Find out of music in your library has been taken down by Apple. Image: Public Domain/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac




Songs disappear from Apple Music all the time due to licensing problems or artists doing controversial things. Spotify found itself caught up in similar situation in 2022, losing Neil Young’s discography in a protest of the streaming service’s association with podcaster Joe Rogan. Luckily, there’s a way you can find out if any songs in your library have been removed from Apple Music behind your back.
If you own a Mac, you can quickly find out by building a special Smart Playlist. I’ll show you how.
How to find songs removed from your Apple Music library
1. Sign into Apple Music on the Mac
First you need to sign in to Apple Music. Check to see if your name appears here.Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
You can’t create or edit smart playlists on an iPhone without using the Shortcuts app, so you’ll need access to a Mac. If you rarely open the Music app on your Mac, you should double-check that you’re signed in. Open Music and click on the Account menu. If your name shows up at the top, you’re good! Otherwise, click Sign In and enter your Apple Account and password.
2. Create a Smart Playlist to track songs removed from Apple Music
Create a smart playlist using these criteria.Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Next you need to create a Smart Playlist, which will automatically organize songs for you. In the menu bar, click File > New > Smart Playlist or hit Option-Command-N (⌥⌘N).
Then, change the first dropdown menu that says “Artist” to Cloud Status. Set the third dropdown menu that says “Matched” to No Longer Available. Leave “Match for the following rule” and “Live updating” checked. Click OK.
You might want to give the playlist a name, like “Songs removed from Apple Music” or “No Longer Available.” Do so by clicking the pencil icon and typing in the name of your new Smart Playlist that will keep track of songs removed from Apple Music.
3. Look up missing music elsewhere
iTunes Music Store: This thing still exists?Screenshot: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
If a bunch of songs show up in your new playlist, you have a few paths forward if you want to hear any of the songs removed from Apple Music.
Click the ⋯ menu next to a song and click Show in iTunes Store. You may be able to purchase the missing music to keep playing it. The advantage here is that music you buy on iTunes is still available in the very same Music app with the rest of your library. And it won’t disappear due to a controversy or a record deal gone bad.
If you happen to somehow acquire MP3 files of the music, you can click-and-drag them into the Music app. Click Recently Added in the sidebar. Click the ⋯ button on the album and click Get Info to fill in missing information like album title, album artwork, year, genre, etc., if it isn’t there. If the song titles are missing, too, you’ll need to click into the album and Get Info on each song to fill in the name. Songs you upload here, and all of your edits, will sync across your music library.
Other streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music may have the missing music available.
No streaming service has a perfect listing of all music that exists — you likely will contend with this problem no matter which one you sign up for. Apple Music, at least, makes it easy to find out if this has happened to you and offers a couple of workarounds.
We originally published this post on how to find out if any of your favorite songs have been removed from Apple Music on August 14, 2024. We updated the information.