Photo Credit: Apple
After Apple removed the YouTube wrapper app Musi from the App Store, several other apps have popped up to take its place. Musi fans lament the loss and share new apps as Musi developers sue Apple for the removal.
Apple took action against Musi in September 2024, removing the app for download due to violating YouTube’s terms of service. The YouTube ToS states that developers are not allowed to develop wrapper apps that bypass advertising—which is exactly what Musi did. Musi first launched in 2016 and could play YouTube videos while serving Musi ads that benefit the developer. An in-app purchase offered total removal of ads.
Some 66 million people downloaded Musi while it was available, with several of them joining the subreddit to discuss the app. In Musi’s recently announced lawsuit against Apple, it claims that it does not violate YouTube’s terms of service because it does not utilize the API provided by YouTube to developers. Instead, developers claim they designed their own “augmentative interface” to deliver publicly available content from YouTube.
Musi says the interface does not “store, process, or transmit YouTube videos” and instead that it “plays or displays content based on the user’s own interactions with YouTube and enhances the user experience via Musi’s proprietary technology.”
YouTube insists that the app violates its terms of service by accessing and using non-public interfaces and provides a commercial use of YouTube’s service. “The Musi app violated YouTube’s prohibition on the sale of advertising ‘on any page of any website or application that only contains content from the service or where content from the service is the primary basis for such sales.” To sum up that answer, you’re not allowed to slap advertisements on a YouTube wrapper that has no additional content beyond the video.
YouTube complained directly to the developers of Musi in 2023 before getting Apple involved, complaining that the app violates YouTube’s terms of service. Musi alleges that Apple has improperly sided with YouTube in the dispute, ripping down the app and making it unavailable except for those who already have it downloaded on their devices. But even those with the app installed are finding their playlists blocked and they’re unable to play songs in Musi—likely a result of YouTube blocking access for Musi’s servers.
But hardcore Musi fans are sharing alternatives for the app in the Musi subreddit, suggesting those seeking a similar experience download an app called Music Si. The app is from a completely different developer and was originally designed to cater to iPad users, but the Musi row brought about an iPhone interface for Musi fans seeking an alternative.
Music Si is a wrapper for both YouTube and SoundCloud and performs much the same as Musi, offering content from these services while serving up ads that benefit the developer only. It even followed Musi’s model of offering in-app purchases for ad removal either monthly ($2.99/month) or yearly ($9.99/year). What remains to be seen is if YouTube will be taking the same action against these Musi clones. Already Music Si is rising up the charts for the App Store—last week it was #244 in the Music category, this week it is up to #120.