New: Apple Music in Ampado

Ampado has been a player for your own audio files from the very beginning. Internet Radio then added live streams from all over the world. Now comes the biggest step yet: Apple Music is integrated directly into Ampado as a new audio source.

You stream millions of songs from Apple Music, browse your own library and play everything directly in Ampado. And because it's Ampado, you get to see your music too: with waveform, level meter and visuals.

Apple Music as a New Audio Source

In the Ampado sidebar, you will now find a dedicated section for Apple Music, right next to Files, Playlists and Internet Radio. It brings both together in one place: the Apple Music streaming catalog and your personal library with all the songs, albums, artists and playlists you have collected.

This also includes your local library, meaning the music you have imported yourself or bought on the iTunes Store over the years. Everything you know from the Music app is now at your fingertips in Ampado too.

Connected in Seconds

The first time you open the Apple Music section, simply click Connect and allow Ampado to access Apple Music. That's all. No separate sign-in is needed, because Ampado uses the Apple ID you are already signed in with on your Mac.

To play songs from the Apple Music catalog, you need an Apple Music subscription. Playback runs entirely through Apple's official MusicKit, exactly as Apple intends for apps on the Mac.

Discover New Music

In For You, you will find your personal recommendations from Apple Music, meaning albums and playlists tailored to your taste. Recently Played brings back the songs, albums and playlists you last listened to on Apple Music, whether on your Mac, iPhone or iPad.

Charts shows you the current Top Songs, Top Albums and Top Playlists in your country. A click on an album, a playlist or an artist opens the detail view with all tracks. Play All starts the complete list.

Your Library in Ampado

Your library is neatly organized into Recently Added, Songs, Albums, Artists and Playlists. That way you find your way around instantly, whether your collection consists of a few albums or tens of thousands of songs.

Just like in the Music app, artists from your library are shown with their photo from Apple Music. A click shows you all of their albums in your collection. For artists from the catalog, you also see their top songs.

Search for Songs and Play Them Right Away

The search field lets you find songs, albums, artists and playlists. The search depends on where you are: if you are in a section of your library, you search your own collection. If you are in For You, Recently Played or Charts, you search the entire Apple Music catalog.

Results appear as you type, sorted into songs, albums, artists and playlists. A click on a song starts playback in Ampado right away.

Playback as Usual

Apple Music fits seamlessly into the familiar Ampado controls. You use the same control bar as with your files: play and pause, next and previous, shuffle and repeat. You can jump to any point in a song, and the time display always shows you where you are.

Keyboard shortcuts work as usual too, including play and pause with the space bar. The current cover and track information appear right in the player.

The Waveform for Apple Music

What sets Ampado apart from other players is the waveform, and now it is available for Apple Music too. For streamed songs, the waveform builds up live during playback: the timeline fills in bit by bit and shows you the dynamics of the song. If you play a song again in the same session, the waveform built so far is back instantly.

For songs from your local library that you imported or bought yourself, Ampado goes one step further. It finds the corresponding audio file on your Mac and instantly shows the complete waveform of the entire song, just like with your own files.

The new waveform options are available as well. True channel separation shows the left and right channels separately, and for songs from your local library you can also color the waveform with frequency colors.

Level Meter and Visuals in Real Time

Besides the waveform, the level meter and all visualizers react to the music from Apple Music in real time, from the Frequency Visualizers and the new Oscilloscope to the shader effects in fullscreen.

To make this work, Ampado asks once for the System Audio Recording permission. The audio is only ever analyzed, never recorded, stored or modified, and Apple Music keeps playing your music exactly as it is. If you prefer not to grant the permission, you can still listen to Apple Music as usual, just without the live waveform, level meter and visuals. Since Apple Music always plays your music unmodified, the equalizer is not available for Apple Music.

A Real Alternative to the Music App

Many of you use Ampado for your own files and Apple's Music app for Apple Music alongside it. With this update, you no longer need to switch. Your local files, your playlists, Internet Radio and now Apple Music all live in a single app.

And Ampado offers something the Music app doesn't: you see your music. The waveform, the level meter and the visualizers turn Apple Music into a whole new listening experience. That makes Ampado a lean, fast and visual alternative to the Music app on your Mac.

Apple and Apple Music are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.