How to disable Apple Music on Mac?

You cannot remove the Apple Music application from your Mac. Like many other bundled applications, it lives on a cryptographically-signed, sealed system volume that hardens many parts of macOS against malware attack.

If the left side of the Dock contains an Apple Music icon, you can remove the icon from the Dock. That is simply a shortcut for launching the Music application, not the application itself.

If you are not an Apple Music subscriber, you can hide the portion of the user interface that's related to the Apple Music subscription service by going into Music > Settings…, clearing the Show: [ ] Apple Music box, and quitting the Music application. The next time you start Music, it will show only your Library (and the iTunes Store – if that was checked off in Settings).

If you are an Apple Music subscriber, and Music is logged into your Apple Account, there will be no Show: [ ] Apple Music control in Settings. The assumption is that if you are a subscriber, it would be silly to hide the controls to the service that you are paying for …

Do you mean the Music app, or do you mean the Apple Music service? If the latter, please tell us exactly what you wish to turn off.

Syncing ( uncheck the option as outlined in Use Sync Library with your Apple Music subscription - Apple Support)?

Click here for Canceling the subscription if that is what you wish to do.

Since the Music app is now part of Apple operating system you can no longer delete it. You can, however, change things so that clicking on a media file will open a different application:

Find a media file and Finder > File > Get Info

Go down to "Open with" and select a different app.

Close the Info window.

You will have to repeat that for each media file type.

Is this your problem: Many Mac users have found that Apple Music will open itself, and even start playing, when they connect Bluetooth headphones, earbuds, AirPods, or similar to their Mac.

noTunes is a macOS application that will prevent iTunes or Apple Music from launching. Launch the noTunes app and iTunes/Music will no longer be able to launch. For example, when bluetooth headphones reconnect.

https://github.com/tombonez/noTunes

McCTom wrote:

None of that. On my MacBook Air with Sequoia 15.8.1, the Music app starts on initial login. I can not find any settings for the app. So all I want is for it not to auto-start.

Check System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions and see if the Music application is listed in the Open at Login section. If so, select that line, then click on the "-".

Also see Prevent apps and windows from reopening on Mac - Apple Support .

Actually, the sequence is: when I connect my speaker via Bluetooth, the Apple Music app starts up. Since I do that by habit in my startup routine, I did not notice that the Bluetooth selection was the trigger.

None of that. On my MacBook Air with Sequoia 15.8.1, the Music app starts on initial login. I can not find any settings for the app. So all I want is for it not to auto-start.