Do you miss the iTunes five-star song ratings system in iOS? Then head on over to Change.org and sign the petition to bring the song ratings back. It probably won’t do any good, but it might make you feel better, and isn’t that’s what it’s all about? </SARCASM>
Duncan Lockard started a petition at Change.org asking Apple to “Put song ratings back on iOS.” I signed it, and if you like song ratings, I’d encourage you to sign it, too.
For years, Apple has offered the ability for users to rate the songs they have in their library. It used a five star rating system, and was apparently quite popular with a number of users. (To be honest, I don’t think I ever noticed it.)
As of iTunes 12.5, Apple hid the stars away in a place that most users seldom ever see, or for that matter, find. In iOS, there is simply no rating data available, except for a “Heart/Unheart” rating system. The Facebook-ization of rating systems continue.
Many iTunes users apparently used the ratings to craft custom playlists and such, and the heart on/off system doesn’t lend itself to that. Some users apparently feel Apple had depreciated the hard work they have put in rating their favorite, (and not so favorite), music. Plus, they’ve made it impossible to continue to rate music on anything other than a yes/no rating system.
Thousands of people are already venting their frustrations about this on discussion forums:
“I’m very disappointed. It just has to be an oversight. I’ve spent YEARS perfecting my star ratings and creating playlists based on them.” (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7668110?start=0&tstart=0
“Being able to organise your music with ratings and smart playlists is THE key reason why I use Apple Music and iTunes rather than spotify, which is awful for slightly more than basic music organisation.” (http://www.mcelhearn.com/is-apple-getting-rid-of-star-ratings-for-music-in-itunes/
So, while I’d tend to think most “Change.org” petions are basically a way for frustrated citizens of the Internet to vent their frustrations, who knows? Maybe electronically signing the damn thing might get Apple to change the ratings systems back. Or not.
If you’d like to sign the Change.org petitiion to restore the traditional iTunes music rating system, visit the Change.org petition site.
