I can't create Apple Music playlists or add elements to my library
Thomas
Updated
APPLE MUSIC
Three settings decide whether Apple accepts your music
When a transfer to Apple Music ends on an error or creates nothing, the cause is almost always on the Apple side, and you can check it in two minutes.
Check these three first
Apple only lets an outside app write to your library when all three are true.
A paid Apple Music subscription, and an active one. A plan on hold, expired or shared through a Family you have just joined does not count yet, and Apple can take a few days to treat a new Family member as active.
Sync Library turned on, in the Music app or in iTunes. This is the switch that gives your library an existence outside your device, and Apple explains where to find it. Without it, there is nothing for us to write into.
The right Apple Account. Many people hold two, and the one carrying the subscription is not always the main iCloud one. The check takes five seconds: once connected, Soundiiz should list the playlists you already have. If that list is empty or unfamiliar, you signed in with the other account.
Reading works, writing does not
Apple lets us read your library with far fewer conditions than it lets us write to it. Seeing your playlists in Soundiiz therefore proves the connection, not that a transfer will go through.
If all three are already fine
Three more causes come up regularly, and Apple reports them the same way, with a refusal and no detail.
Apple is having a bad day. The giveaway is that it fails on everything at once, on playlists that went through last week, and it clears up on its own. Waiting a few hours and running the transfer again is the whole fix.
The title upsets Apple. Some characters and some very long names come back refused, with no explanation of which one was at fault. Renaming the playlist to something short and plain, then transferring again, settles it.
The action itself is closed to us. Apple accepts additions and refuses every removal: renaming a playlist, deleting one, taking tracks out of it, dropping a favorite track, album or artist all come back as error 104 however well your account is set up.
A new Apple Music playlist is always private
Apple creates it that way and offers no switch to an outside app. Making it public is done in the Music app, on the playlist itself, and only by you.
Two neighbouring problems
If Soundiiz says the transfer went well but nothing shows up on your side, the playlist does exist and your app has not caught up. That case is covered by transferred music not showing in Apple Music.
And if the trouble starts earlier, with the Apple window that stays blank or sends you back without connecting, go to connecting your Apple Music account instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
I just joined a Family plan and it still fails
Give it a few days. Apple takes its time to consider a new Family member as an active subscriber, and until then it turns down anything written to that library. Nothing on the Soundiiz side changes that.
Do I need the Apple Music app on my device?
Not for the transfer itself, but Sync Library is only reachable from the Music app or from iTunes, so you need one of them at least once to turn it on.
Can I transfer without filling my library?
Yes. Apple controls this with a setting called Add Playlist Songs. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings › Apps › Music, then turn Add Playlist Songs off. The tracks will stay in the playlist without being added to your library.
It worked last month, why not now?
Check the subscription first, then Sync Library. Both switch off on their own more often than you would think, after a payment that failed, a device reset, or a sign-in on another Apple Account.
Checked all three and still stuck?
Tell us the name of the playlist you tried and roughly when, and we will look at what Apple answered us on your account.
