How to Access Apple Music Service & Features on Apple TV in 2024

If you are using Apple Music streaming service and own an Apple TV at the meantime, congratulations! You can easily access the world's largest music library through your TV set at home. In other words, you can play millions of songs from thousands of artists in any order you want in Apple Music Store on Apple TV. If you are using the latest Apple TV 4, it's extremely easy to play Apple Music with the Music app on Apple TV. But if you are using the older Apple TV models, it will be a little complicated as Apple Music is not supported on those devices.

But don't worry. To help you stream Apple Music to Apple TV properly, we are here providing you with three methods to play Apple Music on the latest Apple TV 4th generation as well as other models without hassle.

Part 1. How to Access the Apple Music Service on Apple TV 4K

Now the Apple TV 4K brings your favorite Apple services from Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade and of course - Apple Music together with the best-over audio quality. If you have Apple Music subscription (Apple Music individual, Apple Music Family, iTunes Match etc.), you can benefit from over 100 million songs, 30000 curated playlists and live radio on the big screen. The only issue is that the Music app is available only on Apple TV 4K model. If you have other models, head to Part 2 to learn how to airplay Apple Music to your TV.

To access the Apple Music service on Apple TV 4K, all you need to bring is your music library, since the Music app on Apple TV only lets you listen to your own music through iCloud Music Library in the My Music section. Read our reviews to learn more about iCloud Music Library.

To access the Music app on Apple TV:

Step 1. Open Settings on Apple TV.

Step 2. Select Accounts.

Step 3. Use the Apple ID and the password to log in with one of the Apple Music subscriptions mentioned above.

Step 4. Head to Settings > Apps > Music, then turn on iCloud Music Library.

Step 5. Now that your iCloud Music Library is synced with the Apple TV and you have enabled the access to the full Apple Music catalog through your TV. You can head to the browse and play your favorite music.

To browse and play your music on Apple TV:

When you enter the Library screen in the Apple Music app, you have the direct access to any Apple Music content, iTunes Store purchases and the playlists you added or created.

Step 1. Open Music on Apple TV. Use the Siri Remote to navigate and highlight the Apple Music app, which appears larger.

Step 2. Navigate to Library, then select an option in the list to display your music in categories such as Recently Added, Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs and more. For example, if you wish to play the playlists you added or created to your library, select Playlists, then select the desired one to play the songs it includes.

Step 3. To control the music playback, just navigate to the Now Playing screen on Music to play/pause, back/forward. You may also see the time-synced lyrics on the screen.

Part 2. How to AirPlay Apple Music to Apple TV 4K/1/2/3

With an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 11.4 or later, you are able to Airplay the Apple Music to an older TV model rather than the new Apple TV 4K. But please ensure to update the device's iOS to the latest version. For iPhone, head to Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install (if available), then follow the on-screen instruction to update the device software.

To airplay Apple Music to Apple TV:

Step 1. On iOS, head to Settings > General > Apple AirPlay Settings, then turn on Apple AirPlay.

Step 2. Back to the home screen, open the Control Center. For iPhone X or later or iPad with iPadOS 13 or later, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen. For iPhone 8 or earlier on iOS 11 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen, then touch and hold the group of controls in the upper-right corner, tap the AirPlay button under SPEAKERS & TVs to select your Apple TV model.

Step 3. Back to the home screen to open the Music app instead. Select the desired contents to cast to the TV screen.

Part 3. How to Enjoy Apple Music Features on Apple TV

In addition to the time-synced lyrics or full lyrics on the screen, you can enjoy some excellent features with the Music app on Apple TV.

To enable the Apple Music sing on Apple TV:

Apple Music Sing is available on all compatible iPhone and iPad as well as the new Apple TV 4K. On Music, you can enjoy adjustable vocals, real-time lyrics, background vocals, and duet view to sing along with this Sing feature.

Step 1. Open the Apple TV and leave it in standby on the app home screen.

Step 2. On iPhone or iPad, open the Music app and head to the desired song, playlist or album to play it.

Step 3. Enter the Now Playing bar of the song.

Step 4. Tap the Mic button. To adjust the vocals, drag the slider up or down.

Step 5. Repeat some steps to airplay Apple Music to your TV.

Step 6. Open the Music on Apple TV and head to the Now Playing tab and select the Album Art and select it.

To adjust the music settings on Apple TV:

On Music, you're allowed to adjust a few settings to improve your listening.

Step 1. Open Settings on Apple TV.

Step 2. Go to Apps > Music you see various options here for you such as Dolby Atmos and Audio Quality. For Audio Quality, you can switch between High Quality (AAC), or Lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/48 kHz) if song availability, network conditions and speaker capability are supported.

Or if you don't want any Apple Music explicit content, you can also choose to block it so that it's not available for playback.

To block the music explicit on Apple TV:

Step 1. Open Settings on Apple TV.

Step 2. Go to General > Restrictions, then enter your four-digit passcode, if prompted.

Step 3. To block Apple Music explicit content, select Music and Podcasts, then toggle Clean on. For music videos, select Music Videos, then toggle Block on so that you won't see the Videos option from the menu bar.

