Smart Playlists referencing other playlists and iCloud Music Library still an issue

I have been struggling with this exact same issue. For years (prior to Apple Music) I have relied on smart playlists referencing other smart playlists to aggregate my music and ensure all songs (i have thousands) stay in constant rotation through meticulous organization of my library and constant updates to song ratings. Since Apple Music, and the new iTunes updates, I have lost this feature, and been reduced to manually copying songs from all of my smart playlists into a new “dumb” playlist. Obviously, this is very laborious, and not ideal.

However, I have recently found a work-around that solves my issue! Using the free app “Workflow”

Workflow by Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workflow/id915249334?mt=8

I was able to create a workflow that does this work automatically. Now I simply press a button, and my smart playlists are aggregated, and added to “Up Next” in the Music app, and it starts playing. This is a HUGE improvement for my listening habits.

Here is a quick shot of one of the Workflows I’ve created to do the music management. I hope you find this helpful!