Unplayable protected songs (recently purchased on iTunes, half albums...)

Hi Jo.  It may well be coincidence..... .  What makes you say the issue is a protection issue?  I don't think paying Apple for Match could help here.  Have you tried reindexing (updating) your Sonos music library (assuming that is where the songs are stored)?

To add to John's message, try updating the music library. You can also schedule automatic update of the library. If they're still greyed out, reply with a screenshot and quote any error messages that may appear. Last but not least, sending a diagnostic report can help us identify what's going on if you can reply here with the confirmation number.

While I think this might not be a copyright issue something to note: If you have actually purchased the music then it shouldn't be copy protected, on the other hand if you have saved it to your device from Apple Music (Pressing "Make Available Offline") it will be completely protected and only playable through iTunes or the Music App on your iDevice. SONOS will not play content saved from Apple Music, it should be fine for a direct buy from iTunes though.

Even though this could just be a library issue I'll just make some brief clarifications on Apple Music.

Okay, so if you have actually purchased the music from iTunes then it shouldn't be copy protected and SONOS should play it as normal, hopefully with guidance from Mohammed and others you can get this solved. On the other hand if you have saved music to your device from Apple Music (Pressing "Make Available Offline") it will be completely protected and only playable through iTunes or the Music App on your iDevice. SONOS will not play content saved from Apple Music, it should be fine for a direct buy from iTunes though.

Also to note, if you have any local content (music in your iTunes library) and you turned on Apple Music's Library Sharing function that uses iCloud, whether the music in your library was originally purchased from iTunes or not, Apple Music will automatically upload it all to iCloud. Anything that goes to iCloud becomes copy protected from then on, even if you just stream it or re-download it to that device or a different one. SONOS will no longer be able to play those tracks if they've come back down from iCloud. - If you play the local copies they should be fine but the iCloud copies aren't.

In short:

iTunes purchased content: Not copy protected.
Apple Music content: Copy protected.
Anything that goes onto iCloud through Apple Music whether it's played from there or downloaded back to the device: Copy protected.

SONOS will not play anything with copy protection.

Best regards!

Did you find that the above posts clarified the matter Jo? Let me know if something's still not clear or if you've any more questions.

All Apologies for the delay getting back to you on this - I appreciate the replies. Firstly, I have tried re-indexing the music library, in that I pressed the button, but I'm not sure if it actually did anything because there was no 'complete' prompt. That hasn't changed anything. I definitely bought the tracks in the usual traditional way: paying for the album / track and this was a couple of months ago, so before the inception of Apple Music. I have since ended the free trial, so nothing should be in the cloud. Regardless, if the iCloud was the issue as KJMY suggests, would this have happened to more than just a few albums?

Hi again Jo.  I have taken the post below from another user.  It was for a different issue and I'm not sure it will help, but easy to try:

"if you go into the settings on your iPhone/iPod/iPad then scroll down to music and then you will see the option of turning off iCloud music library. Then on iTunes you go to preferences or Windows equivalent and untick the iCloud music library box in general"

You could also try removing the existing file share from your Sonos Music Library and re-adding it to ensure a complete re-index.  However, there is no "complete" message when you do a re-index.  You should see a message "indexing" next to "Music Library" in the list of music sources.  This will appear only briefly if there have been no changes.

I too have had this issue and it seems silly to me that Sonos won't allow any music added via Apple's new music service to be played given that we clearly are paying Apple for the service and right to enjoy the music. Why would Sonos prevent these from being played? DRM protection is no longer relevant really in this context. Will this be changed in the future? If not, I may be forced to find another solution over Sonos.

Have a read of http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/10/apple-ios-8-4-upgrade-risk/

I too have had this issue and it seems silly to me that Sonos won't allow any music added via Apple's new music service to be played given that we clearly are paying Apple for the service and right to enjoy the music. Why would Sonos prevent these from being played? DRM protection is no longer relevant really in this context. Will this be changed in the future? If not, I may be forced to find another solution over Sonos.
Marco - it has nothing to do with Sonos not "allowing" anything and everything to do with Apple protectionism.  Please redirect your annoyance to the appropriate place.

so i cant play music i've downloaded from apple music , but i can play it if i download it from apple through the sonos app and save it as a playlist in sonos .

If you are a paid up member of apple music, everything will stream..i think...till the day you stop paying, then the "free" DRM downloaded material will not play.

I am currently paid up member of Apple Music but most of the music I've added to my music is greyed out in sonos .. But if I open Apple Music in sonos I can add the same albums into playlists and they play through sonos ... If they makes sense ...

I am currently paid up member of Apple Music but most of the music I've added to my music is greyed out in sonos .. But if I open Apple Music in sonos I can add the same albums into playlists and they play through sonos ... If they makes sense ...

Apple allows you to convert protected files to unprotected using iTunes Match. After you download the unprotected files from Match, delete the old and reindex Sonos.

In sonos you are streaming directly over the internet, so everything will play as you can't store it anywhere.
When you play off this device or pc, you are playing stored stuff which is copy protected...maybe..
Just stream it live ;O))

If you are a paid up member of apple music, everything will stream..i think...till the day you stop paying, then the "free" DRM downloaded material will not play.

