Have you ever felt confused trying to navigate Apple Music and understand all of the symbols and icons within the app? As a passionate technology expert and long-time Apple Music user, I totally get it. The icons aren’t always intuitive even for seasoned users.
That’s why I decided to write this comprehensive guide breaking down every Apple Music icon and symbol. My goal is to help you master Apple Music navigation so you can access your favorite music with ease.
Throughout this 2700 word guide, you’ll learn:
- What each icon on the Apple Music home screen, library menu, and playing now screen represents
- How to use the edit menu to customize your library
- The key differences between Apple Music and iTunes
- An overview of Apple Music subscription plan options
- 10 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Apple Music
Let’s dive in!
Home Screen Icons
When you first open the Apple Music app, you‘ll see the home screen. This screen contains icons allowing you quick access to key features.
Library Icon
The Library icon in the bottom left corner resembles a red box with musical notes inside. Tapping this icon lets you view and organize your personal music library.
Within your library, you can access playlists, albums, artists and more. It essentially contains all of the music content you‘ve added over time.
The Library icon provides access to your personal music collection
Radio Icon
The Radio icon appears as a dot with wifi-like pulse signals radiating from it. This icon provides access to Apple Music‘s radio streaming feature.
Through Radio, you can listen to music stations like Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country. You also get genre-based stations tailored to your tastes. It‘s a great way to discover new music.
The Radio icon lets you stream music stations and find new songs
Search Icon
The Search icon takes the form of a magnifying glass. Tapping this icon allows you to search Apple Music by keywords like song titles, artist names, lyrics etc.
For example, you could search "David Bowie Greatest Hits" or "songs about summertime." It‘s extremely useful for finding specific tracks in Apple Music‘s vast collection.
Search helps you find particular songs and albums
Library Menu Icons
Your personal Apple Music library is fully customizable. The various icons within the library menu let you sort and manage your music collection in different ways.
Playlists Icon
The Playlists icon features a musical note next to three horizontal lines. This icon organizes all of the custom playlists you‘ve personally created.
It also allows you to make new playlists based on your musical tastes and listening habits. Playlists make it easy to queue up music fitting different occasions and moods.
Access all of your custom playlists
Artists Icon
The Artists icon contains a microphone illustration. Selecting this icon sorts your music library alphabetically by the names of artists.
So if you want to binge on all your saved Beyoncé, Kanye or Beatles tracks at once, this is the place!
Sort your library by musical artist
Albums Icon
The Albums icon shows two horizontal lines with a square underneath. As you may have guessed, tapping here arranges your library alphabetically by album name.
It‘s helpful for revisiting full albums you‘ve saved over the years in Apple Music. You‘ll also find curated albums recommended just for you.
View your full album collection
Songs Icon
The Songs icon contains a basic musical note illustration. Selecting this sorts all of your saved Apple Music tracks alphabetically by song title from A to Z.
So if you want to scroll through your entire song catalog and rediscover some forgotten gems, this icon has you covered.
Peruse an alphabetical list of all your songs
Music Videos Icon
The Music Videos icon is represented by a musical note inside a rectangle. As you can probably deduce, this menu contains any and all music videos you‘ve saved within Apple Music.
So if you want to watch the visual companions to your favorite tracks, this icon will take you right where you want to go.
Watch all your saved music videos
Genres Icon
The Genres icon depicts three animated guitars. Selecting this categorizes your music library by genre.
So whether you want to listen to Pop, Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock or any other music genre, this icon has your back. It makes it easy to satisfy any musical craving!
Sort your tunes by music genre
Compilations Icon
The Compilations icon contains two illustrated human figures inside a square. As the name suggests, this icon organizes any compilation albums saved in your library.
Compilations include albums featuring multiple artists like movie soundtracks, seasonal songs, greatest hits records and more.
Find compilation albums featuring various artists
Composers Icon
The Composers icon shows three animated musical notes. Selecting this categorizes your music alphabetically by the composers who wrote them.
So if you want to hear classical music or film scores from famous composers like Beethoven, Mozart or John Williams, this is your destination.
Sort songs by their original composers
Downloaded Music Icon
The Downloaded Music icon contains a downward arrow inside a circle. This stores any Apple Music tracks, albums or playlists you‘ve downloaded for offline listening.
Accessing this content allows you to listen ad-free without using mobile data or WiFi. It‘s perfect for plane rides, road trips and areas with bad signal.
Listen offline through downloaded music
Edit Menu Options
The Edit Menu provides further ways to organize your Apple Music Library to best suit your preferences. Here are explanations of the two main features within the edit menu.
Select/Deselect
The Select icon features a white checkmark inside a red circle. This allows you to choose which categories appear in your Library menu.
For example, if you never use the Compilations section, deselecting this from the edit menu removes it from the main Library screen.
Customize your Library menu
Reorder
The Reorder icon contains three horizontal lines. As you may have guessed, this lets you rearrange the order of library categories based on personal preference.
Simply tap and drag on the three line icon to shift categories up or down your library menu. Tailor it to your listening habits!
For instance, you may want Playlists on top for quick access or Downloaded Music nearer the bottom.
