Apple Music smart playlist most played

  • Go to File > New > Smart Playlist; or right-click Playlists > New Smart Playlist; or press Control+Alt+N (Win) or Option+Command+N (Mac).
  • Set rules: Select a category (like Artist) and enter a name or keyword to be matched. Click + to add more rules. Select Limit to to add limits.
  • Click Selected by to choose how to select songs. Click Live updating to continually update the Smart Playlist. When you're finished, select OK.

This article explains how to make Smart Playlists in Apple Music or iTunes using sets of rules to create interesting and fun mixes. Information here applies to both iTunes and Apple Music. On the Mac, iTunes was replaced by Apple Music in 2019. On PCs, iTunes is still Apple's music-management software.

You may want to create a Smart Playlist of songs that you rated five stars, played more than 50 times, or added to your library in the last 30 days. By setting up Smart Playlist rules, the music service automatically updates a playlist's songs when your music library changes.

There are three options to create a Smart Playlist in Apple Music and iTunes: using the File menu, your mouse, or a keyboard shortcut.

In Apple Music or iTunes, go to File, select New, then choose Smart Playlist.

In Apple Music, right-click the Playlists header. In iTunes, right-click a blank area beneath the list of playlists. From the pop-up menu, select New Smart Playlist.

Press Control+Alt+N (on Windows) or Option+Command+N (on a Mac).

You can only create Smart Playlists on a computer using Apple Music or iTunes. While Smart Playlists can be synced to your iOS device, you can't create a Smart Playlist on a device.

Next, create the Smart Playlists rules to generate the exact set of songs you want. Select the criteria that determine which songs are added to your Smart Playlist now and in the future.

  1. In the Smart Playlist dialog box, click the dropdown arrow and choose a category. For example, choose Artist to add songs by a specific musician or band.

  2. Enter a name or keyword to be matched. For example, enter Willie Nelson to search the artists in your music library and add songs by Willie Nelson. 

  3. To add more rules to a Smart Playlist, click + to add a new row, then enter the matching criteria. For example, add a new row, then choose the Album Rating category to add songs that have 5 stars.

    To delete a rule, remove the row that contains the rule criteria. To remove a row, click -.

  4. To set limits for the Smart Playlist, select the Limit to checkbox, enter a number, then select what you want to limit (for example, items, time, or file size).

  5. Click the selected by drop-down arrow, then choose how to select songs.

  6. You may have set some songs in your library not to sync to your iOS device. If so, and if you want to sync only some songs with your Smart Playlist, select the Match only checked items checkbox to add songs from your music library that have a check in the box to the left of the song.

  7. To automatically update the Smart Playlist every time new music is added or other changes are made to your library, click the Live updating checkbox.

  8. Click OK to create the Smart Playlist and add it to your list of Playlists.

  9. To rename the playlist, go to Playlists and click the playlist. Click the playlist name at the top of the screen, wait for it to become editable, type a name, and press Enter.

There are three ways to edit your Smart Playlist:s:

  • To rearrange the order, drag a song to a different location in the list.
  • To remove a song from the playlist (but not from your music Library), select the song and press Delete or right-click the song and select Remove from Playlist.
  • To change the rules used to create the playlist, select Edit Rules, then change the settings.

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Apple Music smart playlist most played

1. Launch iTunes, right-click on the Top 25 Most Played Smart Playlist on the left sidebar, and choose Edit Smart Playlist. If the sidebar is hidden, pressing Ctrl + S will reveal it.

Apple Music smart playlist most played

If you would like to keep the original list and make another one, click the plus button at the bottom of the sidebar, and choose New Smart Playlist.

Apple Music smart playlist most played

2. In the edit window, you will see rules that will be used to filter the songs in your library. If you create a new Smart Playlist, you will need to add the rules manually. To filter the most played songs, the required rule is Plays + is greater than + a number. Setting the number to zero is fine because we will limit the number of tracks later. An additional rule you can add is Media Kind + is not + Podcast, which can be used to filter out podcasts from the list.

Next, change the number in the Limit to X items field to the number of songs you want to include in the list, and set the selected by option to most often played.

When you are done, click OK to save the changes.

Apple Music smart playlist most played

3. Because you have changed the number of songs in the list, changing the name of the playlist is a good idea in order to avoid confusion. You can do so by clicking on the name of the playlist near the volume slider.

Apple Music smart playlist most played

4. If you have an iPhone or iPod, connect it to your computer, and sync the new list to your device.