How to Download Apple Music on Mac [Latest Guide]

Part 1. How to Download Apple Music on Mac from Apple Music App Directly

You don't need to download Apple Music app for Mac/MacBook in advance if you are using macOS 10.15, macOS 11, macOS 12, macOS 13 and macOS 14 Sonoma. That's because the Apple Music app is the pre-installed program on these versions.

"Is Apple Music free on Mac?" No, you need to subscribe to Apple Music. If you are an active Apple Music subscriber, you get permission to add music tracks from Apple Music catalog to your library. After that, you can stream these Apple Music tracks in your music library over the Internet. You can also directly download Apple Music that you have added to your library for offline listening.

Steps listed below will show you how to download from Apple Music on Mac with a subscription.

Step 1. To get started, launch the Apple Music app on your Mac computer. Log into your paid account.

Step 2. From the "Listen Now" or "Browse" option, find and select the songs that you want to download.

Step 3. And then, click the "+ Add" icon to add to your library. Or, click the "..." icon and choose the "Add to Library" option.

Step 4. Next, go to "Library" to locate the Apple Music songs that you have added.

Step 5. After that, touch the "Download" icon. Or, proceed to the "..." option and press the "Download" tab to download Apple Music to Mac for offline listening manually. The downloaded Apple Music songs can solely play with the Apple Music app.

By the way, if you find the Dolby button next to the music you are downloading, it means it is available in Dolby Atmos and you can download it in Dolby Atmos or stereo. To do that, you can go to 'Music' > 'Settings' > 'General' > tick the 'Download Dolby Atmos' box.

Extra Tips: You can also download music from Apple Music by turning on the 'Automatic Downloads' on Apple Music app.

Step 1. Go to 'Music' > 'Preferences'.

Step 2. Check the 'Automatic Downloads' box > 'OK'.

After that, music will be automatically downloaded when you add them to your library.

To find the downloaded Apple Music files on the app, you can click 'View' > 'Only Downloaded Music'. For more details, you can refer to this post: Where Does Apple Music Download To

Note: It is important to note that when you stop the subscription to Apple Music, the Apple Music songs that you downloaded previously on Mac won't be playable. Also, you can't burn them to a disc or move them to other devices for playing offline. In case you hope to download Apple Music to listen to offline forever whether you go on with paid service or not, please refer to the following part.

Part 2. How to Download Apple Music on Mac as Local Files for Offline Use Forever

Can I keep the downloaded Apple Music songs available on my Mac when I don't continue the paid subscription? Yes, by all means. Use a technical Apple Music tool - AudFree Apple Music Converter for Mac to convert Apple Music songs to unprotected format and save them to the local system. In this case, without subscription payment, you can listen to Apple Music offline on other players and devices.

AudFree Apple Audio Converter uses sophisticated conversion technology, hammering at the 30X-speed and lossless solution. It can convert Apple Music, iTunes audiobooks, M4P songs, Audible AA/AAX files, and hundreds of common audio files to MP3, WAV, M4B, M4A, AAC, or FLAC with a few clicks of the mouse.

It even provides a customizable option for users to set the output preferences like bit rate, channel, volume and so on. For the ID3 tags of your Apple Music songs, such as title, cover, album, genre, etc., you can keep them original or flexibly adjust them to your liking.

How to Download from Apple Music on Mac as Common Audio Files

Before going ahead, please make sure that AudFree Apple Music Converter for Mac has been installed on your computer powered by macOS. You can hit the 'Download' button for Mac above to make it. Then, do as instructed below.

Step 1 Add Apple Music to AudFree

Launch AudFree software after the installation is complete. At the bottom-left corner of AudFree's main interface, two "+" icons are located. Use the first icon known as "Load iTunes Library" to access your iTunes library > Apple Music > select all Apple Music songs that you want to download. Then, click the "Add" button.

Step 2Define output parameters for Apple Music files

Once your Apple Music songs have been loaded, touch the audio icon on the left side of the "Convert" button. It is situated at the lower-right corner of the main window. On the pop-up format window, specify an output format like MP3, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, or M4B.

If you are tech-savvy, you next go further to set the output parameters including codec, sample rate, channel, or bit rate. For beginners, it is advisable to get into the drop-down menu of the "Preset" option and choose "High Quality". Then AudFree will automatically match the optimal output sound quality.

View also: How to Convert Apple Music to MP3

Step 3Locally download Apple Music for Mac locally

After the settings of output format, press "OK" to get back to the main window. Proceed to hit the "Convert" button to set about the conversion process. When the process comes to an end, navigate to the "Converted" interface, in which you can quickly access the downloaded Apple Music songs on your Mac.

These Apple Music tracks downloaded with AudFree Apple Music Converter are compatible with any device and any music player. Now, you can listen to Apple Music offline and use local files for any purpose on your Mac or other devices without paying a penny.

Part 3. In Conclusion

To download Apple Music on Mac, this post offers two ways for you. With an Apple Music subscription, you can directly download songs from Apple Music on your Mac computer. But it is noted that they are protected and you can't access them once you cancel Apple Music subscription. In this case, you can refer to the second way to use AudFree Apple Music Converter to download Apple Music as local files on Mac. With it, you can keep Apple Music songs forever and use the music files anywhere without limits.