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HarryPot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
1,082
541
I just bought my first iPod Shuffle, thinking it would be great for doing exercise.

But to my surprise, none of the music downloaded from Apple Music can be synced to the iPod Shuffle.

By doing a quick research, it seems Apple is doing this because since the Shuffle has no internet connection, if you stop paying your subscription you could keep 2GB of music for free.

I mean, really?! What a stupid decision. What are people who start their music collection entirely from Apple Music supposed to do?

EDIT: In the Apple Music page from Apple.com, they even put the Shuffle there.

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Last edited:

Falcon9

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2015
151
94
Eastern Canada
Why is it a stupid decision? Do you seriously expect Apple to "give away" 2GB of music. That's ~500 songs or up to ~$650 of music for the price of an iPod Shuffle.
 

HarryPot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
1,082
541
Why is it a stupid decision? Do you seriously expect Apple to "give away" 2GB of music. That's ~500 songs or up to ~$650 of music for the price of an iPod Shuffle.

It's stupid because most people won't buy a $50 Shuffle or a $150 Nano to just be able to keep 2GB worth of music after their subscriptions ends. And never again being able to sync new music.

They are just losing good and honest clients with this decision. Even more so when they just put it in the small print at the bottom of the Apple Music page, but nowhere to be seen in the iPod Shuffle page.

In my case at least, I'm returning the Shuffle.
 

andreyirra

macrumors regular
Oct 27, 2014
173
19
Mexico
Most people will sync it again so it can delete the music if it's not renovated.

As for paying artist by number of reproductions, iTunes keeps track of numers of times played so it will register it as soon as one syncs again. There could be a firmware update that makes Apple Music unusable after a week so you will have to sync to register the number of played songs. That way you could only get away with a week free after not renovating.
 

HarryPot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
1,082
541
Purchase your songs. It's easy. Apple Music isn't for people creating a "collection."

I've bought all my songs for the last 10 years.

But I really like the convenience of Apple Music, and Apple is really pushing this service instead of buying music.

And buying music that you can have access while paying for a subscription service is not a solution.

Anyways, I posted in part to rant and in part to let other people know about this. Since Apple is doing a really terrible job at informing this.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,859
5,445
Atlanta
....I mean, really?! What a stupid decision. What are people who start their music collection entirely from Apple Music supposed to do?....
It is the record labels that insist on this in order to allow streaming. You beef is not with Apple.
 

KUguardgrl13

macrumors 68020
May 16, 2013
2,492
125
Kansas, USA
I've bought all my songs for the last 10 years.

But I really like the convenience of Apple Music, and Apple is really pushing this service instead of buying music.

And buying music that you can have access while paying for a subscription service is not a solution.

Anyways, I posted in part to rant and in part to let other people know about this. Since Apple is doing a really terrible job at informing this.

If you want Apple Music on an iPod, you need to buy an iPod Touch.

Otherwise I don't understand what's easier about Apple Music compared to purchasing. Maybe it's because I've managed iTunes purchases for 10 years and am still figuring out the whole streaming thing. It seems like an equatable process for both. Search for desired songs or albums, buy and download, or add to playlists and download for offline play. In fact, Apple Music is even more annoying than syncing purchased songs with iTunes used to be.
 

andyp350

macrumors 6502a
Aug 14, 2011
807
460
This is pretty obvious and in keeping with music streaming services (no Spotify on the Nano/Shuffle either!). Did you really expect an internet-based music streaming service to be available on your iPod shuffle that has no internet connectivity whatsoever?
I admit it would be a nice feature, I've actually had to start running with my iPhone instead of my Nano now as I now build my library from Apple Music content and have done away with my local music files. This has been a blessing in disguise really as I can now track my runs accurately using a GPS running app instead of the Nano's built in pedometer which never tracked the distance anywhere near accurately.
 

navaira

macrumors 68040
May 28, 2015
3,934
5,161
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Did you really expect an internet-based music streaming service to be available on your iPod shuffle that has no internet connectivity whatsoever?
Actually, I thought that the new Shuffle will be able to play AM songs. Otherwise why release new iPods at all? It could come with a requirement to connect it to iTunes every 30 days otherwise songs stop playing.
 

Julien

macrumors G4
Jun 30, 2007
11,859
5,445
Atlanta
Actually, I thought that the new Shuffle will be able to play AM songs. Otherwise why release new iPods at all? It could come with a requirement to connect it to iTunes every 30 days otherwise songs stop playing.
It could be that Apple wanted this or is working on it but is having a near impossible time convincing the music labels to allow it.
 

HarryPot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
1,082
541
This is pretty obvious and in keeping with music streaming services (no Spotify on the Nano/Shuffle either!). Did you really expect an internet-based music streaming service to be available on your iPod shuffle that has no internet connectivity whatsoever?

I certainly expected for it to work.

Spotify has no way of syncing music with your iPod, Apple does. And since Apple controls the whole process (Apple Music, iTunes and the iPod), I'm sure they could come up with a quite good solution.

But as another user posted, the problem might not be Apple, but the music labels.
 

andyp350

macrumors 6502a
Aug 14, 2011
807
460
I certainly expected for it to work.

Spotify has no way of syncing music with your iPod, Apple does. And since Apple controls the whole process (Apple Music, iTunes and the iPod), I'm sure they could come up with a quite good solution.

But as another user posted, the problem might not be Apple, but the music labels.
I'm not saying it couldn't easily be made possible, theres just no way reasonable reason for why you should be able to do this. Streaming is for internet enabled devices, if you want to 'own' your music and be able to store it forever on non-internet devices then put your hand in your pocket and buy your music. Offline syncing of streaming services is a workaround for people who live in poor signal areas and people with limited monthly data usage, it's not meant as a way for people to be able to store and keep a massive library of music that they haven't purchased.
 

navaira

macrumors 68040
May 28, 2015
3,934
5,161
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Offline syncing of streaming services is a workaround for people who live in poor signal areas and people with limited monthly data usage, it's not meant as a way for people to be able to store and keep a massive library of music that they haven't purchased.
Is there a source from Apple that said this, or is it your personal opinion?
 

HarryPot

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 5, 2009
1,082
541
What would happen if you download 128GB worth of music from AM to your iPod Touch and then disabled all internet access?
 

Uofmtiger

macrumors 68020
Dec 11, 2010
2,353
1,068
Memphis
I just bought my first iPod Shuffle, thinking it would be great for doing exercise.

But to my surprise, none of the music downloaded from Apple Music can be synced to the iPod Shuffle.

By doing a quick research, it seems Apple is doing this because since the Shuffle has no internet connection, if you stop paying your subscription you could keep 2GB of music for free.

I mean, really?! What a stupid decision. What are people who start their music collection entirely from Apple Music supposed to do?
Microsoft used to have something called "Play4Sure" that would allow you to play music from services like Rhapsody on a compatible player. The DRM had a mechanism that would no longer allow the files to be played after 30 days unless you synced your computer. Apple could implement something like this, but there could be copyright issues involved with the technology.
 

tomekosiowy

macrumors regular
Dec 7, 2013
151
35
Poland
Return iPod and get something with Android. They will support android soon, but never iPod Shuffle. Hahahahahahah… BTW: keep in mind that Apple Music on Android will work horribly, just like QuickTime on windows etc.

Why FaceTime is not made for Android too? Hahahahahah…
 
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