How to make Apple Music's Connect not suck
By Serenity Caldwell last updated

In theory, Apple Music's Connect is a wonderful part of the service: It lets you view and hear new images, videos, songs, playlists, interviews, and blogs from your favorite musicians, DJs, and Apple Music curators.
"But..." I've had some people say. "I'm not following anyone I want to. How do I follow Imogen Heap? How do I hear the St Vincent's show form Beats 1 everyone's talking about?"
Good news: Apple may not have made it obvious, but following people on Connect (and unfollowing them) is easy: All you have to do is search for the artist, DJ, or show you want to listen to.
How to find artists and Beats 1 DJs on Connect
On your iPhone or iPad
- Open the Music app.
- Tap the Search icon in the upper right corner and type in the artist, DJ, or show you're looking for.
- Scroll to Curators/Artists and select the person or show in question.
- Tap the Follow button to start following them on Connect.
On your Mac
- Open iTunes and click the New tab.
- Click on the Search bar in the upper right corner and type in the artist, DJ, or show you're looking for.
- Scroll to Curators/Artists and select the person or show in question.
- Tap the Follow button to start following them on Connect.
How to view your Connect stream
In iTunes on your Mac or the Music app on your iPhone, click or tap the Connect tab. This tab displays recent posts from all the artists, curators, DJs, and shows you're following, from newest to oldest.
How to view a specific artist, curator, DJ, or show on Connect
If you want to see a specific artist's page, all you need to do is tap on their name from your Connect stream, or search for them by name.
Once you've found the page you want, you have a few options for interacting with the page. You can: - choose to follow or unfollow the artist, curator, DJ, or show - share a link via email, messages, Twitter, or Facebook - Check out the page's Featured music (which can contain Connect-only music and playlists), Playlists, or Connect-only content.
How to share a post from Connect
If you see a post on Connect you want to share with the world, all you need to do is tap or click the Share button. From there, you can copy the link or share it via email, Twitter, Facebook, or Messages.
How to download a Connect track to your iCloud Music Library
You may not have known this, but you can download any content on Connect labeled a "Song": This includes actual songs, interviews, or even full Beats 1 shows. The option is slightly hidden, but here's how to find it.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open the Music app and tap the Connect tab.
- Tap the song in question you want to download to start playing it.
- Tap on the More ellipses icon, then tap Add to My Music.
On your Mac
- Open iTunes and select the Connect tab.
- Click on the song in question that you want to download to start playing it.
- Tap on the More ellipses icon, then tap Add to My Music.
Questions?
Still have questions on Connect? Let us know in the comments and we'll try our best to answer them.
Serenity was formerly the Managing Editor at iMore, and now works for Apple. She's been talking, writing about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, sings, and in her secret superhero life, plays roller derby. Follow her on Twitter @settern.
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The first time I opened Connect, I was surprised--then annoyed--to see that it was following a couple of artists I did not choose to follow. I have purchased at least one song from each artist, but I did not add them to Connect. I see no way for me to unfollow them, and their names do not appear in the follow/unfollow list. Ugh! (I have since disabled Connect in the Restrictions screen.) Sent from the iMore App
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Two comments, guess this shows how popular this service is. I also turned it off after another "U2" moment with artists added for me.
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Wow, this is looking less like a rogue bug and more like an ill-considered feature.
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I went into Settings and turned on the restrictions option for Connect because I like having the Playlist tab instead of the Connect tab.
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