Comments on post “Apple Music API”
Mathew Huusko V
@mhuusko5 · Consumer of music. Creator of software.
All aboard the hype train! ;)
In reality this is nothing more than a slight marketing push/update, I'd guess for "Apple Music Toolbox" (a tool/extension of their affiliate program).
The "API" they speak of is functionality that has existed since iOS 4 – the ability to 1) read the user's music library (this used to be just local content, but expanded to iCloud Match when that came out, and Apple Music on account of it sharing the same services architecture (Beats is no more – the team and licensing/biz was bought, most of the tech thrown away)) 2) queue up/play songs, either with a dedicated player for the dev's app, or by sharing an instance of a player with the built in music app, thus controlling the built in music app.
Unfortunately the only pieces of this that arent 7 years old, are "based on a song ID" (this means "Store" ID, which is specific to Apple Music's architecture, and is region specific.. vs say, ISRC), and "create a new playlist" (I believe pre-iOS 9.3 library was read only). Actually there is one other new feature, but they don't even mention it – saving Apple Music tracks to your library, another "write" feature.
One can use the "iTunes Search [Web] API" (about as old as iTunes itself) in combination with these frameworks for reading library/playing music on device, quite clunkily I must add, to get close(r) to what one would call an Apple Music API, but in reality it falls pretty short. A real Apple Music API, as the Spotify Web API and SoundCloud REST API (neither of which I have particular love for.. read: tearing my hair out) mirror its service offerings in a single package, would need to cover managing playlists/playing specific tracks, but also endpoints/features for getting the users recommended ("For You"/"New") content/breakdowns, liking/rating songs and albums, sharing playlists, as well as baked in proper Apple Music oriented search functionality, etc. etc... maybe even access to Apple Music Radio and/or Connect features – aka all or at least most of the features that make Apple Music what it is, otherwise there's 1) little room for experimentation and/or heavy, useful integration 2) zero way to, as one commenter asks, make a better/replacement Apple Music app.
Also, I mean.. just pedantically, even if the above features were exposed in some way, if it were the way they've done the it so far of tacking little features onto existing built in iOS frameworks, that wouldn't really be an "Apple Music API." That would just more or less be the built in Apple Music architecture for iOS exposing more of itself for limited use by *other (3rd party) iOS apps*. What about getting access to any of the above information/functionality on Mac, let alone via JS/REST on a website, or god forbid, an Android app?
Well, that went on. Hopefully informative. ;)
25sharetweet・
Oliver Muoto
@muoto · Metablocks
@mhuusko5 Well said
upvotesharetweet・