The three ways to save music in Apple Music

You add songs to Apple Music by tapping or clicking the plus sign next to any song, album, or playlist. The song then appears in your library under "Liked Songs" or in a playlist you create. You can add music from the Apple Music catalog, from songs you already own on your device, or from playlists other people have shared with you.

Apple Music stores what you add in the cloud, so your library syncs across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and any other device signed into your Apple account. If you cancel your subscription, your added songs disappear — they are not permanently yours, only available while you pay.

The process is the same whether you use the Music app on iPhone, the Music app on Mac, iTunes on Windows, or the web player at music.apple.com. The button location changes slightly between devices, but the action is identical.

Key Takeaways

  • Tap or click the plus sign next to any song to add it to your library, and it goes into "Liked Songs" by default.
  • Your added songs sync across all your devices through your Apple account, so you see the same library on your phone and computer.
  • You can create your own playlists and add songs to them instead of "Liked Songs" if you want to organize by mood, artist, or any other category.
  • Added songs are only available while you have an active Apple Music subscription; they do not stay in your library if you cancel.

Adding songs from the Apple Music catalog

Open the Music app on your iPhone or iPad and search for a song, artist, or album. When you find what you want, look for the plus sign — on iPhone it appears to the right of the song name, and on iPad it is in the same spot. Tap the plus sign once. The song moves into your library when ready, and the plus sign changes to a checkmark to show it has been added.

On Mac, open the Music app, search for the song, and click the plus sign next to it. On Windows with iTunes, the process is identical. On the web at music.apple.com, search for the song and click the plus sign in the results.

By default, added songs go into a section called "Liked Songs." You can view this section anytime by opening your library and tapping or clicking "Liked Songs" at the top. Songs stay there until you remove them by tapping or clicking the plus sign again — it toggles the song on and off.

Creating playlists and adding songs to them

If you want to organize songs by category instead of keeping everything in "Liked Songs," create a new playlist. On iPhone, open the Music app, go to the Library tab at the bottom, tap "Playlists," and tap the plus sign in the top-left corner. Name your playlist and tap "Save." On Mac, go to File menu and select "New Playlist," then name it.

Once your playlist exists, add songs to it by finding the song in Apple Music, tapping or clicking the plus sign, and selecting your playlist from the menu that appears. You can also add songs to a playlist by finding the song in your library, holding down on it (iPhone) or right-clicking it (Mac or Windows), and selecting "Add to Playlist."

You can add the same song to multiple playlists, and removing it from one playlist does not remove it from another. If you delete a song from all your playlists and from "Liked Songs," it is no longer in your library, but you can add it again anytime.

Adding songs you already own to your library

If you have songs stored on your device that you purchased or downloaded before subscribing to Apple Music, you can add them to your library so they appear alongside your Apple Music songs. On iPhone, open the Music app, find the song in your library, tap the three dots next to it, and select "Add to Library." On Mac, right-click the song and select "Add to Library."

Songs you own appear in your library with a small cloud icon next to them if they match a song in the Apple Music catalog. If a song does not match anything in Apple Music — perhaps it is a rare recording or a local artist — it still stays in your library, but it will not sync to other devices unless you have iCloud Music Library turned on in your settings.

To turn on iCloud Music Library, go to Settings on iPhone, tap Music, and toggle "Sync Library" on. On Mac, open the Music app, go to Settings, click the General tab, and check "Sync Library." This setting uploads your personal music files to iCloud so they appear on all your devices.

Adding songs from shared playlists

When someone shares a playlist with you through Apple Music, you receive a link via text, email, or another app. Tap or click the link to open the playlist in Apple Music. You will see all the songs in that playlist, and you can add individual songs to your library by tapping or clicking the plus sign next to each one.

Adding songs from a shared playlist does not automatically add the entire playlist to your library — you add songs one at a time. If you want to save the whole playlist itself so you can access it anytime, look for a plus sign or "Add" button at the top of the playlist page and tap or click it. The playlist then appears in your Library under "Playlists."

Shared playlists update automatically, so if the person who created it adds new songs later, you will see those songs in the playlist. However, songs you add individually from a shared playlist are separate from the playlist itself — if the original creator removes a song from their playlist, it stays in your library because you added it directly.

Removing songs from your library

To remove a song from "Liked Songs" or any playlist, find the song in the Music app, tap or click the plus sign next to it, and it disappears from that section. The plus sign changes back to an empty plus, showing the song is no longer added. On iPhone, you can also swipe left on a song in "Liked Songs" and tap "Remove," or hold down on the song and select "Remove from Liked Songs."

Removing a song from one playlist does not remove it from other playlists or from "Liked Songs" — each location is separate. If you want to remove a song from your entire library, you must remove it from every playlist and from "Liked Songs."

Frequently Asked Questions

Do my added songs stay in my library if I pause my subscription?

No. If you stop paying for Apple Music, your added songs disappear from your library. When you resubscribe, your library is empty unless you add songs again. This is different from songs you own outright, which stay on your device.

Can I add songs to Apple Music on my Apple Watch?

You cannot add songs directly on the Apple Watch app. You must add them on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or the web player. Once added, they sync to your Apple Watch automatically if you have synced your library to the watch.

What happens if I add a song that Apple Music later removes from its catalog?

If Apple Music removes a song you have added, it stays in your library but you cannot play it through Apple Music. If you own a copy of the song on your device, you can still play that version. You can remove the unavailable song from your library anytime.

Can I add songs to Apple Music from a web browser?

Yes. Go to music.apple.com, search for a song, and click the plus sign next to it. Your added songs sync to all your devices the same way they do when you add them through the app.

How many songs can I add to Apple Music?

Apple Music does not publish a limit on library size. In practice, you can add tens of thousands of songs. If you reach an extremely large number, syncing may slow down, but Apple does not enforce a hard cap.