How do I play music from iCloud?

What is iCloud Music Library?

iCloud Music Library is Apple’s service that allows you to access your personal music collection across all your Apple devices. It works by “matching” the songs in your library to songs available in the iTunes catalog. Any songs that can’t be matched are uploaded and stored in iCloud.

The main benefit of iCloud Music Library is that it lets you stream your music from iCloud rather than storing it locally on each device. This saves storage space while still giving you access to your full collection on all your devices. Any new music you add on one device will automatically download to your other devices with iCloud Music Library enabled.

iCloud Music Library stores up to 100,000 songs with a limit of 250MB per matched song. All matched and uploaded songs don’t count against your iCloud storage quota. Only music purchases from iTunes Store, Apple Music, and voice memos count against your storage.

Requirements for Using iCloud Music Library

To use iCloud Music Library, you need the following:

• An Apple ID – This is required to access iCloud services like iCloud Music Library (https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/manage-your-apple-id-mm2b6e7808/icloud).
• iOS device, Mac, or PC running latest OS version – Your devices need to be updated to the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or Windows version to use iCloud Music Library features (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204926).
• iTunes Match or Apple Music subscription – You need an active subscription to Apple’s iTunes Match ($24.99/year) or Apple Music ($9.99/month) services to access the full iCloud Music Library (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204962).

With these basics covered, you can start enjoying your music library across all your devices. iCloud Music Library automatically stores your music collection and makes it available on demand.

Enable iCloud Music Library

To enable iCloud Music Library on an iOS device, open Settings and tap Music. Then toggle on iCloud Music Library. This will upload your music library from the device to iCloud and make it available across your other devices.

To enable iCloud Music Library on a Mac, open iTunes preferences and go to the General tab. Check the box for “iCloud Music Library” under Show Apple Music. This will sync your iTunes music to iCloud so you can access it on your other devices (Source).

Add Your Music to iCloud

Once you’ve turned on iCloud Music Library, you can add music to your library from any device connected to the service. Here are the steps to add music on your iPhone or iPad:

First, make sure you have the latest versions of macOS and iOS installed on your devices. This allows you to access the full features of iCloud Music Library.

Next, open the Music app on your iPhone or iPad. Tap on the Library tab at the bottom, then tap “Add Music” at the top of the screen.

You will then see a list of all your songs that aren’t already in iCloud. Simply tap the plus icon next to each song or album you want to add.

The selected music will begin uploading and syncing across all your devices connected to iCloud Music Library. You can now access it from any device where you are logged into your Apple ID!

Adding music on a Mac is similar – open the Music app, go to the Library section, and drag songs directly into your iCloud Music Library. The upload process occurs automatically.

Stream Music from iCloud

One of the key features of iCloud Music Library is the ability to stream your music from the cloud. This allows you to listen to any song in your library without taking up storage space on your device. Here’s how to stream music from iCloud:

Open the Music app on your iOS device, Mac, or PC. If you have an Apple TV or HomePod, open the Music app on an iOS device first to enable streaming.

Tap on a song, album, playlist, or other item to begin streaming it. The music will start playing instantly from iCloud without having to download it first. This works for any content you’ve added to your iCloud Music Library.

Streaming music from iCloud allows you to access your full music collection from any device. As long as you have an internet connection, you can play any song or album on demand, making it easy to listen to your favorite tunes no matter where you are.

Download Music for Offline Play

One of the key benefits of iCloud Music Library is being able to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. Here’s how to download music from iCloud for offline access on your iPhone:

Open the Music app and find a song, album or playlist you want to download. Tap the More button (the three dots) next to the song, album or playlist name. This will open a menu. Select “Make Available Offline.”

The song, album or playlist will now download to your device so you can listen offline. You’ll see a download icon next to items that are downloading or downloaded for offline listening.

According to Apple’s iPhone user guide, songs that you download will stay on your device until you delete them. So you don’t need to worry about managing the downloads unless you want to remove some for storage space.

Downloaded music is accessible in the Library section of the Music app when in offline mode with no internet connection. This allows you to listen to songs, albums and playlists from iCloud even when you can’t stream them.

Listen to Music on Non-Apple Devices

Apple makes it possible to access your iCloud Music Library even if you don’t have an Apple device. Here’s how:

Windows PC

The iTunes app for Windows allows you to access your full iCloud Music Library on a Windows PC. Simply download and install the latest version of iTunes from Apple’s support page, then sign in with the same Apple ID used for your iCloud Music Library. iTunes will automatically sync your cloud library for streaming or downloading.

Android

Unfortunately there is no direct way to stream iCloud music on an Android device. However, you can upload your music files manually from a computer to Google Play Music for access on Android devices. While not as seamless as iCloud, this allows you to listen to your music library anywhere.

Share Music from iCloud

One of the great benefits of storing your music library in iCloud is the ability to easily share songs and playlists with others. You have a couple different options for sharing your iCloud music library:

Create shared playlists to share music with others – In the Music app, you can create playlists and choose to share them publicly or with specific people. Public playlists allow anyone with the link to listen, while private playlists only allow people you invite. This makes it easy to share collections of songs with friends, family, or followers.

Family Sharing allows access to same iCloud library – If you have Family Sharing enabled, up to 6 family members can share access to the same iCloud Music library, Apple Music subscription, and individually purchased music. Family members can all stream from the shared library without having to pay for multiple subscriptions.

So whether creating collaborative playlists or sharing access through Family Sharing, iCloud Music Library provides seamless options for accessing your music collection across people and devices. Just make sure you are comfortable sharing any explicit content before opening up your library to others!

Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter issues using iCloud Music Library, there are some troubleshooting steps you can take:

First, make sure your devices are updated to the latest software versions. Running outdated software can lead to bugs and glitches with iCloud Music Library. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to download the newest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS updates.

Check that you have a stable internet connection on your devices. iCloud Music relies on having connectivity to stream your music library. Connect your device to a different Wi-Fi network or switch to cellular data to test if that fixes connection problems.

Restarting your device can often resolve temporary glitches. Turn your device completely off, wait 30 seconds, then turn it back on. This will reload the operating system and connectivity services.

As a last resort, you can disable and re-enable iCloud Music Library in your Apple Music settings. This forces your library to re-sync from the cloud and your Apple Music account. Just toggle the setting off, wait a few minutes, then toggle it on again.

Summary

iCloud Music Library allows you to access your music collection across all your Apple devices. By enabling iCloud Music Library, you can stream or download any song in your library, whether you purchased it from iTunes or added it yourself.

A key benefit of iCloud Music Library is the ability to listen to your music online or offline. When you have an internet connection, you can stream any song over cellular data or WiFi. For offline playback, simply download songs, albums, or playlists directly onto your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or PC.

In addition, iCloud Music Library makes sharing music with family and friends seamless. You can collaborate on shared playlists, so anyone in your Family Sharing group can enjoy your music library. With an Apple Music subscription, you can even share audio messages showcasing 30-second song clips.

Overall, iCloud Music Library syncs your entire music collection across devices, enables online and offline listening, and allows easy sharing – giving you access to your music anywhere.