How To Un-download Songs On Apple Music In Seconds

Since it hit the market in June of 2015 as a spin-off from iTunes, Apple Music has proven to be a highly popular platform for streaming and downloading music. 

You can find millions of songs from thousands of artists working in a massive list of different genres.

Just take my Apple Music account, for example. 

I have everything from country music legend Loretta Lynn to Japanese rock band X Japan, from New Age compilation albums to Jewel’s performances on The Masked Singer.

Needless to say, there are a lot of songs available, and downloading them for offline use is super tempting due to how convenient it is. 

But you might be a little too tempted and end up downloading so many songs that your whole operating system gets bogged down.

With limited space on your smartphone, this isn’t something you want to have happen.

So, how do you rectify this issue? Well, when I went a little stir-crazy and downloaded more songs than I should’ve, I took to the Internet to learn how to quickly delete all (well, almost all) of the songs I had downloaded from Apple Music.

I thought that it would be a time-consuming process, but what I learned was that there is a way to un-download your downloaded Apple Music tunes that is easy and efficient. 

Allow me to clue you into what I learned.

How To Un-download Songs On Apple Music In Seconds

Removing downloaded songs on Apple Music is a simple process done from the Music app on your iPhone or iPad or from iTunes on your computer. If you see a cloud icon next to something, you won’t have to worry since it isn’t downloaded, just stored in the cloud.

How do you remove downloaded songs from Apple Music?

Is it really that painless? How do you delete an individual song or album? 

What if you want to delete everything or almost everything that you have downloaded from Apple Music? 

What if you need to delete them on an Android phone?

How do you remove songs from the Apple Music library, and how is that different from just deleting songs?

Read on to learn more about how you can un-download songs on Apple Music in a matter of mere seconds.

How do I delete downloaded songs from Apple Music?

When you tap on the + icon in Apple Music, you add a song or album to your Apple Music library. 

Let’s say you want to download this song or album for offline listening. You can tap on the download icon to do that. 

But this can take up a lot of space on your phone if you keep adding album after album over time.

So you might want to think about deleting some stuff.

How do I delete an individual song or album?

Let’s talk about how to delete an individual song or just one album. It is quick and easy, and here’s how you do it:

1. Open up your Music app.
2. Tap on Library.
3. Tap on Downloaded Music.
4. Tap on Songs. Then, open up your Music app. Go to the library tab, then tap on Downloaded Music.
5. Tap on Songs.
6. Press on the name of the song, then tap on Remove.
7. Finally, tap on Remove Download.

Can I delete all of my downloaded songs from the Settings app?

Now, if you want to delete all – or almost all – of your downloaded songs, you can do so from the Settings app on your phone.

Follow these directions if you want to go that route:

1. Open up your iPhone’s Settings app.
2. Scroll down until you see Music, then tap on it.
3. Tap on Downloaded Music, then tap on Downloaded Music in your iPhone settings.
4. Swipe from right to left on either All Songs or on individual artists. After that, you need to tap on Delete.
5. Also, you can tap on Edit, then on the red ‘-‘ button followed by Delete.

After you perform steps 1 and 2, the song will be removed from your downloaded music. 

Now, you will not be able to listen to it offline. Even so, the track you deleted will stay in your Apple Music Library.

Just tap on the download icon if you ever want to download it again.

Can I delete Apple Music downloads on an Android device?

You can absolutely delete your Apple Music downloads from your Android phone. 

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open up your iPhone Settings app.
2. Scroll down, then find and tap on Music.
3. Tap on Downloaded Music.
4. Swipe from right to left on either All Songs or individual artists. Then, tap on Delete.
5. You can also tap on Edit. After that, you can tap on the red ‘-‘ button followed by Delete.

Remember, you can still download these songs again just by going into Apple Music and hitting the download button again.

How do I delete Apple Music downloads from my Mac or PC?

If you are running your Mac on anything before MacOS Catalina or are on a PC, you’re going to need to go into iTunes to delete your downloads. 

Here is how to delete from iTunes or Apple Music on your computer:

1. Open up the Music app or iTunes.
2. Go to the left sidebar and click on Songs. Click on the cloud icon next to Name if you want to see all downloaded songs in one place. There will be no download icon next to the downloaded songs.
3. Next, right-click on a song and click on Remove Download.
4. If you wish to remove multiple songs, you’ll need to hold down the Command button on Mac. Or, if you are using Windows, you need to hold down the Control button. Next, you must select the songs, right-click, then select Remove Download.

If you want to remove all songs, just press on Command + A on Mac or, on a PC, Control + A. 

If you want to download the song again, just tap on the download icon.

How can I remove songs from my Apple Music library?

Deleting a song is not the same thing as removing a downloaded song. 

The previous steps taught you how to remove a download that was locally stored on your listening device. 

Next, we’re going to cover how to actually remove songs from your Apple Music library so that you can tidy it up.

From Your iPhone or iPad

1. Open up your Music app.
2. Tap on Library.
3. Tap on Songs. Notice that there is a download icon next to each one of the songs that you have added to your Library. However, you will not see this for those downloaded for listening to offline.
4. Next, select a song, then tap on Delete From Library.
5. Tap on Delete Song.
6. If you select a song that is downloaded, Remove will show up instead of Delete From Library. You’ll have to tap on Remove, then on Delete From Library. This removes the downloaded music file too.

From Your Android Device

1. Open your Music app.
2. Tap on Library.
3. Tap on Songs.
4. Select a song, then tap on Delete From Library. Then tap on Delete Song.
5. You can click Remove for a downloaded song.

From Your Mac or PC

1. Open the Music app or iTunes.
2. Tap on Library.
3. Tap on Songs.
4. Select the song, then tap on Delete From Library.
5. Now, tap on Delete Song.
6. You can opt to Remove downloaded songs too.

Closing Thoughts

Decluttering your Apple Music downloads can free up precious space on your phone or computer. 

With a subscription to Apple Music, it is easy and convenient to listen to music from almost anywhere, at any time.

The best thing is that you can always re-download songs that you have un-downloaded in the past.