Learn how to set up Apple’s Music app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac to automatically add any songs you’ve marked as your favorite to your music library.
When you mark a song as a favorite, it automatically appears in a dynamically updated smart playlist titled “Favorite Songs.” To listen to it, simply go to this playlist and tap to play.
Additionally, you can set the Music app to automatically add favorite songs to your music library. This ensures the track is added to your full songs list and included when you play or shuffle your entire library.
Auto-add favorite Apple Music songs to your library
This is available in the Apple Music app on both iOS and macOS.
On iPhone or iPad
- Open Settings and tap Apps from the bottom.
- Select Music from the list of apps.
- Turn on the switch for Add Favorite Songs under the Library heading.
On Mac
- Open the Music app on your computer.
- Click Music in the top menu bar and pick Settings.
- Go to the Advanced tab.
- Tick Favorites under the “Add songs to Library when adding to:” section.
Going forward, when you mark a song as a favorite (explained below), it will be automatically added to your Music app library.
You can also tell the Music app to automatically add songs from playlists to the library by turning on the Add Playlists Songs switch.
How to favorite songs, albums, artists, and playlists on Apple Music
To add a song to your favorites, touch the star icon (officially called the Favorite button) in the Now Playing interface.
To mark an artist as your favorite, click the star icon on their Apple Music page.
To mark an album as a favorite, hit the More button (…) and select Favorite.
To add a playlist to your favorites, touch the More (…) button and choose Favorite.
Favoriting requires an Apple Music subscription.
To reverse this change, tap the highlighted favorited button, and that track, album, playlist, or artist will no longer be a favorite.
Filter the library to only show favorites
You can filter your music library to only show your favorites. When browsing artists, albums, songs, or playlists, click the button in the top-right corner (it resembles a circle with three horizontal lines within), then choose Favorites (iOS/iPadOS) or Only Favorites (macOS).
To have changes made on one device sync to other devices signed in with the same Apple Account, check that Library Sync is turned on in Settings > Apps > Music on your iPhone and iPad and in Music > Settings > General on your Mac.
Your library in the Music app includes any tunes added or downloaded from Apple Music, your iTunes Store purchases, and synced personal music.
Favoriting influences the music suggestions you get
Favoriting is one of the most important signals for improving personalized recommendations, especially with the old “Love” system no longer in place. It also offers other benefits, such as receiving push notifications when an artist you like releases new music.
Also, check out: How to stop Apple Music from downloading songs added to your library