Organize Library categories to your liking
Playing Now Screen
When you select a song to play, you‘ll be taken to the Playing Now screen offering playback tools and options.
Menu Icon
The Menu icon is represented by three vertical dots. Tapping here while a track plays provides additional management options like:
- Delete the song/album from your Library
- Add it to a playlist
- Mark as a favorite
- Hide the song/album
- View album/artist details
- Share the music
These handy controls allow you to curate Apple Music recommendations to better match your music tastes.
Manage music playback
Download Icon
The Download icon features a downwards-facing arrow inside a circle. This allows you to download the currently playing track, album or playlist for offline listening.
Downloading music lets you access it later without wifi or mobile data. It‘s great for trips, commutes or other scenarios without consistent connectivity.
Save music for offline playback
Play Icon
The Play icon shows a right-facing triangle/arrow. As expected, tapping this will play the selected song or content.
If music is currently paused, the play icon resumes playback from where you left off.
Play selected music
Shuffle Icon
The Shuffle icon depicts two twisting arrows crossing paths. Tapping this will play songs from the current library, playlist or album in random order.
Shuffle mode spices things up by removing repetition and surprise. It‘s great for parties or situations where you want continuous variety.
Play songs randomly
Pause Icon
The Pause icon displays two vertical lines like a progress bar. This pauses music playback until tapped again.
It allows you to temporarily halt the music without losing your place. You can then tap Play to seamlessly resume.
Pause music playback
Next Song Icon
The Next Song icon shows dual right-facing arrows. As expected, selecting skips the current track and plays the next song in the queue.
If nothing is actively queued, Apple Music will play similar recommendations based on recent listening activity.
Skip to the next track
And that concludes your tour of the main Apple Music icons! Let‘s shift gears a bit…
Apple Music vs. iTunes: Key Differences
Since the launch of Apple Music in 2015, some confusion still remains around how it differs from iTunes. Let me clear it up for you!
Apple Music is a monthly subscription streaming service with access to over 90 million songs. You can listen on-demand, create playlists, discover new artists and more.
However, you lose access to the full Apple Music catalog if you unsubscribe. Downloaded content also gets removed.
Comparatively, iTunes is a digital store for purchasing music. When you buy songs/albums via iTunes, the content is yours forever! Purchased iTunes music also integrates with your Apple Music Library.
In summary:
- Apple Music = streaming access
- iTunes = ownership
They work together quite nicely!
Apple Music Subscription Plans
Apple Music offers flexible pricing tier options to users…
Individual Plan
- $10.99/month in the United States
- Ad-free, on-demand music
- Create infinite playlists
- Download 100k songs for offline listening
- Listen across all devices
Family Plan
- $16.99/month in the United States
- All features of Individual Plan
- Share with up to 5 additional people
- Personal profiles for customized tastes
- Family Sharing parental controls
Student Plan
- $5.99/month in the United States
- Requires active university/college enrollment
- Same features as Individual Plan
- Discount for eligible students
Voice Plan
- $4.99/month
- Ad-free Apple Music catalog access
- Stream music on Siri
- Play songs by title, mood, genre etc
- Just not downloadable
The Family and Student plans offer nice ways to save money with Apple Music depending on your situation. And the Voice option provides budget streaming!
10 Tips for Apple Music Domination
You now know what all those little icons do…but how else can power users maximize Apple Music for master-level listening?
Here are my top 10 expert tips:
-
Explore expertly curated playlists – Tons of genre and mood playlists updated regularly by music professionals.
-
Tap into radio stations – Endless channels for new discoveries tailored exactly for your ears.
-
Follow favorite artists – Get alerts anytime beloved musicians release new tunes or content.
-
Take full advantage of Siri – "Play 80‘s dance party songs" or "Play more songs like this." Let Apple‘s AI DJ assist you!
-
Download before flights/trips – Avoid streaming hiccups and data overages by pre-downloading playlists for offline playback.
-
Craft perfect tailored playlists – With a library of 90 million songs, refining huge thematic playlists is easier than ever.
-
Share the gift of music – Gift subscriptions to friends/family and share custom playlists via text or social media.
-
Song Lyrics mode – Display lyrics in real-time like you‘re at a rock concert or karaoke bar! Super fun.
-
Dolby Atmos spatial audio – Mindblowing surround sound experience through compatible devices. Truly music innovation!
-
Endless radio customization – The more you listen, the more accurately Apple Music can feed your audio cravings 24/7.
Put these music mastery tips into practice plus utilize the icon map within this guide, and your Apple Music experience will transform entirely!
Closing Thoughts on Apple Music Symbols
And there you have it – now you can navigate Apple Music icons like a pro!
To quickly recap, we went over:
- Home screen icons like Library, Radio and Search
- All library menu symbols for playlists, music, composers etc
- Edit menu tools for customization
- Playing now screen icons controlling music playback
- Differences between Apple Music vs. iTunes
- Subscription plan pricing and features
- Plus advanced ways to fully leverage Apple Music
Understanding what those little symbols mean seriously improves overall usability. With all icons and capabilities mapped out, adding soundtrack to your life through Apple Music becomes fast and focused.
I hope this guide gave you the full breakdown to master your listening experience! Please drop any Apple Music questions below in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
