Why are my songs greyed out in Music app on MacBook Air M2?

Have a brand new Macbook Air M2. I am trying, without much luck, to gain access to my entire music library. At least half of the songs are greyed out. They are available on my wife's Macbook Air M1 and our iMac desk top. Any of the explanations on why the songs are greyed out don't apply, as the songs are available on the other two devices. I've even signed up for Apple Music, assuming that would fix the problem. It hasn't. These are songs either purchased as downloads, or were loaded from CDs.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air, macOS 14.6

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 2:03 PM

Reply
6 replies
Sort By: 

Mar 26, 2025 2:39 PM in response to frustratedformerfan

Your music won't automatically appear on a new computer. Things have to be done to get it there. What did you do? See Move (or copy) your iTunes/Music library to a new computer - Apple Community for one way to clone the whole library across. Using an Apple Music subscription is another approach, but you need to make sure that everything is matched or uploaded from the source computer before it can be downloaded or streamed on the new one, and there is a risk of mismatches or loss of quality. An iCloud Music Library can only include content from a single Apple Account which might make things complicated if you both buy music and want to share it.


tt2

Reply

Mar 26, 2025 3:08 PM in response to turingtest2

I did update the cloud library on the source computer, which took over an hour. This was the other day. However, I now notice that under Setting>General, the "Sync Library (acct. name)" is greyed out and the box is unchecked on the source computer. This was not the case the other day.

We only have a single Apple account, so all the music is common.

Reply

Mar 26, 2025 5:11 PM in response to frustratedformerfan

Turn Sync Library back on. Use the Songs view. Enable the Cloud Status column and sort on it. Check for tracks that are waiting, error, duplicate, etc. Once all tracks have been matched/uploaded or are purchased on the source machine you should find them all available on the new computer. We can talk about strategies for fixing problem tracks later if needed.


tt2

Reply

Mar 26, 2025 6:03 PM in response to turingtest2

I'm updating the Cloud Music library now. I'll see what happens and get back to you tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your help. I'm just frustrated by what used to be a simple, seamless process in the past has become so complicated. We've had Apple computers for years and never had this much trouble before. Although, I have seen more difficulties arise ever since iTunes became Music.

But thank you again.

Reply

Why are my songs greyed out in Music app on MacBook Air M2?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.