New 'Music Tracker' App Monitors Your Apple Music Library for Changes and Raises Privacy Concerns

[ike1707]

Effing brilliant! I very badly want to try iTunes Match but just can't bring myself to pull the trigger, and this may be just the solution.

All I hear are horror stories song files being incorrectly substituted. My music collection is incredibly important to me, and already my Apple Music trial alone did horrendous damage to my album covers, inanely swapping manually managed images for irrelevant compilations and movie soundtracks I don't even own. Incredibly frustrating, and inexcusable for a company that operates in apples echelon.

I hope to hear good news about this app in the future. iTunes Match is a very tempting service indeed, but if it doesn't work right, it's of no use to me.

 

[tkermit]

Is it supposed to monitor only those songs that have been downloaded? I have 18332 tracks in total with only 3933 of them locally available and monitored by this app.

To answer my own question: No. Apparently I had the Music app to show only locally available music when the app first scanned my music library. That was the issue.

 

[bendodson]

Is it supposed to monitor only those songs that have been downloaded? I have 18332 tracks in total with only 3933 of them locally available and monitored by this app.

Nope, it should work with any tracks that can be seen in the library (whether they are downloaded or not). In my own use case, I have 6174 songs in my iCloud Music Library which are in both iTunes on my Mac and my iPhone library but I only have around 80 of them actually downloaded on my iPhone.

 

[NMBob]

The UNIX way...

Good suggestion!

ls -Rl (<-ell) works, but I can't figure out how to get the full path name for each song file. It lists the directory on one line, then each song file under that. If the directory(s) was part of the file name then you'd know which artist/album the song was from in the diff listing.

Changed my mind. Use Python.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

An article that mentions Apple Music? Bring on the complaints about every single detail of Apple Music that people don't like.

 

[tkermit]

Nope, it should work with any tracks that can be seen in the library (whether they are downloaded or not). In my own use case, I have 6174 songs in my iCloud Music Library which are in both iTunes on my Mac and my iPhone library but I only have around 80 of them actually downloaded on my iPhone.

Thanks for the reply. As you can see in my post right above yours, the setting to only show downloaded music in the Music app influences your tracking algorithm. If I activate that setting now and let your app update/rescan the library, it shows 14424 tracks as deleted.

 

[jgelin]

I wouldn’t need this app if my songs didn't just ‘disappear’ to only play magically when clicked. I don’t get it.
We need a notification if something we ‘own’ is removed from the service and thus our library... how else do I know to buy it?

Edit: he got my 99¢ though until this is fixed.

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

Or you can own your own music library and it will never miraculously change itself.

You'd be surprised. iTunes routinely misplaces music and vids. Just a few here and there, so it's hard to notice until I go to play something and find it's missing. I'd like to buy an app that would alert me when iTunes is being cranky.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I have no intentions of using any app that tracks anything!!

Goddamn Pages! Stop saving my freaking documents!

How dare Messages and Mail not immediately delete everything the moment it's received!

Damn Cut the Rope saving my progress!

That's why Snapchat and More Cowbell are the only apps on my iPhone. I used to have Flappy Birds, but it tracked my high scores.

 

[djang0]

Why is this MR front page material?

 

[Nunyabinez]

Seeing the need for an app like this makes me happy that I don't use the subscription model. With all its flaws, purchased music combined with Match works just fine for me. However, I may get this just out of curiosity.

The one frustrating thing about Match is that you have zero control over the matching of the tracks. It would at least be good to know if they are switching stuff out from under me.

 

[\-V-/]

My pet hate about Apple Music is that songs can become unavailable in a flash. We never get to know why, even though albums on the same record label are still present. Penny Dreadful soundtrack just vanished last week.

If there was a notification that the song(s) or album(s) have been removed, it would make Apple Music a lot less annoying. Seeing a bunch of grayed out things at random times is incredibly frustrating and is one of the major reasons I stopped using it.

Why is this MR front page material?

Congratulations! You are the millionth member to make this pointless comment! What will you do now?

 

[Nunyabinez]

Why is this MR front page material?

**SIGH** How many times am I going to have to see this same comment from someone who thinks they should be the managing editor of MR.

If I only had a $ for every time someone asked this and had a dozen people explain why it interests them I could be retired.

 

[jgelin]

The one frustrating thing about Match is that you have zero control over the matching of the tracks. It would at least be good to know if they are switching stuff out from under me.

Exactly this... no matter how many times I change the name of Skerr by Gucci Mane it thinks always that the track should be titled Wrist Game messing the whole naming of the tracks up.

It makes me worry about songs I’ve never heard before: am I even listening to what the hell I think I am?

 

[Paradoxally]

I have no intentions of using any app that tracks anything!!

I take it you're still using a dumb phone then.

 

[decafjava]

My pet hate about Apple Music is that songs can become unavailable in a flash. We never get to know why, even though albums on the same record label are still present. Penny Dreadful soundtrack just vanished last week.

Which is why I still will buy the music I really like. Similar as to why I keep local copies of all my apps on my computer's iTunes library.

 

[rctlr]

I still don't quite get what this is for.

You can find out how many tracks you have by seeing the total in iTunes.


Even if you have iTunes Match, that should not waver without your interaction.

Also, why divulge how much music you have to a third party anyway?
Seems like effort without benefit to me.

 

[jgelin]

I still don't quite get what this is for.

You can find out how many tracks you have by seeing the total in iTunes.


Even if you have iTunes Match, that should not waver without your interaction.

Also, why divulge how much music you have to a third party anyway?
Seems like effort without benefit to me.
View attachment 611619

The number changes to 4,924
Tell me which is missing? Exactly. That's the point.

