How can I get Apple Music to only sync certain songs across my devices instead of the whole album?

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Level 2

193 points

How can I get Apple Music to only sync certain songs across my devices instead of the whole album?

I have Apple Music on my iMac, which is where I store and listen to ALL of my music. I also have an iPad and iPhone, but I only want certain songs synced to those two devices for storage space reasons. I know when I plug in a device (such as my iPhone) to my iMac and the Apple Music sync settings open up, I can select which artists and which albums sync to the iPhone - keeping most on my iMac only. Easy enough.

However...

If I only want to sync three songs on an album that has 20 songs, I do not see where I can do this. Am I not looking in the right spot? Or is there not an option to only sync individual songs? I feel like I am missing something simple. Maybe I just need to have my morning coffee before looking at the settings again (haha).

Bottom line, out of a few hundred albums, there are plenty that I only want certain songs from each album on my iPhone so I still have storage space left on the device. What is the easiest way to do that from Apple Music on my iMac?

iMac (M4)

Posted on Dec 29, 2024 7:58 AM

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Answer 1

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

31,541 points

Jan 1, 2025 7:47 AM in response to gsyrba

I would suggest creating a Playlist of just the songs on those Albums you want and then sync that Playlist instead of the whole Album.

Another option I have not tried is the "Sync Only Checked Songs" in the "General" tab. Are you able to uncheck the songs in the Albums you do not want to sync?

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Answer 2

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

31,541 points

Jan 1, 2025 1:42 PM in response to gsyrba

To see the checkboxes, choose the Songs option in the sidebar under Library of the Music app. Sort the list by album and then you can uncheck the songs for the albums you do not want to sync. You also need to have the setting to sync only Checked Songs under the General tab of the page where you choose what to sync.

Then when you sync that album, only the checked songs will sync.

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Answer 3

gsyrba Author

Level 2

193 points

Jan 1, 2025 1:20 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

My apologies for not posting this reply earlier. When I first made this post I noticed it went to "Mac" for devices instead of under "Music"... probably because I didn't pick anything. I tried to delete it, no luck. I ended up not getting any feedback so I copied it over into the Music category, and received help on it.

I did go with the playlist route at first. The person that helped me out gave me some suggestions, but I was not able to see any checkboxes by the individual songs... which is why I made the post to begin with. I could check albums and artists, not songs.

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Answer 4

gsyrba Author

Level 2

193 points

Jan 2, 2025 7:10 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Mac Jim ID wrote:

To see the checkboxes, choose the Songs option in the sidebar under Library of the Music app. Sort the list by album and then you can uncheck the songs for the albums you do not want to sync. You also need to have the setting to sync only Checked Songs under the General tab of the page where you choose what to sync.

Then when you sync that album, only the checked songs will sync.

Ok, so this is one of those things that is simple enough that I can't believe I missed it considering how many years I have been using Apple Music. A big "Duh!" to me, and a big "Thank you!" to you. This will definitely be easier than the cumbersome way I was doing it.

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Answer 5

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

31,541 points

Jan 2, 2025 8:58 AM in response to gsyrba

Great, glad I could help!

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