Tag: iCloud Music Library

The Apple Music Japanese Metadata Mess Continues

Kana gojuon (fifty sounds) sorting for Japanese artists on Apple Music and iCloud Music Library has never worked for me since those services started in 2015. No matter how much I enter and tweak kana sort fields in iTunes, 12 hours later iCloud Music Library on iOS ignores everything and sends kanji named artists to the bottom of the list under ‘#’.

Just for kicks I decided to engage Apple Support about the problem. The Japanese support staff was very professional and kind. It took 3 sessions of taking screenshots on iOS Apple Music and macOS iTunes, and collecting a sysdiagnose log to upload to Apple Support. I have done these a few times but had to admire the composure of the Apple support technician. I could never stay that cool walking a neophyte through the same data collection process.

He promised to call me with an update today and did so, “We heard from engineering but there is no solution for your issue.” I suspected as much but it was weirdly reassuring to know that Apple engineers could not fix it. He went on to explain that the kana sorting issue might be fixed in a future update. Or maybe not: it has been 4 years already, I’m not holding my breath.

Japan is the 2nd largest music market after the United States and far more profitable than other Asian countries. You would think that Apple would invest the time and effort to fix things. The strange thing is that kana sorting on iTunes and iTunes Match worked fine before Apple Music and iCloud Music Library. iTunes won’t be with us much longer, but it worked well for a long time. Goodbye old friend.

Apple Music Japan Updates “For You” Section

The Apple Music ‘For You’ section that was updated in the USA store on April 15, finally arrived on the Japan store today. The update offers much more customized content than the previous ‘For You’ for which I am glad, the old one had too much weekly repeats to keep my interest.

After listening to the Ramones, Apple Music immediately offered Punk bands galore, Monkees, Rolling Stones and many other interesting offbeat content. I look forward to playing with it. One thing I like right off is that disliking something immediately removes it from suggestion lists. Goodbye U2, may you never pollute my suggestion lists again. The real test will be how much good Japanese rock ‘n roll listening Apple Music offers up in addition to the standard western stuff.

It’s very strange that HomePod is still missing from the Japan market. There are lots of audiophiles with money here, with the right marketing approach HomePod could do well. Unfortunately Japanese artist kana sorting tags on Apple Music are still such a mess that kana sorting is remains broken since iCloud Music Library appeared. Every Japanese artist from Yumin to Utada ends up at the very bottom in the under # in iCloud Music Library no matter what you add to the Japanese kana sorting fields in iTunes. And if Japanese kana sorting is broken, Siri on HomePod is broken too. And if iTunes is going away in macOS 10.15, Japanese kana sorting for iCloud Music Library may be broken forever.

What Happens When You Quit iTunes Match for Apple Music

iTunes Matched Out

I signed on with iTunes Match the day it became available in Japan on May 2, 2014 then signed on with Apple Music when it went live in 2015. With all the startup bugs and teething pains of iCloud Music Library I kept both services running, but over time it settled down enough that I considered dropping iTunes Match. Serenity Caldwell’s iMore piece Do I still need iTunes Match if I have Apple Music? sez Apple Music does it all so I let my iTunes Match subscription expire. It did not go well.

Problems

  • No Longer Available: tracks in iTunes that were previously iTunes Matched showed on iOS but could not be played. iCloud Music Library Status in iTunes incorrectly listed them as No Longer Available without an iCloud icon
  • No iCloud Status: tracks in iTunes that were previously iTunes Matched showed on iOS and could be played but not downloaded. iCloud Music Library Status in iTunes incorrectly lists them blank when they should be listed as Matched
  • Incorrect iCloud Status: the vast majority of tracks (more than 1,000) in iTunes that were previously iTunes Matched showed on iOS and could be played. iCloud Music Library Status in iTunes incorrectly lists them as Apple Music when they should be listed as Matched

Workarounds

  • No Longer Available: I deleted the 121 tracks in iTunes, dragged the files out of the Trash, and added them back to iTunes. Warning: do not delete using “Remove Download” which instantly vaporizes local music files into oblivion instead of Trash, use the delete key instead.
  • No iCloud Status: They play on my iPhone but don’t download, left as is
  • Incorrect iCloud Status: They play on my iPhone, left as is

Conclusion
iCloud Music Library is supposed to be seamless but 3 years after the Apple Music launch the seams still show between the iTunes Store and Apple Music catalogs. They don’t always match up. The transition to Apple Music match should not be a problem if you do not have a large library of iTunes Match curated music. If you have a large iTunes Match library of carefully curated content however, prepare yourself for some iCloud Music Library downtime and cleanup as you transition to Apple Music match.

If you have a cataloging fetish, keep your iTunes Match subscription and your sanity.

UPDATE
The “No Longer Available” problem is more insidious than I first thought, “No iCloud Status” tracks suddenly stop playing and become “No Longer Available” tracks for no apparent reason. This is not fun.