What can I do to stop the Play / Pause button from opening iTunes?

Question

In Snow Leopard the Play / Pause media button (on the F8 key) opens up iTunes. How can I disable that? Preferably keeping the old Leopard behaviour, so I can use it to control other media applications (e.g. Spotify).

Apple forum thread about the issue: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10075555 — no solution though. (Even if the page strangely claims "This question is answered") — Jonik, Aug 30 '09 at 12:57
Another unclosed thread on this: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=757430 — August Lilleaas, Aug 31 '09 at 09:34
This one is loaded with good solutions: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2122639&start=30&tstart=0 — Darren Newton, Sep 18 '09 at 01:01
Ugh, I can't add an answer due to lack of rep -- but I found a great patch for the rcd (Remote Control Daemon) that fixes this completely -- http://www.thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch -- code on github here: https://github.com/thebitguru/play-button-itunes-patch — trisweb, Jun 19 '13 at 18:37
@Dag Høidahl This is NOT fixed in mountain lion & mavericks. The media keys are bound to the last active media application. Ie. you are using spotify with the keys and it works fine. You pause spotify, play a video in VLC, then close VLC. Now the media keys are still bound to VLC because it's the last active app. However, you have closed VLC so the binding is lost. Pressing the play key now opens itunes again instead of controlling spotify. — Maurice, Jun 27 '14 at 08:51
@Maurice I hadn't noticed that behaviour when closing apps, just that I can control e.g. Spotify without iTunes opening. I'd say the problem is still a little broken, but mostly fixed. — Dag Høidahl, Aug 28 '14 at 08:39
@olly – Please consider marking http://superuser.com/a/827710/491679 the best answer. It was posted much later, but it's seems to be exactly what most users reading this will need. — Jason Dreyzehner, Sep 02 '15 at 21:38
El Captain `cd /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS; sudo mv iTunes iTunesX; sudo chmod uog+x iTunesX` — Elvis Ciotti, Apr 24 '16 at 17:13
It's mind boggling how this is still a problem 8 WHOLE YEARS LATER!! This is proof that Apple doesn't actually listen to users. They just force their stuff onto you, like it or not. And each OS update just breaks again all tricks to disable effing iTunes! — OMA, Jun 21 '17 at 13:17
(I don't have enough rep to write an answer) An easy solution - If you don't use iTunes at all like me, simply right click, disable all permissions for "everyone". — dsignr, Nov 01 '17 at 14:25
Dear visitors from the future: `launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.rcd.plist` — René Roth, Nov 08 '18 at 10:56

score 164 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

164

Update: There is a GUI available that performs the below steps, at the official website.

Fixing this is very simple. While the installation process does involve using Mac Terminal, you do not need any knowledge of it. I have included images to make it easier! Just follow 6 simple instructions below and you are done!

Download this zip file
Unzip the file
Run the Patch.command file (Double Click It)
It will open mac terminal. It will most likely prompt you to enter your password. Type your password and press enter. It should look similar to the image below:
At the bottom it will say "Everything is ready. Would you like to create a backup and apply the patch (y/N)". Type y, then press Enter. It should look similar to the image below:
You are done! It should output some text and say [Process Complete] at the bottom. You can then close the mac terminal window. The process completing successfully should look similar to the image below:

Uninstall

If you want to remove this patch, simply run the Patch.command script again.

Here is the github repository Thanks to thebitguru for this script.

edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

Community

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answered Jul 19 '10 at 15:34

