How to Change Apple Music Playback Speed? Solved!

By James Blair Updated on 2024-08-14 / Update for Apple Music Tips

"Can you change playback speed on Apple Music?" Apple Music is the default music app for Apple device users. It is also available on Android devices as a popular streaming music app. If you prefer to stream on Apple Music, you may want to change Apple Music playback speed for different reasons. For example, you may want to equalize the song's rhythm get a new sound effect, or for easy practice. However, do you know how to adjust the play speed on Apple Music?

If you try and fail to adjust the play speed on the music app, please look no further than this post for a full guide. Here you will find the working methods to slow down or speed up Apple Music songs, audiobooks, podcasts and more on various devices like iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac. Now, let's start.

change apple music playback speed

Part 1. Can You Change Playback Speed on Apple Music

In fact, Apple Music doesn't provide a channel to change the playback speed for songs on it. Currently, you can only change the playback speed of audiobooks and podcasts on Apple Music. If you are an Apple Music listener, you can only change the sound quality for playback, use Apple Music crossfade to fade tracks in or out, adjust the volume to make Apple Music sound louder or lower, etc. from Apple Music playback settings.

To slow down or speed up songs on Apple Music, you can manually long-click on the forward or rewind button next to the playing song. Or if you don't like it that way, you'd better draw support from third-party Apple Music converters or Apple Music speed changers. Please read on to the following parts to explore more details.

Part 2. How to Speed Up/Slow Down Songs on Apple Music on All Devices

As we stated above, Apple Music only allows you to change the playback speed of audiobooks and podcasts. There is no feature to change the speed of Apple Music songs. If you want to play Apple Music songs at different speeds, you need to download Apple Music songs to unprotected local files. Then you can play them with other music players that can change the speed, such as VLC media player, Musicbox, etc.

AudFree Apple Music Converter is highly recommended among users. It allows you to download and convert Apple Music M4P content to commonly used audio formats like MP3, FLAC, AAC, etc. After downloading, you will be able to adjust Apple Music play speed with other music players. This one-stop tool also facilitates you to keep and listen to Apple Music offline forever with lossless sound quality and original metadata info.

If you hope to enhance the audio quality, AudFree Auditior can cater to your requirements. It enables you to change the bitrate, codecs, sample rate, etc. as well as ID3 tags including title, cover, album art, and so on. With the super-fast 30X download speed, AudFree Auditior could be the most powerful Apple Music downloader.

AudFree Apple Music Converter

audfree apple music converter
  • Download and convert Apple Music to MP3, FLAC, AAC, WAV, etc.
  • Keep lossless sound quality and all ID3 tags for organization and editing
  • Play and change Apple Music playback speed with other music players
  • Batch download and convert Apple Music at 30X faster speed

How to Speed up/Slow Down Apple Music Songs

Before decreasing or increasing the play speed for Apple Music songs, please ensure you have downloaded AudFree Auditior on your PC or Mac. You can install it directly by clicking the "Download" button above. Also, please make sure your favorite Apple songs are downloaded using your current Apple Music account in advance. After that, let's see how to download Apple Music to Windows or Mac losslessly and change the playback speed of Apple Music with the aid of other music players.

Step 1Run and Register AudFree Auditior
open and register audfree auditior
You can use the free trial version of AudFree Auditior permanently to get 1-minute conversions of each Apple Music song. Or, you can purchase its full version and register it to break the limit. To register this software, click on the menu icon (like a three-horizontal-lines icon) and select the 'Register' option from the pull-down list. Then enter your email and registration code.
Step 2Import Apple Music Downloads to AudFree Auditior
import apple music songs to audfree auditior
There are two easy ways to add Apple Music songs for downloading. On the one hand, you can click on the first Add button at the bottom left to open your iTunes library and add songs. Suppose you have purchased and downloaded your Apple songs to the local drive on your computer, please tap on the second Add button to launch the local folder and add songs. On the other hand, it also supports dragging and dropping Apple Music songs directly to its main interface.
Step 3Configure Apple Music Output Format and Quality
configure apple music output format for apple music speed change
Tap on the bottom-right Audio icon and the Format Setting screen will pop up. Then you are allowed to choose the output format for compatibility between Apple Music tracks and other audio players. MP3 is the best shot since it is accepted by almost all players. Plus, it is feasible to change Apple Music's bitrate, sample rate, audio channels, and codecs, among others. Once done, click on 'OK' to confirm it.
Step 4Convert Apple Music for Speed Change on Other Players
convert apple music for apple music playback speed change
Click on the 'Convert' button in the lower-right corner of this best Apple Music converter to start downloading and converting Apple Music songs in bulk at a 30X speed. When the download process is complete, please click on the File icon at the bottom to find them. You can put and play these downloaded Apple Music songs with other music players on your device. Then it's easy to change Apple Music speed as you want on VLC players, QuickTime Player, etc. Or, transfer them to a professional music speed changer.
Video guideHow to Convert Apple Music Songs for Speed Change on Any Device

Part 3. How to Speed Up/Slow Down Songs on Apple Music Speed Changers

There are a growing number of speed changers or controllers designed for Apple Music users such as the VLC Player for Windows, QuickTime Player for Mac, Speedic or Audipo for iOS, and Music Speed Control for Android.

