confusion between itunes, apple music and carplay

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Level 1

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confusion between itunes, apple music and carplay

So the scenario is I’m old school and buy all my music from iTunes. I have over 7000 songs in my iTunes library on a windows PC. For years I’ve listened to music in my vehicle on an iPod classic which I run through the vehicles USB port. I recently started using CarPlay in my vehicle and if I select the music icon in car play it looks like my iTunes library is appearing in the Apple Music App and I’m able to play the songs through CarPlay even though none of them are actually downloaded on my phone. I can only assume the songs are streaming through Apple Music over cellular data but I have not purchased a subscription to Apple Music ? I’m confused first on how my iTunes library showed up in the Apple Music app without doing anything to put it there and then secondly I’m confused on how I’m able to play these songs through CarPlay when none of the songs are downloaded to my phone and I have No subscription to Apple Music. If some could explain to me how all of this works together I’d really appreciate it.

Posted on Jul 10, 2023 5:45 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

ace1018

Community Specialist

Jul 12, 2023 8:06 AM in response to steelcurt

Hello steelcurt,

Thanks for providing that additional information, we can see where the confusion is. The Music app is where you can see all of the music you've purchased from the iTunes Store, in addition to Apple Music if you subscribe. Access to your iTunes library doesn't require a subscription to Apple Music.

An Apple Music subscription gives you access to the entire iTunes catalog; allowing you to stream or download music you don't own.

In the Music app, you can elect to download or stream your personal music library on your iPhone without an Apple Music subscription.

CarPlay is a feature built into iOS that gives you access to the content on your iPhone while driving. All of the data you see in CarPlay comes directly from the iOS device connected.

We hope that helps.

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Answer 2

WinsC1

Community Specialist

Jul 11, 2023 3:23 PM in response to steelcurt

Hey steelcurt,

It sounds like it may be a user interface difference with CarPlay. As iPod Classic did not have cellular data options it would not be streaming any content. The iTunes app on Apple devices has changed to the Music app. You can learn more about that here: What happened to iTunes? - Apple Support

So it's likely your car or stereo manufacturer is just using the Music app as the default for displaying your music. You can learn more about CarPlay here: iOS - CarPlay - Apple

Thanks!

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Answer 3

steelcurt Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 11, 2023 9:29 PM in response to WinsC1

Thanks for the reply. It was helpful. So I understand that my iTunes library was basically sucked in to the Apple Music App and I know there’s no way music could be streaming from the iPod which has no cellular capability. When I activate CarPlay and tap the music icon the music is definitely streaming from the Apple music app on my iPhone. Here’s what I still don’t understand though. I thought unless you had a subscription to Apple Music you could not stream your music library and the only way you could play the music in your vehicle would be to physically download the music on to your device ie., iPod, iPhone, etc. While the apple music app on my iPhone shows my entire iTunes library, none of the music is actually downloaded to the iPhone and yet I’m still able to stream it over cellular with no subscription to Apple Music. I’ve read all of the articles I could find on iTunes, Apple Music and CarPlay and none of the articles explain this or if they do I’m just not getting it.

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Answer 4

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

23,951 points

Jul 12, 2023 8:32 AM in response to steelcurt

While the iTunes app is still used on a windows PC, on the Mac and iPhone, they are combined into the Apple Music app and I assume it is the same for CarPlay. You can still purchase music on the Mac using Apple Music, but they no longer use the separate iTunes app for purchasing.

What you are seeing in your car is the Apple Music app playing your iTunes content. It is not streaming the music. If you are now using an iPhone, then the content is has most likely been synced to your phone and available in the Music app. This can be checked by opening the Music app and selecting the Library option on the bottom.

Some cell providers also provide free Apple Music service that you may have.

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Answer 5

steelcurt Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 12, 2023 4:26 PM in response to ace1018

Ace, I think your reply cleared up a lot for me, specifically your sentence, “In the Music app, you can elect to download or stream your personal music library on your iPhone without an Apple Music subscription.” This makes the most sense in regards to what’s happening with emphasis on “Or stream”. What’s odd though is while the music app shows all of my songs in the library section, the playlists area of the app is blank and I have over 20 playlists created in my iTunes library. I guess the only way I could get the playlists to appear in the music app would be to import them from itunes to the music app on my PC which that isn’t possible because right now there is no Apple Music app available for windows 10.

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confusion between itunes, apple music and carplay

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