Music - Missing Features, Bugs, Issues & Troubleshooting

[ErikGrim]

This thread is for Music in Monterey only. Looking for Ventura?

macOS 12 Monterey 12.5 - Music 1.2.4.7
Revision history:

Spoiler

macOS 12 Monterey 12.5b2 - Music 1.2.4.?
macOS 12 Monterey 12.5b1 - Music 1.2.4.5
macOS 12 Monterey 12.4b4/RC - Music 1.2.4.3
macOS 12 Monterey 12.4b3 - Music 1.2.4.2
macOS 12 Monterey 12.4b1/12.4b2 - Music 1.2.4.1
macOS 12 Monterey 12.3b4/b5/RC - Music 1.2.3.56
macOS 12 Monterey 12.3b3 - Music 1.2.3.53
macOS 12 Monterey 12.3b2 - Music 1.2.3.47
macOS 12 Monterey 12.3b1 - Music 1.2.3.36
macOS 12 Monterey 12.2 - Music 1.2.2.40
macOS 12 Monterey 12.2b2 - Music 1.2.2.37
macOS 12 Monterey 12.2b1 - Music 1.2.2.23
macOS 12 Monterey 12.1 - Music 1.2.1.40
macOS 12 Monterey 12.1b4 - Music 1.2.1.40
macOS 12 Monterey 12.1b3 - Music 1.2.1.39
macOS 12 Monterey 12.1b2 - Music 1.2.1.29
macOS 12 Monterey 12.1b1 - Music 1.2.1.16
macOS 12 Monterey b9, b10 & 12.0.1 - Music 1.2.0.273
macOS 12 Monterey b8 - Music 1.2.0.262
macOS 12 Monterey b7 - Music 1.2.0.249
macOS 12 Monterey b6 - Music 1.2.0.183
macOS 12 Monterey b5 - Music 1.2.0.170
macOS 12 Monterey b4 - Music 1.2.0.158
macOS 12 Monterey b3 - Music 1.2.0.146
macOS 12 Monterey b2 - Music 1.2.0.130
macOS 12 Monterey b1 - Music 1.2.0.103
Big Sur 11.5 - Music 1.1.5.74
Catalina 10.15.5 - Music 1.0.5.14

Missing Features

1. Can't edit/add "work and movement" for a single track (for example Classical Music Tracks): In the get info window of each track in iTunes you could edits and display woking names and Movement # and toggle from song name to work name details - this no longer works in Monterey / Music - see post 123 for more details
2. No Longer can disable viewing "Apple Music" in left Side Bar: as of Monterey you cannot disable viewing "Apple Music" at the top of the left side bar - a waste of screen if you are not subscribed to monthly subscription of "Apple Music"
3. "Search Filter Field" for Local Library "Songs / Column View" and "Playlists" is hidden -> must manually invoke "Show Filter Field" (menu < view< Show Filter Field (short cut = cmd + alt + F ) - (Still does not persist between switching playlists Music 1.2.2.40 )
4. Album/song view: Can't view albums in place. Music has a separate page for every album. Artist view can view them in a list.
5. No option for setting smaller grid size in album view. - previously in iTunes you could have 13 albums on each row, in Music limited to only 5 per row, makes scrolling through library tedious.
6. Now Playing - Can't view a bigger version of the album art from Now playing. (previously in iTunes you could cmd + click to open a bigger artwork. This was separate from the mini player which wouldn't resize quite large and won't open in iTunes full screen) - alternative is ctrl + click for menu and select "Show Album In Library"
7. Mini Player - "No Search Field" - as existed in iTunes - "History" is there, can toggle between "History" and "Playing Next" - but no search option
8. Sync Play Info - from iOS device back to Music App on Mac: Some users report that "Play Counts" do not update / sync back to Music app on Mac as was the case in iTunes - this may be an issue on the iOS side - see post 276 for more info . . .
9. Gestures missing in Apple Music - (compare to iTunes Store where gestures still work - I guess their solution was to remove gestures from the iTunes Store as well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
10. XML library is no longer automatically generated - the XML file was for "sharing info" to other apps (it can still be created via "Export Library") – missing this can cause issues for some DJ software and sound system apps like sonos etc. - creating a manual XML file can be a useful work around ( see file menu)
11. Missing Icons - iPad version of Music has icons for playlists, macOS does not
12. Playlist Rename - No way to rename playlists inline from the sidebar - work around - can be changed in the playlist header on the same screen. Possibly removed so you can double click playlists to start playing from sidebar (which still doesn't line up with how Finder works)
13. Artwork for new music - Ripping old CD's into "Music" Still does not always add "Non Apple" Artwork - may require manually adding artwork
14. No Visual Feedback When Adding Songs to Queue - There's no indication that a song has been added to Up Next Queue at all. Previously there was an animation showing the song being added, and the glyph would glow blue indicating that there were upcoming songs. Both of these indicators have been removed.
15. Importing tracks progress (from CD or Finder) is no longer showing

