyone appreciates your help, suggestions and instructions, but I have to disagree with you that this is not an Apple Music problem. I never signed up for iTunes Match (library too large and did not wish to lose the ability to also sync music on my iPhone for when I did not wish to stream music). And I have seen this mis-matching of songs not only on my iPhone 6 but also on a second iMac.

    I used my wife's iMac to set up my iCloud Music Library - basically because it was much smaller than the one on my iMac and was easier to get it under that 25,000 song limit. I then went to my iMac and set up a second iTunes Library with no actual songs in it - just turned on Apple Music and iCloud Music Library. And the same songs that are "replaced" on my iPhone are also "replaced" in the iMac music library that has Apple Music/iCloud Music Library turned on. And yes - I have tried several times on my iPhone to completely delete all the music, turn all the necessary settings ON and OFF and they are still mismatched. I have also done the same with my iMac (turning everything OFF and ON) with the same results. The songs displayed/streamed/downloaded on either my iPhone or my iMac do not match the song versions that were and still are in the library on my wife iMac where I initially set up my iCloud Music Library.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 15, 2015 3:41 AM in response to swandy
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 15, 2015 3:41 AM in response to swandy

    Swandy,

     

    You have never signed up for iTunes Match. The purpose of iTunes Match is to take any music you have purchased elsewhere other than the iTunes Store (not apple music store as people are now calling it) and of course your ripped CD's and to match them to the iTunes Store ... If it matches them, then a link (let's call it a copy) of the track is placed in your personal iCloud. If the song wrongly matches (only seen this once or twice and moreso in the early days) then you can end up with the wrong link (or copy) in your cloud. If the matching process fails completely however the track is 'uploaded' and stored in your personal iCloud.

     

    Your iCloud can be shared across all your computers and devices etc and is even available via family sharing and you can turn the iCloud  'on' or 'off' on each device.

     

    To have this excellent service though costs $24.99 per year and there is a limit to the songs you match and upload and that is 25000.

     

    Apple however do something a little different in that if you purchase the song from the iTunes Store (obviously there is no need to match it) they place a link (or copy) of that song in your personal iCloud automatically and as a bonus it does not count towards the 25000 limit.

     

    So that is itunes match explained ... Without the service the music ripped from CD's or purchased anywhere other than the App Store is NOT stored in your iCloud.

     

    Without iTunes Match the only way to get the music onto each of your devices is to physically copy it to each device ... Whether that be another PC, an iPod, an iPhone or iPad .. And to copy it over most people use the USB cable .. also you have to turn off the iCloud on the PC or Mac ... by unticking the checkbox I mentioned earlier in my previous posts.... as you are not using iCloud to share you also turn off the iCloud setting within MUSIC on the device because the library you will see is the one containing music copied to your device.

     

    Please note although you have to turn off iCloud within settings/music that will not turn off the part of the iCloud where you made some earlier purchases from the Apple Store ... Those are still available but to hide those (if you want to) you can turn those off from the artists/albums etc menu ... There is a slider on/off button at the bottom of the menu.

     

    Apple Music is a subset of iTunes Music and is a slightly cut down version of iTunes Music ... In the world of SQL databases it is the same data in the database but a different 'view' and that's because not all artists have signed up for the streaming service, like the Beatles etc.

     

    The new music app gives you access to all songs available via the Apple Music view not iTunes ...you can stream or download and play providing you pay $9.99 per month (first 3 months free & there's a family membership option)... You can combine that with music transferred onto your device with iCloud turned off ... Or you can combine it with your personal iCloud with it turned on if you are an iTunes Match subscriber. In both cases you will still see any music you purchased via the iTunes Store.

     

    Even your own iCloud is a 'view' into the same database, but iTunes Match has a separate area for thevuploaded songs and so is a combined view In many respects.

     

    If a wrong song is playing without the use of an iTunes Match subscription then it either has to be that the wrong song was copied to the device over the cable or the wrong song is held in the iTunes Store ... If it was any if the 'views' at fault which are SQL statements held server side I'm sure Apple database administrators would have easily fixed that by now. You would not even need an update to your device. Likewise if there was a problem with the app the recent release 8.4.1 would probably have solved it, as it appears the next release is not due till 'fall' (iOS 9).

     

    i personally think people here might be misunderstanding the workings of iTunes Match, their iCloud, and how things work with Apple Music.

     

    I could of course be wrong and I am still looking to find an incorrect version of a song on my devices ... I will keep looking and listening and as a person who has had a music collection for over 45 years and play my music daily, you would have thought I would have encountered at least one 'rogue' track by now.

     

    I can't believe I am that lucky, but I do pride myself in keeping my vast music library as near perfect as possible. Anyhow like I said earlier if I encounter the problem then I will come back here and say so.

     

    Could it it just be that the libraries on the devices have somehow been corrupted ... Can anyone suggest to me a 'live' and 'studio' album from an artist that this error occurs and I will go get the albums (if available) and try them for myself. I am happy to give that a go too.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 15, 2015 4:06 AM in response to swandy
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 15, 2015 4:06 AM in response to swandy

    Swandy,

     

    How can you share your ’iCloud Music Library'  of just under 25000 music songs on your wife's iMac without iTunes Match ... The only way to do that is to have purchased every song from the iTunes Store in which case the limit is not applicable.. You cannot put music from elsewhere other than the iTunes Store into your iCloud without iTunes Match.. It's impossible to do ...!

     

    The he only way to share that music is to copy it to your devices over cable or wifi or access it through 'home sharing' (that's a different thing altogether)... It will never move to your iCloud on apple servers... That's why we pay $24.99 per year for that service.

