Edgar Cervantes/Android Authority
If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you might have noticed something while browsing for music to play. Some tracks have a star next to them. If you hover over it, the star will turn into a heart icon, in case you want to “like” the track. But what do the stars on Apple Music mean and why do they appear?
quick answer
On Apple Music, a single star next to a song means that the track is very popular among many Apple Music subscribers. Therefore, Apple thinks you will also like this song, so the star is recommending to check it out.
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What do the stars on Apple Music mean?
If you are an Apple Music subscriber or use the Music or iTunes apps to listen to downloaded music, each song has a star rating system. You can rank each song from one to five stars based on how much you like it. Apple Music then sends this data to its algorithm, which calculates what to recommend to you next based on your listening history and music tastes.
All star rating data is then aggregated, and Apple identifies the most popular tracks of all time across various albums and genres. If you look at the best-selling albums of all time by your favorite genre or artist, you’re bound to find at least one star next to the song.
Two notable examples include another Brick in the Wall From Pink Floyd’s Album wall and iconic tracks Bohemian Rhapsody by queen
Apple’s decision to flag music it thinks people should listen to has been criticized online. Some believe Apple believes people are incapable of making their own music choices. But if you look at the star icon, it’s very faint and you’ll probably miss it if you don’t look carefully enough.
Since this isn’t a feature forced on you by Apple, it’s just a harmless feature that recommends great songs when you encounter a new album for the first time.
How to rate songs on Apple Music
How to rate songs on Apple Music on desktop
If you want to start rating music on the desktop version of Apple Music, it’s easy to do.
- Go to song in Apple Music.
- Left-click on the top row to open the menu, then click score.
- You will see five star icons (you may need to hover over the area to display them).
- Click the star representing your rating preference. For example, if you think this song deserves four stars, click the fourth star on the right.
Your selections are automatically saved and you can change the rating later if needed. There is no permanent fix.
Note that you can’t rate songs in Apple Music playlists created by others.
How to rate songs on Apple Music on iOS
You can start rating songs in Apple Music, but you’ll need to do some setup first. That’s it:
- On your iPhone, go to set up and then music.
- There, find the option Show star rating and turn it on.
- Now, open music app. You can rate any song in your library simply by clicking and holding.
- In the menu that appears, select Rate a song. Choose the number of stars (1 to 5) you want to rate the song.
- These ratings will be synced across all your devices using the same Apple ID.
This feature may not be available unless you have already rated some songs from a previously synced library.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stars are used to express your preference for a song’s quality, while the Love button is primarily used to add songs to your library for easier access. It’s important to note that you can use the Love button without assigning a star rating, and you can assign a star rating without using the Love button.
Yes, your rating affects the music recommendations you get. Apple Music uses your ratings to improve your listening experience by understanding your musical tastes and recommending new songs you might like.