Click Spoiler to un-hide Features that are no longer missing

Spoiler

[*]Internet radio (old style streaming stations) - see apple support info - alternative = use a stand alone app such as "MyTuner". Streaming with direct URL (cmd-U) still supported.
[/LIST]

Bugs

1. "Filter Field" Search does not persist when switching between playlists - Bug or Missing Feature ? - as mentioned above in missing features - Filter Field is the best option for searching local libraries, playlists etc. but disappears when switching to other views. Using the show lyrics icon at the top right also removes the Filter fields and wipes out any search text - losing the entry and requires re-opeing the "filter fileld" and re-entering the text again.
2. Main Search Box defaults to Apple Music - when using the main search box (left / top) to search "local library" search defaults / displays results on Apple Music even when there is already purchased music in local library.
3. Main Search Box disappears - The search field, being part of the sidebar, disappears up with the scroll making it useless for searching playlists lower down on the list
4. Artwork Handling and Bugs - Artwork handling is just terrible. They just don't show up for a lot of songs — sometimes it happens in the Songs view, sometimes in the Album view that pops up when Cmd+L, sometimes in the mini player up top. All the artworks are like 1800px max (usually 1400px)
5. Playlist/albums scroll positions aren't retained if you switch away from them. Album now retains position as of 1.0.2.37. Playlists DO NOT.
6. After a restart of the app the sorting changes from "Album by Artist/Year" to "Album" in smart playlists.
7. Some of the advanced playback features (for example Sound Check, Equalizer settings, Volume Adjust and Start/Stop) are not working when AirPlay playback is enabled.
8. On a wired (Ethernet) connection with WiFi off, try selecting an AirPlay output in Music. The primary network connection will immediately drop out and take some time to reestablish itself. Any network traffic (e-mail, file transfers, etc.) will be interrupted. (Holdover bug from iTunes)
9. Listen Now doesn't load (new in 1.1.0.234) loads very slowly / does not load for some / crashes Music for some (b4)
10. Dragging tracks into a playlist from Finder to the top, or anywhere within a playlist, adds the tracks to the bottom of a playlist instead
11. Returning to a song you are playing in the main library (Songs) with cmd-L is now impossible as it displays it as part of an album always - even if it is not part of an album / the only song. Previously would return to the place in the list.
12. Songs that are matched, but have been removed from the iTunes Store library for whatever reason (usually older compilations that have had songs taken off them when licensing has expired) will get stuck on download and cause the entire download queue to stop until they are manually stopped. These songs can not be removed from the library with Music. A workaround is to search for the song in Music on an iOS device and remove it there.
13. Moving tracks in synced playlist will often put the track right back where you moved it from
14. Mini M1 with Apple Magic Mouse. Start Music and the mouse is unresponsive for about a minute
15. Quitting while downloading tracks will cause a beachball and take a long time
16. Turning on AirPlay network cuts off ALL audio, including the intended streaming.
17. Not persisting between launches:
    1. Playlist folder states
    2. If you were in a playlist inside a folder prior to quitting, Music will open up blank with no library or playlist selected
18. Crossfade does not work if Lossless playback is enabled
19. Mini Player does not retract to its original location gracefully when a lyric/playlist pane is toggled, when initiated from a lower section of the screen.
20. Music window does not immediately receive focus when clicked. There is a noticeable delay around half second before the window gets the focus.

