How do I fix Apple Music songs stopping after 15 seconds on Mac?

I have both Apple Music and songs I’ve purchased or imported from CDs (etc.) to my Mac via iTunes Match. However, I cannot play certain songs. They stop after about 15 seconds, and then I have to restart the music. This affects both purchased and imported songs. This is a problem that came during 2026. I have tried to empty the cache, log out from apple, inactivate Lossless and Dolby Atmos, and stop the library sync. Any more ideas?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Apple Music songs stops

Posted on Oct 13, 2026 11:56 AM

1 reply

sooperfresh

Level 2 (377 points)

Oct 15, 2026 4:51 PM in response to DavidfromLjungby

Pick one song that cuts out and Control-click it. If it offers Download, Music is streaming the Match copy and that stream is what drops, so download it and see if it plays through. If it's already on the Mac, choose Show in Finder and open the file in QuickTime: if it stops there too the file itself is damaged, so Remove Download and download it again. If QuickTime plays it fine, it's Music, and Katalog (musickatalog.com) runs alongside the Music app and plays the files straight from disk.