 

[vmachiel]

This somehow feels more of an advert than telling us that some developer is using a security oversight and has told apple of it...

.... Does this article know it's an ad?? :O

 

[technopimp]

"Raises Privacy Concerns" sounds like the developer is doing something suspicious...

Agreed, I felt the title was misleading and made it sound like the app/developer had done something which raised concerns.

 

[andiwm2003]

The number changes to 4,924
Tell me which is missing? Exactly. That's the point.

Wow, I never thought there is a need for such an app. But it seems that there are people who care if a few out of thousands of songs are missing. You must be a true music lover to notice that.

 

[Nunyabinez]

Alright Ben, I bought it. It seems pretty straight ahead. Took a couple of seconds to scan my Match library, came up with the correct number and... Well, I'll have to let you know what happens over the next few days.

 

[djlythium]

Music Tracker, from developer Ben Dodson, is a new app designed to keep an eye on changes made to the music library on your iOS device. After downloading, the app scans a user's music library and then tracks all changes that are introduced, including new song additions, deletions, and metadata changes to details like the title, artist, album, and genre of owned tracks. Whenever a change is discovered, a notification is sent. While this is useful for those who like to monitor content and changes made manually to a music library to keep personal logs, it's perhaps best suited to Apple Music subscribers. There are instances where content available through the Apple Music service is deleted or changed due to licensing issues with record labels, and this app will allow users to keep track of potential deletions to replace missing music.

As an example, Dodson cites a recent change to a studio recording of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl," which was silently swapped over to a live version on Apple Music. Music Tracker noted the change and Dodson was able to find a replacement studio recording on another album. Music Tracker also includes a full Apple Watch app that provides music library details including exactly how many tracks are in a library and how many songs have been added, changed, or deleted each day. There's also a glance view with the same information and a complication for watch faces that support that feature.

During the process of developing Music Tracker, Dodson ran into some potential privacy holes that he feels iOS users should be aware of. With many third-party iOS apps, accessing user information like location, contacts, or photos requires express user permission, but that's not the case with a music library. According to Dodson, apps are able to access a user's music library and send data on what's included back to a server, allowing it to be used for advertising or tracking purposes. An app can scan through an entire music library in mere seconds, gaining information on the music content you prefer, down to details like the song that's most often played. Dodson also believes this could be a way for advertisers and marketers to track users across multiple devices.Music Tracker, for its part, does not include any in-app purchases, does not require an Internet connection, and does not collect any library data from customers. Dodson says he doesn't know if there are apps that are already collecting music data from customers in the background, but he has filed a bug report with Apple to ask for a permissions feature to be implemented for the music library. Music Tracker can be downloaded from the iOS App Store for $0.99. [Direct Link] Article Link: New 'Music Tracker' App Monitors Your Apple Music Library for Changes and Raises Privacy Concerns

Music Tracker, from developer Ben Dodson, is a new app designed to keep an eye on changes made to the music library on your iOS device. After downloading, the app scans a user's music library and then tracks all changes that are introduced, including new song additions, deletions, and metadata changes to details like the title, artist, album, and genre of owned tracks. Whenever a change is discovered, a notification is sent. While this is useful for those who like to monitor content and changes made manually to a music library to keep personal logs, it's perhaps best suited to Apple Music subscribers. There are instances where content available through the Apple Music service is deleted or changed due to licensing issues with record labels, and this app will allow users to keep track of potential deletions to replace missing music.

As an example, Dodson cites a recent change to a studio recording of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl," which was silently swapped over to a live version on Apple Music. Music Tracker noted the change and Dodson was able to find a replacement studio recording on another album. Music Tracker also includes a full Apple Watch app that provides music library details including exactly how many tracks are in a library and how many songs have been added, changed, or deleted each day. There's also a glance view with the same information and a complication for watch faces that support that feature.

During the process of developing Music Tracker, Dodson ran into some potential privacy holes that he feels iOS users should be aware of. With many third-party iOS apps, accessing user information like location, contacts, or photos requires express user permission, but that's not the case with a music library. According to Dodson, apps are able to access a user's music library and send data on what's included back to a server, allowing it to be used for advertising or tracking purposes. An app can scan through an entire music library in mere seconds, gaining information on the music content you prefer, down to details like the song that's most often played. Dodson also believes this could be a way for advertisers and marketers to track users across multiple devices.Music Tracker, for its part, does not include any in-app purchases, does not require an Internet connection, and does not collect any library data from customers. Dodson says he doesn't know if there are apps that are already collecting music data from customers in the background, but he has filed a bug report with Apple to ask for a permissions feature to be implemented for the music library. Music Tracker can be downloaded from the iOS App Store for $0.99. [Direct Link] Article Link: New 'Music Tracker' App Monitors Your Apple Music Library for Changes and Raises Privacy Concerns

 

[ChrisCW11]

I would rather like Apple to stop pestering me to sign up for Apple Music every time I use my iPod Touch to listen to music. Their insesent reminder about the feature and free trial comes off as being desperate.

There is a reason why I am mostly using Spotify on my iPod Touch these days, so I don't have to use the ****** music app Apple has crippled with their service whoring; I wish Apple would respect my decision and let me say "NO" once and for all.

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

Wow, I never thought there is a need for such an app. But it seems that there are people who care if a few out of thousands of songs are missing.

If you didn't care you wouldn't have a few thousand songs.

You must be a true music lover to notice that.

It's easy to snark, but what if your copy of the Bay City Rollers singing Saturday Night went missing and you wanted to play it again? You'd change your tune then.