Click Spoiler to un-hide fixed bugs

Spoiler

• Column widths in playlists now persists between launches
• When switching between Get Info windows, the selected field does not persist
• "Show Artwork" in View < "Show View Options" CMD+J - Disabling "Show artwork" in Column/Song view does not persist between launches - re-appears at next launch and often displays generic icons - why show artwork if the icon is generic - waste of screen space - Fixed in Music Version 1.1.6.12
• Rating stars in list view are not retina! How? Fixed in 1.2.0.146
• Display Bar Missing (affected by language selection) - Some "French" language users report that Music can crash (mini player) and "top bar / player is blank" in album view - see screen shot post 194 - workaround = switch APP language back to English - check - then back to "french language" - see screen shot post 213 (not reported for a while, presumably fixed)
• Inconsistency in star ratings, some are coloured and low res, some retina and non-coloured for no apparent reason:
  View attachment 1712454
• Mouse clicks in the song list view will often get stuck, fail to register, or cause brief "move" actions instead of playing tracks
• Misaligned play/pause button introduced in 1.2.0.130, bit better but still misaligned in 146. Fixed in 1.2.0.158.
• Beachball often appears when using the new search. - I can’t seem to reproduce this anymore on my 110K+ library

[*]Opening lyrics while the filter field is open will remove the filter field and any input in it. Data loss! merged with filter field line
[*]A new playlist is not created takes a long time to appear when creating from an album in Apple Music. To reproduce, click the "More" (the three dots (•••) button on an album in browsing mode of Apple Music, then select "Add to Playlist," which then provides a long list of playlists, including "New Playlist.". Takes a long time with a "Creating playlist in Library" in activitiy. Causes error 9,039. Resolved as of music 1.1.2.28
[*]Double clicking a track for the first time will sometimes skip the track
[*]Stars don't show up at all under Artist in Songs list when app is open in Dark mode.
[*]Checkboxes in Songs view are showing as checked even it's actually unchecked when selected.
[*]Cmd+L in Songs view doesn't scroll the list to show the song but instead opens a whole new view that covers up the songs list. Does nothing in full screen mode. (Works if song is playing from a different playlist)
[*]Cmd-F no longer works to activate search. (new in 1.1.0.186) Cmd-F now takes you to the Apple Music Categories page for some reason (new in 1.1.0.243)
[*]Music app will randomly stop registering double clicks on a song to play. I have to use the "Play" button when you hover over the song number. If I quit and reopen the app double clicking works for a while and then stops again.
[*]Shuffle and Repeat Icons don't work when clicked (new in 1.1.0.208)
[*]Shuffle and Repeat icons don't appear until you click Shuffle in a playlist.
[*]Random UI bugs. It will lag, sometimes flash when going between albums, and the animations are sometimes very abrupt.
[*]Playlist folders re-expand when deleting playlists.
[*]Playlist folders are always expanded when restarting the app.
[*]Genius results can’t be updated right now. An Unknown error occured (18004) (4001).
[*]The results box not appearing properly
[*]Right clicking on an item within the “Browse” and “Listen Now” content areas sometimes opens the contextual menu at a random location.
[*]When I am playing a song in the list view and then I click Controls -> Go to Current Song (cmd + L) it changes to the album view (and goes back to the song view after clicking on the back arrow). When I do the same thing playing a song from a smart playlist, it remains in the song view.
[*]Play icon is cut off

Issues

1. Filter field DOES NOT PERSIST between switching playlists.
2. Playlists do not retain view and column width settings after converting iTunes library.
3. Shuffle - Un-Shuffle Confusion - This is the difference between inactive / active state of "shuffle" and "repeat" - shuffle indicated by shuffle icon turning blue when active (not easy to notice if on or off) see post 226 shuffle info - "repeat" is a similar 3 way toggle on the right side
   
   
   
4. Back button is ugly. Redesigned again in 1.1.x.x, but still a single button on same spaced line as "Filter text"
5. Play list Header Can’t remove playlist header in Song view. This seems to be intended behaviour, which sucks. This is the same as it was in iTunes - and in Music, this is where to edit the Playlist title / name now that you can no longer edit it from the side bar
6. AppleScript / Scrobblers / Keyboard remote apps addressing “iTunes.app” no longer working. Last.fm scrobblers for Music now exist.
7. UI conventions from iOS are unwelcome, especially the slide-in lyrics / playing next panes which covers content and search bars. Slide in panes move content instead of covering it now, but only in playlist view and in full screen. Frustratingly inconsistent.
8. Loading the library can take a long time, especially after a force quit. Even on SSD.
9. Updating artist artwork takes a long time / lots of CPU.
10. Apple Music is slow to load and navigate - even on very fast connections / 2020 iMacs. – This seems to have improved significantly with 12.2.2.x but is still not as instant as you'd want it to be.
11. Font weight and size for differencing primary/secondary text are extremely minimal. Harder to read and scan - especially on non-retina screens.
12. "Show Only Downloaded Music" option is now universal. Not per playlist.
13. Songs not in two columns anymore if you have a large screen, causing excessive scrolling in Album view.
14. Transport bar only shows time elapsed/remaining when hovering.
15. Genres do not autopopulate when editing in Song view.

