Here’s something that shouldn’t be hard but is: accessing the music library on a user’s device from .NET MAUI.

On Android, you need MediaStore.Audio.Media, a ContentResolver, cursor iteration, and different permission models depending on whether you’re targeting API 33+ or older. On iOS, you need MPMediaQuery, MPMediaItem, AVAudioPlayer, and an NSAppleMusicUsageDescription entry or the app crashes on launch. There’s no MAUI abstraction. No popular NuGet package. You write platform-specific code from scratch every time.

So I built Shiny.Music — a clean, DI-first API that gives you permission management, metadata queries, playback controls, and file export across both platforms.

---

What Is It?

Two interfaces, one registration call:

• IMediaLibrary — request permissions, query all tracks, search by title/artist/album, copy track files to app storage
• IMusicPlayer — play, pause, resume, stop, seek, with state tracking and completion events

// MauiProgram.cs
builder.Services.AddShinyMusic();

That registers both interfaces as singletons. Inject them anywhere.

---

Quick Start

public class MusicPage
{
    readonly IMediaLibrary library;
    readonly IMusicPlayer player;

    public MusicPage(IMediaLibrary library, IMusicPlayer player)
    {
        this.library = library;
        this.player = player;
    }

    async Task LoadAndPlay()
    {
        // 1. Request permission
        var status = await library.RequestPermissionAsync();
        if (status != PermissionStatus.Granted)
            return;

        // 2. Browse the library
        var allTracks = await library.GetAllTracksAsync();

        // 3. Or search
        var results = await library.SearchTracksAsync("Bohemian");

        // 4. Play a track
        await player.PlayAsync(results[0]);

        // 5. Control playback
        player.Pause();
        player.Resume();
        player.Seek(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));
        player.Stop();
    }
}

---

The Media Library

Permissions

Permissions differ between platforms:

Platform	Permission	Notes
Android 13+ (API 33)	READ_MEDIA_AUDIO	New granular media permission
Android 12 and below	READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE	Legacy broad storage permission
iOS	Apple Music usage description	Must be in Info.plist or app crashes

The library handles this automatically. RequestPermissionAsync() prompts the user with the correct platform permission. CheckPermissionAsync() checks the current status without prompting.

Android AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_MEDIA_AUDIO" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
                 android:maxSdkVersion="32" />

iOS Info.plist:

<key>NSAppleMusicUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to your music library to browse and play your music.</string>

Track Metadata

Every track comes back as a MusicMetadata record:

public record MusicMetadata(
    string Id,           // Platform-specific unique ID
    string Title,
    string Artist,
    string Album,
    string? Genre,
    TimeSpan Duration,
    string? AlbumArtUri, // Android only — null on iOS
    string ContentUri    // content:// (Android) or ipod-library:// (iOS)
);

Querying Tracks

// Get everything
var tracks = await library.GetAllTracksAsync();

// Search across title, artist, and album
var results = await library.SearchTracksAsync("Beatles");

On Android, queries go through MediaStore.Audio.Media with ContentResolver. On iOS, they use MPMediaQuery with MPMediaPropertyPredicate.

File Export

Need to copy a track to your app’s storage?

var destination = Path.Combine(FileSystem.AppDataDirectory, "exported.m4a");
bool success = await library.CopyTrackAsync(track, destination);

Returns false if the copy isn’t possible — which brings us to the DRM caveat.

---

The Music Player

Playback Controls

await player.PlayAsync(track);  // Load and play
player.Pause();                  // Pause at current position
player.Resume();                 // Resume from paused position
player.Seek(TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1));  // Jump to position
player.Stop();                   // Stop and release

State Tracking

PlaybackState state = player.State;       // Stopped, Playing, or Paused
MusicMetadata? current = player.CurrentTrack;
TimeSpan position = player.Position;
TimeSpan duration = player.Duration;

player.StateChanged += (sender, args) =>
{
    // React to state transitions
};

player.PlaybackCompleted += (sender, args) =>
{
    // Track finished — load next?
};

On Android, playback uses Android.Media.MediaPlayer. On iOS, it uses AVAudioPlayer via AVFoundation. Both are properly managed — resources are released on stop and disposal.

---

The DRM Caveat

This is important to know upfront.

On iOS, Apple Music subscription tracks (DRM-protected) cannot be played or copied through this API. For these tracks:

• ContentUri will be an empty string
• CopyTrackAsync returns false
• PlayAsync throws InvalidOperationException

Only locally synced or purchased (non-DRM) tracks work. The metadata (title, artist, album, duration) is still available for all tracks — you just can’t access the audio data for DRM-protected ones.

On Android, all locally stored music files work without restrictions via ContentResolver.

This is an OS-level limitation, not a library limitation. iOS simply does not expose the audio asset URL for DRM-protected media items.

---

Platform Support

Platform	Minimum Version	Audio Query	Playback Engine
Android	API 24 (Android 7.0)	MediaStore.Audio.Media	Android.Media.MediaPlayer
iOS	15.0	MPMediaQuery	AVAudioPlayer

Both platforms require a physical device for meaningful testing — simulators and emulators don’t have music content.

---

When to Use It

Good fit:

• Music player apps that browse the device library
• Apps that need to search or display the user’s music collection
• Exporting audio files for processing (transcription, analysis, sharing)
• Any app that integrates with locally stored music

Not the best fit:

• Streaming music from web sources (use MediaElement or a streaming library)
• Audio recording (use Shiny.Locations or platform audio APIs)
• Background audio playback with lock screen controls (this is foreground playback)

---

Get Started

dotnet add package Shiny.Music

Full source and sample app at the GitHub repository. Documentation coming soon at shinylib.net/client/music.

---

comments powered by Disqus