Apple Music Gets Unofficial Web Player With Full Library, 'For You' Recommendations, and More

[zarmanto]

So the question that clearly drives many of these comments is: Who is the target audience? Why would anyone event want this?

I am; I want this!

For reasons which I will not explain, I am not permitted to use my cell phone at work. I also (for obvious reasons) do not have the option of installing software on my Windows box at work. That means that -- until now -- Apple couldn't actually serve my music habit via their existing services.

Only problem is, the website uses Apple's standard two-factor authentication service. On the surface, this seems like an obvious and appropriate security-first extension of their existing policies... the problem is, if I can't use my cell phone in my office and I don't have an Apple computer on my desktop either, than I can't actually respond to the two factor authentication. The very problem which would have been solved in the first place by having one of those two devices available to me is likewise made impossible to solve in this fashion, by their absence.

So, ummmm... Back to square one?

 

[ChrisLTD]

Awesome work. Apple should release something like for Chromebooks, Linux users, and folks that aren't allowed to install software on their PCs.

FYI, Chromebook users can not use the Apple Music app for Android. Apple has flagged it as incompatible with ChromeOS and so it's blocked from being installed from the Play Store.

 

[charlituna]

So ridiculous that Apple's customers have to craft up some hack to just play music on their PC ― are they taking this music thing seriously? Or is this part of the "Apple tax"

actually they don't. plays just fine in iTunes and you get all the features
[doublepost=1544737801][/doublepost]

Nice idea, but I'll pass. If I have to log into something with my Apple credentials, I'll want it to be FROM Apple.

I know it says he's using Apple's login stuff, but it's still not "from Apple".

right. i mean talk about a great way to phish folks. and if he's parsing the data over to trigger 2 factor codes who knows what crap he could get up to with your account
[doublepost=1544737996][/doublepost]

I have a sneaking suspicion this site will run into an Apple-backed cease and desist in 5... 4... 3... 2... a few days.

Not because he's doing anything radically illegal, per se. But because Apple probably does not want a third party web player for its marque streaming service, and they'll probably argue it violates their trade-dress or mis-represents their brand and service... is my suspicion.

they don't have to go that far. they just tweak the APIs being used and cut him off at the knees. quick, simple, cheap. no lawyers needed

 

[adamjackson]

Some people avoid installing that malware. I only do it to DFU restore a device from Windows but uninstalling it is a PITA since it litters your computer with subcomponents that isn't removed with uninstall so you have to search for and uninstall manually.

You must be a Windows user. I've never heard of anyone consider iTunes to be Malware. Just MSCONFIG and disable everything that auto-starts when you restart and then you can use iTunes much easier and faster without using any resources.

 

[Yumbo]

Um,

It’s been there forever at tools.applemusic.com designed for affiliates or developers for localisation or embed purposes.

 

[QuarterSwede]

So the question that clearly drives many of these comments is: Who is the target audience? Why would anyone event want this?

I am; I want this!

For reasons which I will not explain, I am not permitted to use my cell phone at work. I also (for obvious reasons) do not have the option of installing software on my Windows box at work. That means that -- until now -- Apple couldn't actually serve my music habit via their existing services.

Only problem is, the website uses Apple's standard two-factor authentication service. On the surface, this seems like an obvious and appropriate security-first extension of their existing policies... the problem is, if I can't use my cell phone in my office and I don't have an Apple computer on my desktop either, than I can't actually respond to the two factor authentication. The very problem which would have been solved in the first place by having one of those two devices available to me is likewise made impossible to solve in this fashion, by their absence.

So, ummmm... Back to square one?

You work in a secure facility I take it. Total Pita.
[doublepost=1544741477][/doublepost]

It looks like Apple Music api finally can be accessed, there's also another music app alternative in beta testing on iOS which is Soor (https://soor.app) which can do nice things on iOS

That’s an amazing app! I signed up for the beta. Only thing it’s missing is CarPlay.

 

[atoqir]

Apple doesn't need to buy this guy's work, they have their web designers ― not to mention that it's probably not setup exactly how Apple wants it

The problem is not that Apple can't make their own online service, it's they don't want to, for whatever reason

Their web developers are incompetent. The iCloud.com interface has been the same crappy laggy experience for years now. Also basic stuff for file organization, mail options or photo organization are missing for years.

Apple isn't interested in doing web-things because the web is open and platform independent. They are afraid of losing their grip on their garden.

If they would have great webservices I would gladly throw Apple Music money, iCloud storage money to them every month. Our household has two iPhoneX and two iPads. But i am a Windows user (gamer and developer) but Apple webservices and apple ported windows software are the worst experiences possible

 

[Glockworkorange]

Some people avoid installing that malware. I only do it to DFU restore a device from Windows but uninstalling it is a PITA since it litters your computer with subcomponents that isn't removed with uninstall so you have to search for and uninstall manually.

I haven’t used iTunes on Windows since like ‘09. Is it really still that bad?
[doublepost=1544743129][/doublepost]

Their web developers are incompetent. The iCloud.com interface has been the same crappy laggy experience for years now. Also basic stuff for file organization, mail options or photo organization are missing for years.

