The challenge to find clean versions of such songs at appropriate venues is real, especially now since music streaming apps are designed differently. You can face this issue in Apple Music too, one of the world’s most popular music streaming apps. There are various methods with which you can find the clean versions, such as setting up Content Restrictions and understanding Apple Music’s updated User Interface.
Finding Clean Versions Of Songs On Apple Music
There are various ways to find clean versions, as mentioned in detail:
With Content Restrictions
The first option is to set up Content Restrictions that will prevent explicit versions to turn up on your feed. This setting cannot be synced. It has to be done individually for every device.
Go to Apple Music > Settings > Content & Privacy.
Tap on this option to only have clean versions available to you, which will include music, news, and podcasts.
Without Content Restrictions
In case, you are only looking for a temporary solution, you do not have to set up Content Restrictions. Luckily, Apple Music has updated its user interface to allow users to find these cleaner versions of songs easily. Their new algorithm “declutters” an artist’s page for easy searches. Now an artist’s main page only lists their main studio albums, unlike previously when you would find all variants of the same album cluttering the feed.
So, what you do is:
Select an album > Scroll to the bottom of the tracking listing page > Find the alternate version of the album or song.
But this will only be available if the artist has released such a version.
Friends Who Listened
Another update to the User Interface, if your friends have listened to the clean version, it will show up in the “Friends Who Listened” option. These songs get added to your playlist the minute you listen to them. However, remember that Apple Music does not allow you to have both clean and explicit versions in your playlists.
Conclusion
Previously, when CDs were the main medium to distribute music, it was easy to directly skip to the song number you wanted to listen to. But after streaming apps like Apple Music, Spotify, and Prime Music have taken over the market, it can be tricky to find these versions. This is because, usually, the original song is the first one displayed whenever you search for it, which would be the Explicit one in such cases.
Whether you are not a fan of expletives in songs or just want to momentarily play clean versions because of the kind of audience you are catering to, Apple Music has the solution to it all. The methods are very simple and easy to do.
You can:
Set up Content RestrictionsScroll to the bottom of the album track listing to find Clean Versions (if any)Check out the “Friends Who Listened” option
Remember, that if a clean version has been officially recorded, mixed, and mastered for an album, you will find it on Apple Music. So, if you are having a hard time trying to figure it out, go through all these tricks, either individually or together. Happy Listening!
My Apple Music is suggesting only Clean Songs to me.
Your phone must be having default Restrictions. To change that:
Go to Settings > General > RestrictionScroll to find the place where it is enabled and tap on it to disable it (the little button should turn from green to grey)
My Apple Music is only playing Clean Versions and all my Restrictions are off.
Delete and reinstall the app since the problem might be in your device. Restart your phone.
** Please note will lose your offline music when you do so.
Even after following all the steps, my Apple Music is not playing Clean Versions.
Ensure you have the latest update of Apple Music. Check if your OS is updated. Restart your phone.
Does Content Restrictions mean blocking Explicit videos too?
Yes, Apple Music will block both music and music videos that are not clean, if you have turned on Content Restrictions.
Does region restriction block explicit songs?
Apple Music does have many songs that are not available globally, due to negotiations made with the music labels. However, every country has its own censorship rules based on its political and cultural views. This is a major reason why labels encourage artists to record clean versions because they do not want to lose out on their market. Thus many a time, you might only find clean versions of songs in countries, irrespective of whether or not you have Content Restrictions enabled.