Part 4. How to Fix Apple Music Won't Work on Apple TV

If you encounter any issues with the Music app on Apple TV 4K, here's the checklist.

1. Song availability:

First, you should have an existing Apple Music subscription for either individual or Family plan or iTunes Match subscription. If your subscription is ended, you can no longer stream the exclusives to Apple Music, e.g., the Apple Music catalog. But you still can play radio stations such as Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country for a limited time. Learn how to access the Apple Music subscription at a discounted price or for free.

Or if you a selection of songs are not available specifically, switch to another device such as tablet, phone or computer to see if it can be played there with your Apple ID. If they won't be played either, the related services and features are not available in your region or country. Learn how to fix Apple Music song not available in your region or country.

2. Device availability:

If your subscription is active, keep in mind that you can play Apple Music on one authorized device at a time. You can play Apple Music and Apple Music radio tracks on only one device at a time unless you have an Apple Music Family subscription. If you access to Apple Music on multiple devices with your individual subscription, you may encounter with issues when trying to play Apple Music on your TV. From there you can check if any other devices are playing music and fix it. Or learn how play Apple Music on multiple devices.

3. Network conditions:

Please ensure your Apple TV is connected to the internet. If possible, you're also suggested to try another available Wi-Fi connection. Also, you may want to restart your router and Apple TV to rule out any network issues.

4. Updates availability:

Finally, check for any updates available for your Apple TV. The Apple TV software can be updated automatically or manually. To set your TV update automatically, head to Settings > System > Software Updates and turn on Automatically Update. To update your TV manually, head to Settings > System > Software Updates and select Update Software > Download and Install (if available).

If the issue still persists, there're some solutions that worth trying:

1. Restart the Music app on Apple TV.

2. Restart the router and Apple TV.

3. Remove the Apple TV from your Apple ID device and readd it. After you sign in with your Apple ID on Apple TV, the device appears in the devices list. For iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch, head to Settings > [Your name], then scroll down to find and tap the Apple TV [model] to see if it has been trusted to access the normal Apple service. To remove the device, tap Remove from Account. To access the Music app on the device, just head to the Apple TV > Settings > Account to sign in again.

Part 5. How to Play Apple Music Audio Files on Apple TV

Except AirPlay, you can also resort to a third-party Apple Music tool like ViWizard Apple Music Converter. As a smart audio solution, it's able to completely remove DRM lock from all Apple Music songs and convert them to common MP3 and other formats that can be easily synced to Apple TV with Home Sharing. In addition to an Apple Music converter, it's also capable of converting iTunes, Audible audiobooks and other popular audio formats.

Now the following instruction will show you the complete tutorial to play Apple Music songs on Apple TV 1/2/3, including removing DRM from Apple Music and the steps to sync DRM-free Apple Music to Apple TV with Home Sharing.

To download DRM-free Apple Music audio files with ViWizard:

Install and launch ViWizard DRM Audio Converter on your Mac or PC. Click the second "+" button to import the downloaded Apple Music from your iTunes library to the conversion interface. Then click "Format" panel to choose the output audio format as well as set other preferences, like codec, audio channel, bit rate, sample rate, etc. After that, simply start removing DRM and converting the Apple Music M4P tracks to non-DRM common formats by pressing "Convert" button at the bottom right.

Note: If you are still having an issue with the DRM removal procedure of ViWizard Audio Converter, you can view details here: How to Losslessly Unlock DRM from Apple Music Songs ?

To sync DRM-free Apple Music audio files to Apple TV:

Now, you can click the "history" icon next to the "add" button to locate those DRM-free Apple Music songs on your local computer. Then you can directly enable Home Sharing on your computer and begin to play all the music on your Apple TV.

To set up Home Sharing on your Mac or PC, simply open iTunes and sign in with your Apple ID. Next, go to File > Home Sharing and click Turn on Home Sharing. Once enabled, you can freely stream your Apple Music to any Apple TV model without any limit.

Part 6. FAQs about Apple Music on Apple TV

There are also some questions when people playing Apple Music on Apple TV. We listed some of them here, and you can check whether you have the same problems or not.

1. "I have problems in launching the application Apple Music on my Apple TV, and there‘s still some problems with it after I resetting my Apple TV. What should I do？"

A: First of all, you can check for software updates on your TV or delete the app from your TV and download it again, then reset the television. If the methods above cannot be resolved, you can view details here: Apple TV not Showing Apps? Check 6 Fixes.

2. "What should I do to display the lyrics on my Apple TV while I listening my Apple Music."

A: If the song has lyrics associated with it, a second button will appear at the top of the Apple TV screen, which can display the lyrics of the current tracks. If not, then you can add lyrics manually via iCloud Music Library or Home Sharing and make them available on your Apple TV.

3. "What should I do to display the lyrics on my Apple TV while I listening my Apple Music."

A: Of course, Siri works on Apple TV and understands a range of commands like "play the song again", "add the album to my library" and so on. Note here if you use AirPlay, then you can't use the Siri Remote to control music playback, you have to manage music playback directly from the device you're playing the content on.