Add a song to a playlist in Apple Music without adding it to your library

Apple Music members can add songs to playlists without adding them to their library.

With Apple Music, when you add a song to a playlist from the Apple Music catalog, you can turn off the option for it to automatically add to your Library. For example, if you create a playlist for holiday music, you can add songs to that playlist, but the songs won't play when you listen to your Library on Shuffle.

Before you change your settings, make sure that you have the latest versions of iOS, macOS, iTunes, tvOS, and the Apple Music app on Android.

Learn how to create and share playlists.

Change your settings

On your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch

  1. Go to Settings > Music.
  2. Turn off Add Playlist Songs.
    An iPhone X open to the Music Settings. The "Add Playlist Songs" toggle is off.

On your Mac or PC

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. Mac: From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose iTunes > Preferences.
    Windows: From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, choose Edit > Preferences.
  3. On the General tab, deselect "Add songs to Library when adding to playlists" to turn the option off.
    The iTunes Preferences panel on the General tab. The "Add songs to Library when adding to playlists" checkbox is unselected.
  4. Click OK to save your changes.


On your Apple TV

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Music.
  2. Swipe down on the Touch surface of your remote to "Add Playlist Songs to Library," then click the Touch surface to turn it off.
    An Apple TV showing the Music Settings screen. The "Add Playlist Songs to Library" setting is turned off.


On your Android device

  1. Open the Apple Music app.
  2. From the bottom of the screen, tap Library, For You, Browse, or Radio.
  3. Tap the menu button the Sort Options button.
  4. Tap Settings.
  5. Turn off Add Playlist Songs.
    An Android phone showing the Add Playlist Songs setting.

Move songs from your Library to a playlist

If you have songs in your Library that you want to move to a playlist and remove from iCloud Music Library, you first need to delete the song from your library, which will remove it from all playlists. Then, add the song back from the Apple Music catalog and add it just to a playlist.

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