If I use Apple Music, how can I add music to a Photos slideshow. None of my music appears!

(This article was initially published in April 2017 and has been updated in August 2022 with further information about adding music to a slideshow when you are on an iPad or iPhone.)

When preparing a slideshow of photos last week, using the Photos app on the Mac, we were wanting to play a particular music track with that slideshow.  This slideshow was just going to be shown to family as part of the celebration of the life of a loved one.

It seemed that this should be an easy thing to do.  We had completed the selection of photos for the slideshow and it was time to add the finishing touch - the music, a beautiful song by Ed Sheeran.

Frustratingly, we found that when we tried choosing the iTunes track that we wanted to use, it was 'greyed' and not able to be selected

I thought that because I had subscribed to Apple Music, I would be able to choose any track from my music library to use with my Photos slideshow. I thought all I needed to do was download the required track using iTunes, so that it was stored on my computer.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.  Apple Music tracks are protected by DRM (digital rights management), and (apparently) can only be streamed using iTunes - they cannot be used in Photos slideshows.  

I am not sure if this will change some time in future, but in the meantime we needed to find a way around this this limitation, as it was essential that we be able to play the chosen track with our slideshow.

Luckily,  we found a solution.

My daughter had recently purchased the CD version of the artist's album, and we were able to import the track from the CD to iTunes as an MP3 track.

Magically, the track then became available for selection in the Photos app, and we were able to play that beautiful track with our beautiful slideshow.

(Added in August 2022, in answer to the question from Paul B Little below)

The other option we could have used was to purchase the music from the Apple iTunes/Music store, and then download it to the device - whether that be the Mac or the iPad/iPhone.

If you have purchased the movie on another device, and then want to add it to a slideshow on another device, you must go to the iTunes Store app and choose the Purchased option at bottom right.  Select the Music option to see your music purchases.

Find the song that you have purchased, and tap the cloud symbol to download it to the device (a cloud with downwards arrow). Once the purchased track is stored on your device, it will become available for adding to a Photos Slideshow.