How to create a playlist in apple music

Want to make an Apple Music playlist on the Mac? Playlists are a great way to group all of your songs together in different ways. That might be a collection of your very favorite songs, or a playlist full of songs that remind you about a particular vacation, or a collection of songs for an event. Whatever the reason, grouping songs together is part of what’s so great about digital music. And creating an Apple Music playlist on a Mac is easier than you might expect.

There are tons of reasons to create a playlist but no matter why you’re doing it, the steps remain the same. Those steps do change depending on the version of macOS you’re using, though.

That’s because Apple killed off iTunes with the introduction of macOS 10.15 Catalina. If you’re using Catalina or later you’re going to be using the new Music app. If not, you’re still using the old faithful – iTunes. But don’t worry, we’re going to run through the steps for both situations right now.

How to Make an Apple Music Playlist Using Music on Mac

If you’re already familiar with the process of creating playlists in Apple Music on iPhone and iPad then you should find the process for play listing on the Mac to be easy too, here’s how it works:

  1. Open the Music app on your Mac and then click “File” in the menu bar.
  2. Highlight “New” and click “Playlist.”
    How to create a playlist in apple music
    How to create a playlist in apple music
  3. Enter a name for your new playlist. You can also enter a description if required, too.
    How to create a playlist in apple music
    How to create a playlist in apple music

And there you have it, now you have an Apple Music playlist on the Mac!

How to create a playlist in apple music
How to create a playlist in apple music

You can delete any playlist that you no longer need by right-clicking it and clicking “Delete from Library.”

Adding songs to a playlist is a simple case of dragging them from anywhere and dropping them onto your playlist of choice.

How to Create an Apple Music Playlist using iTunes on Mac

Some Mac users are running prior versions of MacOS still that have iTunes, and you’re in luck because you can still create Apple Music playlists from iTunes too. Here’s how:

  1. Open iTunes and make sure that the “Music” is selected from the dropdown menu.
    How to create a playlist in apple music
    How to create a playlist in apple music
  2. Open the Music app on your Mac and then click “File” in the menu bar.
  3. Highlight “New” and click “Playlist.”
  4. Enter a name for your new playlist and press the Return key.
    How to create a playlist in apple music
    How to create a playlist in apple music

Note that while new playlists appear beneath “Music Playlists” rather than “Apple Music Playlists,” they do still sync to other devices signed in to your Apple ID. Put this one down to iTunes being older than pretty much anything else on your Mac.

Right-click a playlist and click “Delete from Library” if you no longer need it.

You can also add songs to any library by right-clicking the song, highlighting “Add to Playlist” and then clicking the playlist you would like to add it to.

Whether you’re using Apple Music through iTunes or the Music app, you’re now ready to go.

Like most other Apple services, if you make a playlist in Music on Mac but also have an iPhone or iPad, it will sync to those devices too automatically. And likewise if you make a playlist for Apple Music on iPhone or iPad it will sync to the Mac as well.

Be sure to check out our other guides for Apple Music and iTunes. And we have tons of tips and tricks for Mac, too.

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If you have many music tastes stretching across multiple genres, you will most likely want to curate them into specialized playlists. For example, a sad soulful playlist for when you’re feeling melancholy, and a mad rocking, head-banging playlist for when you’re in the mood to let your hair down. Here’s how to create and delete playlists in Apple Music.

Read more: Apple Music — is it worth it?

QUICK ANSWER

To create an Apple Music playlist, go to the Playlists sections and select New Playlist. Give it a title and save. To delete the playlist, right-click on it and select Delete from Library.


JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

How to create an Apple Music playlist on a Mac or PC

To create your Apple Music playlist on a desktop computer, start by opening either the macOS Music app or iTunes for Windows. The method is identical, no matter which one you use. Then go to File–>New–>Playlist.

How to create a playlist in apple music

This opens up a new playlist window, which is naturally blank at this moment in time. Give your playlist a title, and an optional description. The description is only really necessary if you plan to make the playlist public and let other people listen to it. A description with search keywords helps people find the playlist more easily.

How to create a playlist in apple music

Once you’ve saved the playlist, it will now appear in your playlists in the sidebar.

How to create a playlist in apple music

To add something to the new playlist, right-click on a song in Apple Music and select Add to Playlist. It will open a drop-down menu of your created playlists, and just choose the one you want to add it to.

How to create a playlist in apple music

How to delete an Apple Music playlist on a Mac or PC

To delete an Apple Music playlist on the desktop app, right-click on the playlist in the sidebar. Then select Delete from Library. However, the song will remain. Only the playlist is deleted.

How to create a playlist in apple music

How to create an Apple Music playlist on an iPhone or iPad

It’s just as easy to create an Apple Music playlist on an iPhone or iPad. First, go to the Library tab and tap Playlists.

How to create a playlist in apple music

At the top, you will see an option to create a new playlist. Tap it.

How to create a playlist in apple music

Give your new playlist a name, an optional description, and whether you want to make the playlist publically available. The iOS app also lets you add music to the playlist during the playlist creation process. You can also add custom artwork, but if you leave that alone, album artwork from added songs will be used instead. Click Done to save everything.

How to create a playlist in apple music

To save a song to your new playlist, tap the three-dot icon next to a song and select Add to a Playlist.

How to create a playlist in apple music

Your new playlist will be at the top of the list. Tap it to add the song.

How to create a playlist in apple music

How to delete an Apple Music playlist on an iPhone or iPad

To delete a playlist on the iOS Music app, go to the playlist. Click the three-dot menu in the top right-hand corner, and in the drop-down menu, select Delete from Library. The song will remain, only the playlist will be deleted.

How to create a playlist in apple music

Can you make a shared playlist on Apple Music?

Yes. When you make the playlist, click the box that says Show in my profile and in Search. You can then send a direct playlist link to someone, and the playlist is also searchable for anyone looking for that type of music.

Can you recover deleted playlists on Apple Music?

There is no official way to restore a deleted playlist, so think carefully before doing so. However, if you sync your Apple Music to another Apple device, it’s possible that the other device has the playlist if it hasn’t been synced to the latest version yet. Put that device into Airplane Mode to stop it from syncing with Apple Music servers, and check to see if the playlist is still there. If so, export the playlist.

Can you make a playlist using your starred songs?

If you like to use Apple Music’s star rating system, you might be interested in creating a playlist based on the tracks you gave the highest ratings to. Good news: you can do this by creating a Smart Playlist that includes songs you’ve given a high rating to, so you see your top tracks all at once with no skips.

Why can't I make a new playlist on Apple Music?

Please double check these conditions: Having an active paid Apple Music subscription (learn more) Turn ON "Sync Library" setting in iTunes or Apple Music App (how to do ?) Be sure to sign with the correct Apple Music account (it could be different from your main iCloud Account).

How do I make a playlist on Apple Music?

Open the Apple Music app. Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar and tap New Playlist. Give your playlist a name, then tap Add Music. Search for music that you want to add, tap it, then tap Done twice.

How do I create a free playlist on my iPhone?

Create playlists on iPhone.
Tap Library, tap Playlists, then tap New Playlist..
Touch and hold a song, album, or playlist; tap Add to a Playlist; then tap New Playlist..
On the Now Playing screen, tap. , tap Add to a Playlist, then tap New Playlist..