How Does the Algorithm on Apple Music Work?

Apple Music is one of the top-rated music streaming platforms in the world today. It goes toe-to-toe with Spotify and usually becomes more popular among Apple users. Apple Music has a vast library with over 100 million songs where people can get personalized suggestions and check generated playlists. 

What makes this platform so special? An Apple Music algorithm. It's a complex system that makes the platform working, offers recommendations, and forms playlists. Moreover, if you understand how does the algorithm work and use it to your advantage, you can grow as a musician and become a strong member of the Apple Music's community. So, let's uncover the secrets of the Apple Music algorithm and define what should the artist know about this mechanism.

More about Spotify and Apple Music

The Core of the Apple Music Algorithm

The algorithm of Apple Music is based on two fundamentals: human curation and data-driven analysis. It makes the platform tailor to individual preferences of each user to provide personal experience. It's like a store where administrators offer you various goods to suit your needs. When you spend some time listening to music on the platform, the system adapts and offers songs similar to those you've listened before. The final goal of the platform is to create a perfect playlist for each person.

Another important thing to mention about Apple Music is that this platform places accent on user engagement. The system reacts on how often you listen to the similar track, how often do you skip or listen repeatedly. Based on the feedback loop created by Apple Music users, the algorithm changes recommendations to offer new songs. 

Personal Mixes from Apple Music

Individual recommendations from Apple Music are not just about single songs.  When you access the "For You" tab, you see personalized playlists:

• Chill Mix
• Favorite Mix
• New Music Mix

The platform creates these compilations based on your preferences, listening history, and search history. You will hear the old songs and the newest releases as well. 

Still, the algorithm is not perfect, as there are some disadvantages in it. For example, when you form a bubble of personal recommendations, it's complicated to escape it later. You have to refresh the algorithm by literally removing your account from the system.

When you delete your profile, you clear your search history and remove all listenings. At the same time, your subscription remains active, so you can recreate your profile later and change preferences.

How to Increase Your Music Visibility on Apple Music?

Besides creating high-quality music, artists also have to think about strategic promotion and sharing their music with the Apple community. It's not just about the algorithm. It's about how you present yourself to the listeners and how much they want to hear your music. You have to take some initial steps to increase your presence on the streaming service.  Find out how much Apple Music pays per stream here.

You should rely on organic promotion and increase your overall engagement without fake techniques. In this video, the author shows you how to do it.

Create a Recognizable Profile

On Apple Music, you can create a profile as a musician, manager, or a brand member. When entering the platform, you sign up and select the type of profile you want to create. After that, you can customize it (for example, select a profile image). When listeners access your page, they see your latest release, top songs, albums, and music videos. Also, when creating a profile, you have to confirm your email. 

Later, when uploading content, you can customize each track by adding a description and selecting an image to make the music more recognizable.

On the page of Manafest, we can see that the songs have trademark images with the artist's marking. 

Upload High-Quality Content

Once you want to succeed on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, you have to make sure your music has outstanding quality. Ensure you have access to the best music editing tools and work until your tracks will have great sound quality. You can use Audacity, Hindenburg Pro 2, Audiate, or other services available in both free and paid versions. 

Unlock the Potential of Social Media

Using social media is essential for every musician, regardless of the status and the platform they work on. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok help individuals build connections with a larger audience and draws the attention of people who may be interested in your songs. You can use the available formats (for example, Instagram Reels) to record music videos using your tracks on a background. If you prepare to release your new song on Apple Music, you can promote it via Instagram Stories. Add a link to your Apple Music account and mention the exact release date, so people won't miss the moment. 

Build Connections and Collaborate

If you start on Apple Music on your own it doesn't mean you must stay solo all the time. Analyze the platform in the scale of your genre and find artists you can collaborate with. Ask them to promote your songs, and instead, you will present their music to your audience. By doing this, you will expand your reach and increase the overall engagement. Algorithm of the Apple Music reacts on organic engagement and pushes popular tracks to daily playlists, and it may be your chance to succeed on the platform. So, people discovering your music may find your track in their New Music Mix.

Use Paid Promotion to Push Your Songs

Success on Apple Music is not just about number of streams. It's also about the number of purhcases on iTunes. When people buy your tracks, you receive additional revenue, but they won't do it if they don't recognize your track. You can change that by getting iTunes promotion package. It's an organic boost that allows you to appear in top charts and become more visible. You can get geo-targeted iTunes promotion and find your songs at the top of local music compilations. It will increase the number of your Apple Music plays and push your songs to the top charts. We rely only on organic traffic sources, so your profile won't be banned for fake engagement.

Master Apple Music Algorithm to Conquer the Music Industry

Music platforms from Apple may not be so affordable, like Spotify, Amazon Music, or SoundCloud, but it remains competitive and forces artists to find new approaches of pushing their songs to the top. Whether you want to release a single, an album, or create a custom playlist, you have to make it visible, so the algorithm will recommend your music to others.