Apple isn't interested in doing web-things because the web is open and platform independent. They are afraid of losing their grip on their garden.

If they would have great webservices I would gladly throw Apple Music money, iCloud storage money to them every month. Our household has two iPhoneX and two iPads. But i am a Windows user (gamer and developer) but Apple webservices and apple ported windows software are the worst experiences possible

“Apple isn't interested in doing web-things because the web is open and platform independent. They are afraid of losing their grip on their garden.”

Yep.

 

[Steve01234]

Looks like Plex Player... which is what I have on all my macs and other devices in the house. sorry but years late on this.

 

[Arran]

right. i mean talk about a great way to phish folks. and if he's parsing the data over to trigger 2 factor codes who knows what crap he could get up to with your account

Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and assume no ill intent - his website could be hacked to show a fake login popup that's harvesting users credentials.

Seriously; who studies login popups carefully before entering their login ID and password? Especially when you're in a hurry to listen to music?

 

[DinkThifferent]

That black Apple Music interface with green accents totally does not look like Spotify's black interface with green accents.

 

[Rique]

I wanted to like this, but (and could it be because I just have too many tabs open in Firefox?), I compared audio quality from it to iTunes and it's... not. even. close.

I am no audiophile, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I sure do hear a difference. The web player sucks compared to iTunes (and I try to avoid iTunes).

As I said, perhaps it's just my browser, but if that's not the root cause, this really needs work.

 

[Smith288]

Nice idea, but I'll pass. If I have to log into something with my Apple credentials, I'll want it to be FROM Apple.

I know it says he's using Apple's login stuff, but it's still not "from Apple".

You are actually. It brings up idmsa.apple.com and uses their oauth.

 

[ljaro]

So ridiculous that Apple's customers have to craft up some hack to just play music on their PC ― are they taking this music thing seriously? Or is this part of the "Apple tax"

Nope iTunes on windows is a thing still and is the official way to listen to Apple Music. This would be a great work around for a work computer where you cannot install programs or linux.

 

[Biofreak12]

Apple music is useless, just buy Spotify and call it a day.

 

[mingravity]

I can play (Apple) music on my PC... not sure what you are talking about. Love it or hate it, iTunes plays Apple Music just fine.

there will be cases when you can't install iTunes (restricted admin access on work laptops, linux distros don't have native apps etc) and web players helps in such cases.

 

[ipponrg]

I haven’t used iTunes on Windows since like ‘09. Is it really still that bad?

Yeah it's bad. It feels like the whole app runs single threaded, and it's still slow even on my PC with i7 6700K 4 ghz.

 

[noraa]

Just went there to check it out, and the site was blocked via the BitDefender TrafficLight extension in Safari (TrafficLight is an extension that blocks known malicious web pages from loading). According to the warning, playapplemusic.com is part of a phishing attempt. In any case, I'm not taking the chance by logging into it...

 

[Manatlt]

Again, the source code of this app is available for those who are "scared" that their log in details will be comprised. If there is any malicious stuff found in the code, we will know by now.

You can get the source code, and even install the app on your personal web server. The unofficial web player is entirely open-source.

 

[Jago]

F-Secure is blocking access to https://playapplemusic.com as a potentially harmful website

 

[Bacillus]

The added value of the Internet is that nobody is trusting nobody anymore.
As was the case since the creation of mankind - until shortly before M. Zuckerberg grew up
(and even that should be taken with a grain of salt...)

 

[falcn]

One developer made a beautiful web app in about a month while a 1000+ team of world-class developers and 3.5 years in a multi-billion dollar company didn't bother to do anything.

To be fair, they made web API

 

[SoN1NjA]

We're all very happy for you but some of us have jobs, and at your offices we can't install stuff like iTunes and therefore need web players.

Thank you very much for this comment, I was mainly talking about managed PCs or ChromeOS devices ― most companies or schools won't allow you to install anything

 

[BrianBaughn]

I wish someone would write an app that would properly search the Apple Music database.

 

[JCoe13]

So many users choose spotify or pandora specifically for this reason. Working in IT and managing thousands of computers (and being an old mac guy at heart) iTunes on windows is unneeded junk these days. Users just want to stream cloud music, not manage a library on their work machine. A simple player thick app is ok, but for security and update purposes, we would prefer people just access via web players. I don't have to manage the 3rd party updates or run out of date software. The user doesn't need any admin access, it isn't installing or pestering about installing icloud.. all this is just dumb to listen to some tunes while working. Alternatives that work are free/same price as itunes, so the choice is simple till apple gets their act together and realize how people listen to music.

While I agree, iTunes on PC is junk, the issue lies with the ecosystem. I use iTunes/Apple Music for my iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Watch, HomePod, Apple TVs, etc so it's nice to incorporate that into my work machine and have my playlists all synced up. Pandora is a blocked site at work, so I am not able to use it... I have been using YouTube to get around and watch/listen to what I like. Either way, this website is a great workaround and a welcomed addition.

EDIT: I was able to visit the website yesterday, and now it wont load on my computer. Looks like my work blocked the website already Back to the old ways of YouTube

UPDATE: Also just checked out Spotify and that is blocked as well.