Make Apple Music play the right version of a song!
January 14, 2017 4:53 PM   Subscribe

Apple Music, or iCloud Music Library, or whatever, won't always play or show the correct version of the song or album I want to listen to. How can I get it to play the correct version?

I have an Apple Music subscription and iCloud music library enabled.

For example I have a painstakingly recorded-from-vinyl Bowie bootleg, Live from Nassau Coliseum** in my iTunes collection, but when I choose it through the Apple Music app it just plays whatever version it deems most convenient, instead of mine.

On another album that had this problem, I renamed the track on the laptop, thinking that if Apple Music couldn't find a matching track name it would play my version, but no dice. Still the wrong version.

**Yes I am aware that Apple Music has the correct (and probably better quality) tracks under the Station to Station reissue but this is just an example.
posted by hafehd to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)
 
This is 100% impossible as far as I can tell. iCloud Music Library doesn't expose any distinction between your file and Apple Music's version, and in fact if you've enabled it on your phone you'll probably notice that you are actually barred from putting files directly on your phone, since instead they get synced to your iCloud Music Library and made accessible that way. This totally sucks in cases like yours where it falsely decides that your version is the same as their version when it's not, and in my experience the absolute only way to work around this is just to have a second music app that you keep the local files in that you specifically want. I use foobar2000 on iOS for that. It's a piece of shit experience all around, really.
posted by invitapriore at 7:05 PM on January 14, 2017


This has happened to me. I've managed to solve it by 3D-touching* on the song in question on my iPhone, tapping "Remove", and then "Delete from Library". This will delete it from your phone, but your original file will still be on your computer. Then, go to iTunes on your Mac or PC, find that song (it should still be there), right click on it, and add it back to your iCloud music library.

I've had success with a couple of songs this way.

* This might need to be a long-press if you're using a phone that doesn't support 3D touch.
posted by good in a vacuum at 8:45 PM on January 14, 2017


I had that problem when I wanted to upload the original CD of Def Leppard's Hysteria but it kept matching it to the live versions of the songs. I found this workaround at /r/apple, and it worked:

"Delete the track that's problematic, import it again, and before Match starts to scan it, edit its title (just that is enough). It will then upload instead of matching, and after uploading you can rename it back."
posted by Lucinda at 11:07 PM on January 14, 2017


This is exactly why I gave up on iCloud Music Library and iTunes Match, opting to just sync music over USB like an animal.
posted by SansPoint at 5:04 PM on January 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


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