Apple Music Replay and Me
January 2021
It was the midst of the global pandemic. There I was, sitting down and playing Donkey Kong 64. Listening to the Machine Gun Kelly album Tickets to My Downfall for the 10th time in a row, I thought, Hm, this is ok — but in reality, this was not ok. Tickets to My Downfall became my album of the year. All according to Apple Music.
(W)Rapping Season
We all know the drill. Every year it’s the same story on your Instagram feed. Everyone and their uncle is posting a Spotify wrapped, unlocking the ‘musical trendsetter’ achievement,
and we get to see how many times you listened to ‘Hey Bruno’ and how much you liked that new Peppa Pig album (You aren’t fooling me, Hank Green)
What a vaguely magical time of the year.
But, in the desolate hell-land of Apple Music, the ghost of Steve Jobs messes with our yearly playlists.
Apple launched ‘Apple Music Replay’ in 2019. What was supposed to be a match to Spotify wrapped turned out to be a less fun knockoff that in some cases doesn't even work right.
I did not get to partake in the festivities. And that has injured my soul, because how could I show my 5 friends how many times I liked that Peppa Pig album? Machine Gun Kelly, Super Potato’s Theme you are not.
I’ve had one year of Apple Music Replay working, which at 1/4 or 25% is not very good. And it was during the first year the service launched!
Apple charges 11$ a month, roughly equalling about 132$ a year from my subscription alone; you would think that would be enough for software developer #235907 to fix any glitches or bugs that come up. But, because of some glitch, for three years in a row my Apple Replay stopped keeping track of song plays at some arbitrary point in the year without fail.
It just comes to a complete stop. And I’ve sent in complaints, looked at forums, and tried a few fixes that work for a time, but like a bout of BO cafter an intense Magic the Gathering tournament, it comes back every year.
I now have to either hide my musical choices like some sort of music fetishist or face my public circle to be met with disdain and disgust at my selection.
It’s such a small thing, but it’s Apple. Apple, iTunes, garage band. Music and the sharing of music are synonymous with their brand. A user-friendly interface should and is expected from them. We pay for their products because of the ease of use, so why not make it easy to use?
And so why, why does Apple Music continue to suck in the face of its major competitors?
Why our society insists on Apple products
Apple purposely makes phones that lose battery power over the years. Brojogan is over on Spotify, along with an entire catalogue of podcasts incorporated directly into the listening app. The Apple Music plugins are not nearly as fun as Spotify’s. And streaming has become more competitive in recent years with options like these:
- Soundcloud Go
- Tidal
- Deezer
- Spotify (but also no, because they pay their artists nothing)
Apple if you are going to copy everything your competitor does, or at least let them copy you, add the podcast library into the Apple Music app at least. Make the app that you have different, more customizable, more user friendly.
It’s difficult to switch when something you have works. Apple products just work, and we the consumers don’t really care for the most part as long as our music keeps playing. But what if Apple could make a product that surprises and delights the buyer?
New Features for a New Apple Music
- Let us all share music cross platform — having to send a playlist to a friend and having them text me back, ‘Oh I can’t listen to your ‘Who Detached Us’ feat Steve Jobs inspired playlist’
- I want the ability to organize my playlists, in any order I choose — no more looking for Business Time when it’s Business Time (I’m down to just my socks)
- Update the algorithm to allow me to dictate which sonic direction we’re going in
Reddit threads and articles are dedicated to discussing the service's shortcomings and some potential solutions. But it has been some time, and in 2023, I don’t think anything has really changed that much.
I feel like Apple has this big focus on what they want, their UI, their UX, their way of listening to music — and to be fair it is their app — but at the end of the day, when does control compromise being user friendly and providing a quality product?
Because we don’t like change, this should be a good thing; they have ensured our brand loyalty. If I gotta switch to an Andriod phone, I will, but I won’t enjoy the process. Fix my Apple Music Replay, let me customize my playlist order, and in general fix your roughly 4 billion dollars a year in profit service.
Apple Music of this streaming generation really has been the Microsoft of this game console generation. And just like Microsoft, I hope they stage a comeback.
