onebigclam
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Q: playlist songs greyed out on mac

songs on my playlists are greyed out on my mac - how can i fix this?  

worked fine before - I'm not sure what changed

iMac, iOS 8.4.1

Posted on Aug 22, 2015 4:30 PM

by onebigclam,Solvedanswer
onebigclam onebigclam
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

THANK YOU JOHNP!

So I went and played around trying to select all so I could check all - which I didn't figure out (but didn't spend much time on) - then changed column selections, then checked one of the songs on the playlist (but not all).  Somehow, after that, the whole playlist was fine.  Thanks so much.  This is really important because I needed to burn one of the greatest playlists - of the summer - if not of all time.....

Posted on Aug 28, 2015 4:39 PM

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onebigclam

Q: playlist songs greyed out on mac

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  • by Jason L,

    Jason L Jason L Aug 24, 2015 6:29 AM in response to onebigclam
    Community Specialists
    Aug 24, 2015 6:29 AM in response to onebigclam

    Hi onebigclam,

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities.

     

    From what I gather, some songs are grayed out in the iTunes playlists on your iMac. Try authorizing your computer to play those songs, as suggested in the article below.

    Resolve issues with iTunes Match - Apple Support

    If songs appear to be missing

    Songs containing DRM (Digital Rights Management) might not appear in iCloud, or might appear grayed out. This can occur if your computer is not authorized to play that content. Authorize your computer, then manually update iTunes Match. To find out what Apple ID your computer needs to be authorized with to play a specific song, follow the steps below:

    1. Open iTunes.
    2. Locate and select the song that you want to play in your iTunes library.
    3. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose File > Get Info.
    4. In the Summary tab, find the Account Name field in the right column. Write it down. 
    5. Click OK.
    6. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose Store > Authorize this Computer.
    7. Type in the account name from the Summary field and enter its password. Click Authorize.
    8. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose Store > Update iTunes Match.

     

    Ciao.

  • by onebigclam,

    onebigclam onebigclam Aug 27, 2015 4:24 PM in response to Jason L
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 27, 2015 4:24 PM in response to Jason L

    Thank you, Jason.  I may not have given you enough information.  The songs that are greyed out are greyed out only on the playlists.  They appear normally and play just fine from "my music."   And I checked iTunes match and it appears to be fine (I can only see that in my account information - there was not an "update  iTunes match" option in the store tab)(step 8 in your email).  onebigclam

  • by johnpcaruso,Helpful

    johnpcaruso johnpcaruso Aug 28, 2015 7:05 AM in response to onebigclam
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 28, 2015 7:05 AM in response to onebigclam

    I recently had a similar problem. I had songs in a playlist which were greyed out on my Mac but which were perfectly fine on my iPhone. I tried all the standard fixes: closing iTunes and reopening, logging out then back in, turning off match and turning it back on, rebooting my computer...nothing worked. I called support and though they were very pleasant, they couldn't figure out a solution. After about 45 minutes, the representative was going to transfer me to Mac support (I called iTunes support), but I didn't have any more time to spend. They set up a call back for the next morning.

     

    Then, later that night while trying to gather any more information which might be useful, I blindly stumbled upon a solution:

     

    I opened my iTunes library and went to "My Music." Then I selected the "Songs" view from the drop down menu at the top right. This gave me the long list of individual songs. I went to one of the songs which was greyed out and noticed the little check box along the far left column wasn't check. I then found that every other song which had been greyed out wasn't checked, either. Once I put the check mark in the box, the problem was solved.

     

    I still have no idea how those songs ended up unchecked, or what the relationship between them was, but since then I haven't had any problems.

     

    I hope this helps!

  • by onebigclam,Solvedanswer

    onebigclam onebigclam Aug 28, 2015 4:39 PM in response to johnpcaruso
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 28, 2015 4:39 PM in response to johnpcaruso

    THANK YOU JOHNP!

    So I went and played around trying to select all so I could check all - which I didn't figure out (but didn't spend much time on) - then changed column selections, then checked one of the songs on the playlist (but not all).  Somehow, after that, the whole playlist was fine.  Thanks so much.  This is really important because I needed to burn one of the greatest playlists - of the summer - if not of all time.....

  • by onebigclam,

    onebigclam onebigclam Aug 29, 2015 7:41 AM in response to johnpcaruso
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 29, 2015 7:41 AM in response to johnpcaruso

    I just observed that songs in playlists are greyed out if I I am in the playlists tab, and then in the upper right I have "playlists" selected.  If I change that selection in the upper right to "songs," all is well.   Weird.  

  • by johnpcaruso,

    johnpcaruso johnpcaruso Aug 29, 2015 10:51 AM in response to onebigclam
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 29, 2015 10:51 AM in response to onebigclam

    Great! Glad it worked for you! I know how frustrating it was.