Since many people prefer to stream Apple Music on Android and iOS devices, in this part, we'd like to describe Speedic and Music Speed Control. They allow you to change Apple Music playback speed on your iOS and Android. Please move your local Apple Music songs to your mobile device using a USB cable in advance.

Note: For Windows and Mac users, you can directly import the converted Apple Music songs to any music player on your computer that supports playback speed to make it. It is easy so we don't illustrate the detailed steps here.

Speedic Music Speed Controller [For iOS]

Speedic is a free iOS application particularly designed to slow down or speed up downloaded Apple Music songs. It allows Apple Music subscribers to control playback speed, loop a part for practice with the AB repeat feature, and loop parts of Apple songs. Please look into the how-to guide to install and use it to increase or decrease Apple Music play speed.

How to Change Apple Music Playback Speed on iPhone/iPad

Step 1. Install the Speedic app from the Apple Store on your iPhone or iPad.

speedic music speed controller

Step 2. Please transfer the converted Apple Music songs to Speedic.

Step 3. Go back to the Speedic app and tap on the top-right Music icon.

click on the music icon on speedic

Step 4. Choose and move the downloaded Apple Music track to the selection screen. Then play it.

Step 5. Tap on the bottom-right 'x1.00' icon to select a speed mode for speeding up or slowing down an Apple Music song.

adjust apple music playback speed on speedic

Music Speed Changer [For Android]

Music Speed Changer is another free software capable of adjusting the playback speed (tempo), pitch, loop, and sound effects for Apple Music songs in real-time. Different from Speedic, Music Speed Changer is mainly available on Android devices. It also serves as an audio editor with a built-in music player, boasting equalizer and effects and featuring an A/B repeat feature, BPM detection, marker settings, etc. This tool is tested on multiple music services, supporting changing the playback speed of Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, etc.

How to Adjust Apple Music Play Speed on Android

Step 1. Install the Music Speed Changer app from the Google Play Store on your Android devices.

music speed changer

Step 2. Make sure you have imported the Apple Music conversions to the library of Music Speed Changer.

Step 3. On Music Speed Changer, click on a song to start playing and pull up the bottom blue Playing bar to access the editor.

expand the now playing song on music speed changer

Step 4. Move the slider on the upper 'Tempo' bar to increase or decrease the speed of the song.

change apple music playback speed on music speed changer

Part 4. How to Change Playback Speed on Apple Music Podcasts/Audiobooks

How to alter playback speed in Apple Music? From above, it is noted that you are allowed to change the playback speed of audiobooks and podcasts on Apple Music. Now, you can follow the steps below to make it.

Adjust Playback Speed Apple Music for Audiobooks and Podcasts

Step 1. Open Apple Music app on your device.

Step 2. Select any audiobook or podcast to play. Tap on the bottom Now Playing bar to open the fullscreen mode.

Step 3. Find the '1x' icon at the bottom left of the full screen.

change apple music playback speed for audiobooks

Step 4. Once you tap on it, it will change the playback speed to 2X. If you tap on it again, the playback speed will slow down to 0.5X. The third tap will bring the speed back to 1X.

Note: If you tap on the '1x' icon on the Apple Music podcast's fullscreen, you can view and select several speed options from a pop-up list. You can pick up 0.5x, 0.75x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2x.

change apple music playback speed for podcasts

Part 5. FAQs about Changing Apple Music Play Speed

You can easily get Apple Music playback speed changed by following the steps above. Here in this part, we selected some frequently asked questions about changing Apple Music playback speed. You can get a quick look below.

Q1: How Do I Change Playback Speed on Apple Music Mac?

A: Please note that you can only change the playback speed of audiobooks and podcasts on the Apple Music app. To do it, select an audiobook or podcast to listen to. Then tap on the "1X" icon at the bottom left to change the playback speed. If you want to adjust speed for Apple Music songs, you need to use AudFree Apple Music Converter to convert songs to local files and transfer them to other media player to make it.

Q2: How to Play Apple Music at 2X Speed on iPhone?

A: You can only play 2X speed audiobooks and podcasts on Apple Music. Go to the audiobooks section on the Apple Music app and tap on an audiobook to play. Tap on the "1X" icon at the bottom left to change the speed to 2X.

Q3: Why Are My Apple Music Songs Suddenly Playing Too Fast or Too Slow and How to Fix It?

A: When meeting this issue, you can check if you connect your device to another device to stream Apple Music. If so, you need to check the speed settings on that device is normal. If it is OK, you can try to restart and update the Apple Music app and your device. Also, you need to disable Apple Music Crossfade feature if you have it on.

Part 6. The Bottom Line

Apple Music enables you to change the playback speed of audiobooks and podcasts. You can easily achieve it by tapping the "1X" icon. But if you would like to change the song playback speed, you need to turn to AudFree Apple Music Converter. Use it to download and convert Apple Music songs to local audio files. Then you can change Apple Music playback speed with other music players. Besides, it allows you to play Apple Music songs offline on other devices and music players without any limits.

James Blair

James Blair

Staff Editor

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James Blair is an experienced writer and music lover. Reviews and tips on using popular music, like Apple Music, can be found in his articles.