  • by Mofo_,

    Mofo_ Mofo_ Aug 15, 2015 4:46 AM in response to KGriff
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 15, 2015 4:46 AM in response to KGriff

    KGriff,

     

    One more question that I didn't ask you.  How much music is actually on your device?  If you are streaming mostly everything then I don't think you would have this problem.  If your "phone" goes to the cloud for each song then it should grab the right one.  The issue here lies in grabbing the wrong songs off your device.  So you would need a multiple different versions on your device for it to happen and even then its not every time.  I bring this up because if you keep very little music on your device and prefer to stream off the iCloud then I could see you not having this problem so wanted to get that out of the way.

     

    Ok, now assuming you do have a bunch of music on your device and still not seeing it then I'm hoping that one of the other things you are doing is helping to point to the right tracks.  I have a mac and don't know how to write scripts.  I did use ilyrical for a while a long time ago to add lyrics to a lot of my songs.  I stopped though at one point because all the lyrics was bogging down my old iPod touch.  So i would say more than half my music has lyrics but nothing for like the last 5 years.  I also use iVolume but don't run it regularly enough.  It is supposed to help "Sound check" do a better do a better job at keeping songs at the same volume and adds something to the comment field.

     

    I checked one of the songs that i knew was a problem and it had both been adjusted by iVolume and lyrics added.  I'm thinking of trying the beatunes on my library.. then updating the cloud etc and see where that gets me.

  • by KGriff,

    KGriff KGriff Aug 15, 2015 5:29 AM in response to Mofo_
    Level 2 (280 points)
    Aug 15, 2015 5:29 AM in response to Mofo_

    Mofo_

     

    It's true i don't hold very much on my iPad, which I use mainly at home. I keep my main playlists tracks on my iPhone (approx 400-500 songs) but my iPod has quite a few on there... I can't say how many exactly. The majority though sit in my cloud for streaming.

     

    However...

     

    Since trying to help with this issue I have 'made available offline' a great deal more tracks ... Just as an example I have quite a few Alice Cooper/Genesis/Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins 'live' and  'studio' albums with song titles of the same name ...obviously the studio songs are completely different to the live ones and I have tried switching between them all in the hope of getting the music app to play the wrong version... I have tried a mixture of downloaded and streaming tracks ... Just the downloaded tracks... and just the streamed tracks, but  I'm dammed if I can get it to play the wrong version of any song ... So far, that is!!

     

    Notably when I first set up my devices after release of iOS 8.4, I chose to delete my libraries (rather than merge them) and then overtime I have re-added the music offline by getting it either from my iCloud (if song was uploaded or matched) or the Apple Music Store Under the terms of the '3 month free' Apple Music subscription service.

     

    I haven't bought any music from the iTunes Store since my free subscription started with Apple Music,  via the iTunes App, so I can't really make any comment about that.

     

    I assure you if I encounter the 'wrong playing track' issue, you and others here, will be the first to know. I would be happy to confirm your suspicions, but so far I cannot say that I can replicate it.

     

    I use mp3Tag for the music tags ... There are scripts on their website forums. It's a windows based app so you would have to run it through 'Wine' on a Mac PC .. but stick with what you are familiar with... I can't see the tags being the cause of the issue, as surely it's not just the song title it has to be the album title too at the very least in any matching process, no matter how primitive the match process is.

  • by Tech198,

    Tech198 Tech198 Aug 15, 2015 6:43 AM in response to KGriff
    Level 1 (48 points)
    Apple Pay
    Aug 15, 2015 6:43 AM in response to KGriff

    I think a very large part of why everyone is confused, it does not work as "they think it should" (bare from the fact that their correct) etc etc, is purly because Apple users conjuncts themselves.. Using words like "all your music in the cloud"and "any song", when the truth is, when u look deeper it never is like that..

     

    But its like anything not just Apple... no one will tell u my business can't do that, or can't do this because its not a good selling point,

     

    Everyone got itunes Match though,  25,000 song limit and while there were users initially, on the fence, and saying they had more than that, people understood.

     

    But now Apple music comes along, and its like all these questions that people knew clearly the answers to made sense w Match,, but not with Apple music, even though its the exact same thing.

     

    Its really not that difficult.

     

    - iTunes Match and Apple music even though Apple says are "complementary"  both do the same sort of thing... They match "songs".. That's how its always been, so if u get inconsistencies, or songs u don't like,,,  blame Apple...  because ITunes match worked the same way.....  even though Apple music only uses meta data, you could say it would be worse, BUT at the end of the day. u can use any matching process u like, if it can't match it to the "exact" song on the store, then none of it will be effected at all..

     

    eg Your shining (Dark Mix) from Clubland X-Treme 2 CD will be replaced by a different song/album on the Apple music catalog, unless u change it.

     

    If people complain about this with Apple music, then also had the same thing with Match too The only difference, any matched ones with AM are DRM, and u can stream from the Apple music catalog (not the same as iTunes store, but separate), unlike ITM where "songs" in the cloud are streamed only to other devices, or available for download. Apple music does that too.

     

    Even though Apple could have done better, by also matching Albums too would and if this song on this album didn't match, or album not available then its uploads... Would be allot better, but Apple probably saw that song matching would from their point would be the right idea, however it falls very short.

     

    FYI... every service service matches songs only, so Apple is not unique here anyway....

     

    I just don't get with two services Apple offers, why we get it with Match, but can't get it with Apple music, If only had Apple done a  better job at explaining exactly how it works, then it would had probably answered most peoples issues.  Apple may have fix/caused more problems with album art in iTunes probably contradicts to the issue to.

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