This is actually incorrect. Apple Music tracks that are stored on your device for "offline play" are protected by a DRM that is not readable by Sonos devices. These tracks will either show or greyed out and not playable, or they will not even show at all. This is independent of your account status with Apple Music and entire based on the DRM on the offline version of the tracks.

Songs that you have purchased from iTunes and download to your devices should download in an unprotected format and be playable on Sonos. If they're greyed out, a DRM version may have downloaded and you can check this by connecting your mobile device to a computer and check the file format of the tracks in iTunes. If you are somehow getting a DRM version you can try deleting it off your device and re-download it. For tracks that are older than 2009 and were uploaded to the cloud, you may have uploaded a DRM version which is what is getting downloaded again. You can try deleting the version that's uploaded or use iTunes Match to convert the tracks over properly. Apple support should be able to help you with this as well.

In addition, if you are subscribed to Apple Music, any tracks added to your Apple Music library by upload or favorite will be playable on Sonos through Apple Music > My Library. These tracks will be streamed online though, not played off of any of your local devices.

Thanks Ryan, would be nice though if you were paid up with apple music, their whole world of music would be yours, to enjoy how you liked.
Are the restrictions the same for google music?

Thanks Ryan, would be nice though if you were paid up with apple music, their whole world of music would be yours, to enjoy how you liked.


Yes, that would be sensible. Perhaps you should suggest that to Apple?

If you are a paid up member of apple music, everything will stream..i think...till the day you stop paying, then the "free" DRM downloaded material will not play.

This is actually incorrect. Apple Music tracks that are stored on your device for "offline play" are protected by a DRM that is not readable by Sonos devices. These tracks will either show or greyed out and not playable, or they will not even show at all. This is independent of your account status with Apple Music and entire based on the DRM on the offline version of the tracks.

Songs that you have purchased from iTunes and download to your devices should download in an unprotected format and be playable on Sonos. If they're greyed out, a DRM version may have downloaded and you can check this by connecting your mobile device to a computer and check the file format of the tracks in iTunes. If you are somehow getting a DRM version you can try deleting it off your device and re-download it. For tracks that are older than 2009 and were uploaded to the cloud, you may have uploaded a DRM version which is what is getting downloaded again. You can try deleting the version that's uploaded or use iTunes Match to convert the tracks over properly. Apple support should be able to help you with this as well.

Hi

This is exactly the reason I have iCloud library turned off. its just to confusing with all this DRM protection especially when Apple start messing with peoples own purchased music and adding DRM.

Question:

If I did have this feature enabled and say for instance I had an album I downloaded for offline listening from AM, this obviously would not play due to DRM on the sonos, but if I added this album to a playlist within apple music or a Sonos playlist would it pull the music from the internet instead.

thanks

Thanks Ryan, would be nice though if you were paid up with apple music, their whole world of music would be yours, to enjoy how you liked.


Yes, that would be sensible. Perhaps you should suggest that to Apple?

Funniest thing I've read in ages!

@Paulw123 - You do realise why what you have suggested is the biggest load of nonsense I've ever read don't you?

Thanks for the laugh The LHC.

Thanks Ryan, would be nice though if you were paid up with apple music, their whole world of music would be yours, to enjoy how you liked.


Yes, that would be sensible. Perhaps you should suggest that to Apple?

Funniest thing I've read in ages!

@Paulw123 - You do realise why what you have suggested is the biggest load of nonsense I've ever read don't you?

Thanks for the laugh The LHC.

Come on now, there's no need to make someone feel bad just because they don't necessarily know all the details on the subject. It's great to educate without being sarcastic, well, nothing wrong with a little sarcasm. So long as it's well intentioned there aren't really that many bad ideas, though some are far more complicated than others.


Thanks for sharing Paul!

You're right Ryan. Please accept my apologies Paul.

If you are a paid up member of apple music, everything will stream..i think...till the day you stop paying, then the "free" DRM downloaded material will not play.

This is actually incorrect. Apple Music tracks that are stored on your device for "offline play" are protected by a DRM that is not readable by Sonos devices. These tracks will either show or greyed out and not playable, or they will not even show at all. This is independent of your account status with Apple Music and entire based on the DRM on the offline version of the tracks.

Songs that you have purchased from iTunes and download to your devices should download in an unprotected format and be playable on Sonos. If they're greyed out, a DRM version may have downloaded and you can check this by connecting your mobile device to a computer and check the file format of the tracks in iTunes. If you are somehow getting a DRM version you can try deleting it off your device and re-download it. For tracks that are older than 2009 and were uploaded to the cloud, you may have uploaded a DRM version which is what is getting downloaded again. You can try deleting the version that's uploaded or use iTunes Match to convert the tracks over properly. Apple support should be able to help you with this as well.

In addition, if you are subscribed to Apple Music, any tracks added to your Apple Music library by upload or favorite will be playable on Sonos through Apple Music > My Library. These tracks will be streamed online though, not played off of any of your local devices.

I have just setup a SONOS system and have encountered this problem with unplayable tracks from my Apple Music Library. I see what looks like a fix for songs purchased from iTunes (get the non-DRM version), but what about songs imported directly from CDs? This is a majority of my library, and those songs won't play in SONOS. Apple support has been unhelpful so far. Thanks for any insight you can provide

How did you import the songs, and specifically what format did you rip them in? The players embedded in the Sonos products can only handle these formats.