Apple Music Introduces Playlist Transfer Tool to Seven New Markets

Apple has quietly flicked the switch on a long-rumoured feature that could tempt frustrated Spotify users to jump ship: the ability to import playlists directly into Apple Music.

The new tool, which first rolled out in Australia and New Zealand back in May, has now expanded to seven new markets: the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Mexico. The low-key update was spotted via Apple’s own support page, first flagged by MacRumors.

The feature does exactly what it says on the tin – letting users pull in saved songs, albums and playlists from rival platforms like Spotify. According to Apple, “you can still access all of your saved content in the other service. Transferring music to Apple Music is provided by a third-party.”

That third-party is SongShift, a long-running app designed for migrating music libraries between streaming platforms. Apple’s system plugs directly into SongShift’s tech, handling the heavy lifting of matching tracks and flagging anything that doesn’t transfer cleanly. If certain songs can’t be found in Apple Music’s catalogue, users are given 30 days to choose alternatives before the tracks vanish from the import queue.

The process works across iPhone, iPad, Android and even the web version of Apple Music – making it a relatively painless option for anyone who’s been put off switching by the thought of rebuilding their carefully curated playlists from scratch.

The timing, of course, is interesting. Spotify recently confirmed another round of price hikes for Premium users across multiple territories. In the US, the monthly subscription has crept up to $11.99 – a jump from the $9.99 price point of just two years ago. Apple Music, meanwhile, still sits at $10.99 a month in the States, after its own rise in 2022.

For Apple, the playlist transfer feature looks like a subtle but deliberate nudge at Spotify’s dominance, offering frustrated users a lifeline to move their libraries without friction. But there are still caveats: exactly what you can transfer depends on the rival service’s permissions, meaning not everything is guaranteed to make the leap.

Still, for anyone tired of rising subscription costs or simply looking for a new home for their music library, Apple’s latest move could be the easiest way yet to start fresh – without leaving years of playlists behind.