Troubleshooting

1. To rebuild your library from iTunes: Hold option when launching, select your old iTunes library in ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl
   1. OR: try deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Music.plist then
      1. Move your music out of the Music folder and delete everything left in it.
      2. cd ~/Library and remove any folders that have Music or iTunes in the name
      3. cd ~/Library/Caches and delete any folders with Music or iTunes in the name
      4. Reboot
      5. Put your music folders back where you had them before. You may need to Import your music again to let the Music app organize them in a way that makes sense to it
   2. OR: This Applescript will force playlist re-build from original "iTunes Music Library.xml"
      https://github.com/dimecho/iTunes-Catalina
2. Music Store can be enabled under view and in preferences.
3. Home Sharing has moved to the Sharing pane in System Preferences (Media Sharing)
4. Some sync issues for older iPods fixed by installing ItunesAccess https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/has-anyone-gotten-an-ipod-shuffle-2nd-gen-to-work.2196567/
5. Switching all your playlists (back) to song view is quicker if you add a keyboard shortcut (System Prefs -> Keyboard) to this View item:
   View attachment 870422
6. Doug Adams have started updating all his scripts for Music
7. You may need to connect the remote app manually and not with home sharing:
   open remote app => tap settings in upper right corner => add iTunes library => in the music app in your Mac: look for the remote app symbol (arrow with your iPhone name) and enter the 4 digits
8. Music always starting in full screen mode? Close Music, run
   
   defaults delete com.apple.Music
   
   in Terminal, and reopen Music (and re-set your preferences).
9. Seeing as we are stuck with 1.0.5.14 for Catalina and 1.1.x for Big Sur, your best solution is probably to just install iTunes again. Yes, this still works in Big Sur!

New welcome features:

1. New top bar View attachment 857531
2. New Listen Now screen: View attachment 926401
3. Real-time lyrics in pane, mini-player and full screen mode (1.0.4.89)
4. New Full screen mode activated from mini-player zoom button or keyboard shortcut
   
   Thanks to @Internet Enzyme for discovering and screenshots
5. 1.0.5.9 allows you to two-finger scroll the volume and track bars.
6. Selection outlines now appearing when hovering over the lyrics and upcoming buttons, however nothing yet for the play/pauses buttons which also have outlines in Podcasts.
7. Animated playlist artwork in Listen Now are now present, the same as iOS
8. Mute and full volume glyphs on the volume slider are now selectable and change colour when clicked
9. 1.1.0.186 has the iOS 14 icon
   View attachment 936556
10. You can now add descriptions to Playlists (from 1.1.2.25)
11. Apple Music backend rebuilt with native views (from 1.2.2.23)

This article is a summary of the failings of Apple Music as a whole, with suggestions of fixes.

Wiki post: everyone is welcome to add to and edit.

 

[Lvivske]

bug - when opening an album the app will focus on the 5 star rating by default and not the play buttons or album tracks, so when you hit space it doesnt pause the song, but highlights the 5-star rating a bit more forcefully for literally no reason and creating a box that shouldnt exist

missing feature - ability to go back with the back button on a mouse (like safari or the web app), or via gesture (like other apple apps)

 

[Mr. 123]

Any features that have been added back from iTunes? Like the ability to sort albums by year in playlists when in album view?

 

[ErikGrim]

Any features that have been added back from iTunes? Like the ability to sort albums by year in playlists when in album view?

Let's keep our expectations to a minimum. They just added back the ability to turn not have album covers forever in list view if you accidentally turned them on.

 

[Mr Todhunter]

It seems like a major disaster.

 

[zorinlynx]

>Internet radio (old style streaming stations) - see apple support info - alternative = use a stand alone app such as "MyTuner"

Wait, that the hell? I use this feature all the time to listen to ASF Radio and other stations. Why would they take this out? If anything I was hope they'd eventually move this feature to iOS!

 

[Ritsuka]

They removed it two years ago. The first post list all the changes since the first Music version on Catalina, it does not list the new bugs in macOS 12.

 

[zorinlynx]

They removed it two years ago. The first post list all the changes since the first Music version on Catalina, it does not list the new bugs in macOS 12.

No... they didn't?

