In short: If Apple Music is not adding to a playlist, disable the “Add Playlist Songs” feature. This should solve the issue. A song won’t be added to your library when you add it to a playlist.
When you add a song to a playlist, you’ll see the “Added to Playlist” popup on the screen. However, when you open the playlist, you don’t see the song you’ve just added.
Here are some workarounds you should try:
Add the song to the library first then to a playlist
There’s a theory regarding Apple Music where you need to add the song to the library first before you can add it to a playlist. You can try adding a song to your library first.
There was a time when I couldn’t see the “Add to a Playlist” button when I long-pressed a song on Apple Music. The only option available was “Add to Library”.
Once I’ve added the song to the library, then I can add it to a playlist.
However, Apple Music playlists are not a subset of the music in your library. They are a convenient way to access music you want to hear but don’t want in your library.
In fact, I have some of the music in my library added to my playlists. On the other hand, I have hundreds of songs in playlists that are not in my library.
However, adding a song to a playlist does not add it to your library, and it definitely matters. If you have the same opinion as me, then the next troubleshooting tip is for you.
Disable the “Add Playlist Songs” setting
When you add a song to a playlist, you’ll see the “Added to Playlist” popup on the screen. However, when you open the playlist, you don’t see the song you’ve just added.
The song is in your Apple Music library, but not on the playlist.
It’s been a known issue on Apple Music where people need to add a song to a playlist twice (the song doesn’t appear on the playlist unless it’s added again).
Basically, every time you add a song to a playlist, you have to make sure it’s there. If the song isn’t there, you need to add the song again, go back to the playlist, and delete the duplicate.
Sounds familiar?
The solution is to disable the “Add Playlist Songs” setting on iPhone and iPad. On a MacBook, the setting is labeled “Add songs to Library when adding to playlists”.
Here’s how to disable the “Add Playlist Songs” feature on iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Music.
- Tap on Add Playlist Songs to disable the feature.
Here’s how to disable the “Add Playlist Songs” feature on Mac:
- Open the Music app.
- Click Music from the top menu bar.
- Select the Advanced tab.
- Uncheck the box next to Add songs to Library when adding to playlists.
- Click OK.
If you’re using iTunes on macOS Mojave and earlier, go to iTunes Preferences > General and uncheck the Add songs to Library when adding to playlists.
When this setting is disabled, songs won’t be added to your library when you add them to a playlist. As a result, there won’t be a double entry every time you add a song to a playlist.
Your library and playlists are two different things. With this setting disabled, songs you add to a playlist from the Apple Music catalog won’t be automatically added to your library.
For example, if you create a playlist for “holiday music” you can add songs to that playlist, but the songs won’t play when you listen to your library on shuffle mode.
I hope this helps. It requires some extra effort from your end but it works if you care more about having organized playlists on Apple Music than your music library.
Navigate to the song on the playlist using Mac
If you use Apple Music on several devices (like both on iPhone and Mac, for example), you can use the Apple Music app on your MacBook to locate a specific song on a playlist.
To do this, first, make sure Sync Library is enabled on all your devices.
Open the Music app on your Mac, then click Songs in the sidebar. Control-click the song, then choose Show in Playlist. You should see which playlists a song has been added to.
Unfortunately, you can’t see which playlists a song is in on an iPhone or an iPad, so this workaround only works if you use the Apple Music app on a MacBook.
Once you locate the song, you’ll know it’s been added to the playlist. Make sure you give the app some time to sync, and the song should also be added to the playlist on your iPhone.
Reset your device and reinstall Apple Music
When you add a song to a playlist, you should see the “Added to Playlist” popup on the screen. However, sometimes you won’t get the message after adding a song to a playlist.
When this happens, you should restart your device and reinstall Apple Music.
Keep in mind that reinstalling the Apple Music app will clear the cached files and remove all the downloaded songs on your device, which is why it works to fix certain issues.
Here’s how to reinstall Apple Music:
- Long-tap on the Apple Music icon on your iPhone.
- Tap on Remove App from the list of options.
- Tap on Delete App to uninstall the app.
- Open the App Store and download Apple Music.
After reinstalling the app, restart your device and check whether you can add songs to a playlist or not. Often, this simple troubleshooting step can get the job done.
This happens to me sometimes. Just clear the app and try doing it again. And make sure you have created your profile in Apple Music. Sometimes, that could also be the issue.
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