Thank You Letter: Apple Music’s vast library

Sharing an appreciation for music streaming

Image by: Chris Yao

Nothing brings me more joy than listening to music. I’ve never had a knack for playing instruments and my vocal range is limited to the “Cha-Cha Slide,” but my true skill is being able to listen to music at all times of the day.

Even though I enjoy a wide range of genres, my music knowledge from childhood was limited to radio hits and whatever my older sister brought home from HMV. My parents weren’t diehard fans of any particular artists, and their parents hadn’t been either. Car rides to school were dominated by FM radio or endless listens to albums by Rihanna, Usher and Avril Lavigne. I’d buy—or illegally download—the top songs on iTunes each week and loop them until I was fluent in their lyrics.

While I was always content with my small pool of culturally relevant songs, it wasn’t until I got Apple Music that I realized how much good music from the past was waiting for me.

[I]t wasn’t until I got Apple Music that I realized how much good music from the past was waiting for me.

For each music purchase I made growing up, I had to be careful not to exceed the monthly allowance my parents set—and to make sure my dad didn’t get too many copyright infringement notices from LimeWire downloads. This limited the amount of music I could download and discouraged me from taking a chance on buying something I didn’t already know I liked from hearing it on the radio.

When I first signed up for Apple Music, I freaked out knowing I had access to the most popular music of the past few centuries. If I want a crash course in Motown, I can search up a ready-made playlist of the era’s biggest hits. If I’m looking to relax, I can listen to a compilation of the most calming songs in history. And if I don’t know what I’m in the mood for, playlists will spring up each week tailored to my listening patterns.

Whereas my old playlists contained songs released over the span of a few years, I’m now able to regularly listen to songs released in different decades, all back-to-back. I’ve discovered many of my favourite artists by exploring the depths of Apple Music, like Anita Baker, The Bee Gees, or even some Destiny’s Child deep cuts that passed me by growing up.

Now that I’ve been using Apple Music for a few years, these benefits aren’t as regularly apparent to me as they once were. I’m still forever grateful to music streaming services for giving me a key to the world’s song library and deepening my love for music more than I thought possible.

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Apple Music, thank you letter

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