How To Use the Music App On Your Mac Without Subscribing To Apple Music

It may seem like you need to subscribe to Apple Music to use the Music app on your Mac. But you can simply ignore Apple Music in the sidebar and search results and use it with your own purchased or ripped songs. You can also disable it so it doesn't appear at all. And yes, you can still rip songs from a CD if you have an optical drive.

Comments: 17 Responses to “How To Use the Music App On Your Mac Without Subscribing To Apple Music”

    Sheldon
    4 weeks ago

    Thanks bunches

    Brian Cowan
    3 weeks ago

    Like to understand how to download music to a UBS

    3 weeks ago

    Brian: Do you mean a "USB" as in a USB Flash Drive? You can just drag and drop songs from the Songs list (or a Playlist) in the Music app to a location in the Finder.

    Forrest
    3 weeks ago

    Perfect! Thank you! I have spent hours, days, months...adding our large CD music collection. This article encourages me to continue on with this project and not get sidelined by my Apple Music Subscription.

    Joyce Hann
    3 weeks ago

    Great! Will you clarify how to preserve the imported music through subsequent OS updated? I have lost content in the past. Thanks!

    3 weeks ago

    Joyce: You shouldn't need to do anything. Just updating the operating system shouldn't change any of your data. Not sure what happened with that past incident, sorry.

    Sally Mellick
    3 weeks ago

    I had to subscribe to Apple Music last time I got a new Mac so I could get my music onto my new Mac with my Playlists etc. is that still the case, or is there an easy way to transfer my music to my new Mac?

    3 weeks ago

    Sally: You didn't need to use Apple Music for that. First, there is the much cheaper iTunes Match for syncing all of your ripped/purchased music to all of your devices. But you don't even need that for a one-time transfer. Just use Migration Assistant or being the whole Music library over manually.

    Julie
    3 weeks ago

    Thank you so much. Been trying to figure this out for years!

    Zaph Mann
    3 weeks ago

    I use the Music app extensively as a Music manager and DJ - There are other functions that Ar euseful - for instance the search [TOP LEFT] is not the same as the search if you use the little magnifier (click top right - or option-command-f) - this leaves the results in whatever view you had (like list view) - this works in any folder or playlist and for your whole library if you select "songs" first

    Zaph Mann
    3 weeks ago

    You can also control the view so it is much like it was in itunes... view options for each playlist or folder etc... can be set from the menu "view" (show view options + select "view as songs" uncheck show artwork and select the columns you'd like. You can also access this from the tiny pull down menu next to the spyglass (top right)

    Carol Cramp
    3 weeks ago

    Thank you! Once you have it on your Mac will you also be able to see it (& play it ) on your phone & iPad?
    Carol

    3 weeks ago

    Carol: Depends. You have Apple Music that does this, but iTunes Match is a cheaper option if you just want to use your own purchased and ripped music. And then you have the same syncing options that have been around since iTunes and the first iPods.

    Greg Parry
    3 weeks ago

    Would appreciate a vid on how to get songs (legally purchased) from my iPhone to the Mac - instructions on Apple Support are not always clear to follow. Many thanks

    3 weeks ago

    Greg: Purchased where? The iTunes Store? You wouldn't move them from iPhone to Mac, you would just download them directly to your Mac. Go to Account, Purchased.

    Judith Glover
    3 weeks ago

    This should be on TV as a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. I wasted 3 years of subscription money before I stumbled across a way to avoid Apple Music.

    Michael Nohe
    3 weeks ago

    Thanks, Gary. Very helpful.

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