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Contributor I
May 28, 2024 1:26 PM UTC

Can't listen to my own music on Apple Music anymore

According to the Sonos ‘Support’ team, I am the only customer they have that has the following issue…

Since the recent App update, I was unable to access Apple Music and had to ‘reauthorize’ this. Tried, failed, reported, advised, tried, failed etc. Uninstalled, reinstalled, repeat etc

I was told that I could only access Apple Music if I had a paid monthly subscription, which would seem to me to be an illegal practice given I have a fully owned local library of 26,000 songs stored on Apple Music and indeed I can listen to that content on my Mac, iPhone, in my car etc.

After testing that theory, it was indeed correct. Only by restarting a monthly subscription to Apple Music would it get past the Sonos gateway, which I don’t require as I subscribe to Spotify.

On closer investigation, access to Apple Music through Sonos was then only limited to a minority of my library and playlists. Most tracks are ‘greyed out’ and can’t be accessed. Not just tracks I’d burned but also ones I’d paid for and downloaded from Apple…

On reporting this to Sonos ‘Support’, I have been given the same repeated advice to ‘reauthorize’ my Apple Music service and informed that there’s no problem at Sonos with this issue and I’m the only person they’ve spoken with that’s raised it.

Which all sounds great until you spend a nano-second online reading multiple negative reviews and adverse posts, including on their own Sonos Community.

I genuinely have no idea why Sonos are adopting this strategy of denial and dismissive customer service. Unless they are perversely trying to internally sabotage their own brand and value. Truly awful and utterly perplexing. 

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20 replies

Ken_Griffiths
Jul 5, 2024 8:03 PM UTC

I’m not sure if this is the case, but don’t you need an Apple iTunes ‘match’ (annual-only) subscription in place to play your own iCloud matched music on other 3rd-party devices? See these links…

 

 

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Ken_Griffiths
Jul 5, 2024 8:09 PM UTC

‘iTunes Match’ is mentioned in this Sonos Support link too…

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/missing-tracks-or-albums-in-sonos-music-library

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Lyricist I
Jul 5, 2024 8:31 PM UTC

Yes, I have both Apple Music and iTunes Match subscriptions.   That’s what I don’t understand.  How can they stop me from playing my own music that I essentially pay to sync with them? 

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Ken_Griffiths
Jul 5, 2024 8:59 PM UTC

Yes, I have both Apple Music and iTunes Match subscriptions.   That’s what I don’t understand.  How can they stop me from playing my own music that I essentially pay to sync with them? 

I completely agree with you. 👍

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Lyricist I
Jul 5, 2024 9:30 PM UTC

I read through the Terms of Use for Apple Music and iCloud Music Library (I’m a lawyer) and didn’t see anything about them carving out our owned music.  They do have wiggle language regarding third party apps, which I presume is how they classify Sonos.  Here’s a link for feedback to Apple Music.  Not sure it will constitute a more formal complaint but it is something.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-music.html

 

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OrwellAuthor
Contributor I
Jul 6, 2024 8:03 AM UTC

I don’t have iTunes Match - and why Apple still have anything branded iTunes years after migrating to Apple Music is only likely to create confusion amongst wider users?

My library has always been in the same place, I’ve never synced my library (and am I glad about that now!) and other than CDs burned onto my Mac, I’ve only ever purchased content from Apple, nobody else.

I keep returning to the same point that life was good until 6 weeks ago…but then a switch was flicked!!

I’ve sent my complaint initially to feedback@apple.com and also to media.help@apple.com though honestly I’m not holding out for a positive outcome…

More likely, I’ll take this opportunity (?) to update my speakers, ditch Sonos (who are not interested in lobbying Apple to see common sense) and just stream content to speakers through Airplay or direct from Spotify, whose interface and new content suggestions are much better than Apple for the genres I like.

Not ideal, but that’s planet earth in 2024 and continually swimming through treacle with too many consumer facing businesses where you can’t speak with anyone with actual control or authority gets tiring and is typically pointless.

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Ken_Griffiths
Jul 6, 2024 11:05 AM UTC

iTunes Match has been around for years even before the Apple Music App on iOS - in the early days it allowed the early DRM protected purchases from Apple to be swapped out for DRM free copies and those could all be played then on your mobile phones and tablets. I recall swapping all my purchased music by deleting it locally on my PC (in iTunes) and then re-downloading it with an iTunes Match subscription in place and its since allowed my tracks to work everywhere, even on Sonos. I haven’t seen any recent changes to be perfectly honest - my music library seems to be okay.

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OrwellAuthor
Contributor I
Jul 6, 2024 11:07 AM UTC

Thanks for clarifying that Ken, good to know.

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Lyricist II
Aug 19, 2024 2:45 AM UTC

Same problem!!! I really feel let down by Sonos!!!!

 

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Lyricist II
Aug 19, 2024 2:48 AM UTC

I can’t play .mp3 files on Sonos from my mac either. 

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