I'm using it right now, on Big Sur. I wonder if I'm confused about what feature that is referring to. This is what I'm using; you put in a radio station URL and it adds it to your library and plays.

 

[Ritsuka]

It refers to the built-in list of radio that was available in iTunes.

 

[zorinlynx]

It refers to the built-in list of radio that was available in iTunes.

Okay, well that's a relief; I'm glad they're keeping it in.

There's plenty of software that can play those stations, but the Music app is special in that it can AirPlay to multiple older AirPlay v1 devices with audio synchronized. So I'd rather not lose Music app support to play those streams!

 

[agnusz]

Does iTunes via Retroactive still working in Monterey?

 

[Mr. 123]

Does iTunes via Retroactive still working in Monterey?

How reliable has it been to use iTunes retroactive on Big Sur and Catalina?

I am still running Mojave because I need certain iTunes features but as those features don’t seem to be showing up anytime soon in the music app maybe it’s time to try iTunes on Monterey or Big Sur.

 

[agnusz]

@Mr. 123 Absolutely reliable, it still working perfectly for me on Big Sur, that's why I wondering if it working on Monterey.

 

[Lvivske]

Retroactive iTunes stopped working for Big Sur if you are on M1, fwiw

probably is fine on monty as long as you're on intel, knock on wood

 

[agnusz]

Retroactive iTunes stopped working for Big Sur if you are on M1, fwiw

probably is fine on monty as long as you're on intel, knock on wood

Yup my Mac is on Intel, so it working great. I don't wanna rush the update so I better wait for someone to confirm it.

 

[ErikGrim]

No... they didn't?

I'm using it right now, on Big Sur. I wonder if I'm confused about what feature that is referring to. This is what I'm using; you put in a radio station URL and it adds it to your library and plays.

View attachment 1789532

Sorry, I have clarified that this is still supported in the original post now.

 

[ErikGrim]

Does iTunes via Retroactive still working in Monterey?

Yes, and I'll still be using it until I'm forced not to when I get an M series Mac :|

(Also why there has been less updates from me on the wiki post, I simply don't use Music anymore)

 

[nortonandreev]

They removed it two years ago. The first post list all the changes since the first Music version on Catalina, it does not list the new bugs in macOS 12.

The app is still very broken tho, even after two years.

 

[Mr. 123]

Yes, and I'll still be using it until I'm forced not to when I get an M series Mac :|

(Also why there has been less updates from me on the wiki post, I simply don't use Music anymore)

That is great to hear! I always stayed away from retroactive as I thought it might cause some issues with the iTunes library (which I've had for years) and iTunes Match but as it seems stable, I'll probably try updating to Big Sur or Montery, when that has been out for a while and using this method to get iTunes.

Are there any guides or threads about it?

 

[ErikGrim]

That is great to hear! I always stayed away from retroactive as I thought it might cause some issues with the iTunes library (which I've had for years) and iTunes Match but as it seems stable, I'll probably try updating to Big Sur or Montery, when that has been out for a while and using this method to get iTunes.

Are there any guides or threads about it?

It's fairly straightforward. Just install it with Retroactive. You'll miss out on any library updates since you started using Music, but you can just drag and drop in the iTunes media library to add missing songs.

Only caveat is that it won't AirPlay to HomePods as default on the Apple TV.

 

[Mr. 123]

It's fairly straightforward. Just install it with Retroactive. You'll miss out on any library updates since you started using Music, but you can just drag and drop in the iTunes media library to add missing songs.

Only caveat is that it won't AirPlay to HomePods as default on the Apple TV.

Sounds great! I don’t own any HomePod so that wouldn’t be a problem! I probably wouldn’t even open Music when upgrading and just install iTunes with Retroactive immediately.

I did read about the media keys not working with iTunes, but maybe that can be fixed in settings

 

[gazsiazasz]

Apple Wireless Keyboard A1016 pairing is not working with the new macOS.

 

[w0lf]

Apple Wireless Keyboard A1016 pairing is not working with the new macOS.

What does that have to do with the Music app?

 

[ErikGrim]

Sounds great! I don’t own any HomePod so that wouldn’t be a problem! I probably wouldn’t even open Music when upgrading and just install iTunes with Retroactive immediately.

I did read about the media keys not working with iTunes, but maybe that can be fixed in settings

Media keys work just fine here

 

[ErikGrim]

Minor setback for us iTunes holdouts: According to Reddit, matched tracks does indeed now get replaced with lossless versions - if you have lossless set in Music preferences.