Alkaaran

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Works perfectly in snow leopard. Thanks for the tip! – Rich Sep 02 '11 at 02:31
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And runs great on Lion too! – Jari Keinänen Sep 28 '11 at 19:04
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Binary moved here: http://nomitsu.com/contents/MMFix.dmg Works great on 10.7.3 Lion! – Pavel Alexeev Feb 04 '12 at 15:01
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Still works in Mavericks! – fgb Mar 03 '14 at 22:02
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Is it known if this works on Mavericks or Yosemite? – Tango Oct 08 '14 at 07:27
Would love a way to now bind this to launch Spotify – Peter Ehrlich Oct 24 '14 at 21:00
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Works on Yosemite – noetix Oct 27 '14 at 02:17
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I've noticed that I've had to uninstall and re-install it after some updates or when the OS updates, but this script has been a real trooper. Big fan. – harpermd Nov 01 '14 at 05:35
It is now updated, so you actually open the `package` folder, and run the `Play Button iTunes Patch.app`, press `patch` and type your password twice. It even takes a backup which you can restore from. Great stuff! – Automatico May 12 '15 at 19:33
Excellent! Looks like the devs are maintaining the script. I had to go to the Github page and download. Works just fine on Yosemite. – Thilak Rao May 28 '15 at 05:59
in Yosemite, iTunes is still being opened. Didn't work for me. – Clint Eastwood Jun 30 '15 at 19:21
There's a new version of this with a gui, and it works on OS X 10.10. Just download and run the dmg at http://www.thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch. – bschlueter Jul 29 '15 at 21:21
This stopped working for El Capitan. – w00t Dec 11 '15 at 13:22
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@w00t: On El Capitan you need to disable SIP before applying the patch: http://www.thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch – ccpizza Jul 20 '16 at 11:08

score 133 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 17 '14 at 11:43

133

The real solution: Open Terminal, paste in the following line, and hit enter. You're done. To undo, change unload to load in the same line.

launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.rcd.plist

answered Oct 17 '14 at 11:43

bernk

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This worked for well for me with iTunes 12 and Yosemite. – Paul Wenzel Feb 20 '15 at 16:35
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This works on El Capitan, but it doesn't forward the play button event to the actively playing application – w00t Dec 11 '15 at 13:21
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This is the best solution and works on El Capitan! – Jeroen Dec 21 '15 at 17:28
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This will completely disable the remote control device (rcd), if I am not mistaken. Which will not allow you to use your mac remote control, if you have that. – Magne Feb 11 '16 at 14:15
@w00t I haven't found that to be the case on my machine. Works with OS X 10.11.3, iTunes 12.3.2. – inspector g Feb 16 '16 at 02:30
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It doesn't work anymore on MacOs Sierra... Too bad I liked having a simple command to do that. – NitroG42 Sep 21 '16 at 09:06
I use MacOs Sierra 10.12.1 and it works. Perhaps you need to be root? – Deepend Jan 22 '17 at 11:41
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Did not work in Sierra. Got following error: /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.rcd.plist: Could not find specified service – Ray Mar 20 '17 at 20:23
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@NitroG42 Just realized the unload just removes it from starting on boot time. If you don't want to restart, you can kill it the running rcd process with `launchctl stop com.apple.rcd` or a direct `kill -9 ` – Ray Mar 20 '17 at 20:46
Well it worked now because app like Spotify were updated to comply with the new media key system, but at the time I wrote, nothing was working, and you killing the rc daemon wouldn't change anything. If you are interested in how it works to catch those events in app, look here : https://github.com/jguice/mac-bt-headset-fix/tree/sierra – NitroG42 Mar 21 '17 at 10:33
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On Sierra this requires SIP to be disabled. – Cai Oct 03 '17 at 16:08
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It works for me on Sierra. Thank you! This is an awesome answer... – James Douglas Oct 30 '17 at 16:40
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This no longer works for me since i upgraded to Mojave. – James Douglas Oct 09 '18 at 15:51
Stop Music.app from opening on 10.15.4. However, I still cannot control Amazon Music instead, except when it is in focus, which defeats the purpose. – iceburger Apr 24 '20 at 18:14
This is a great answer - worked as a charm on Catalina. Thanks! – Alex Mar 06 '21 at 14:15

Dag Høidahl · Answer 3 · 2013-06-03T21:11:48.010

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For controlling Spotify, use Shift + Option + Play button. iTunes does not react to this combination, but Spotify does.

edited Jun 03 '13 at 21:11

answered Feb 11 '10 at 09:28

Dag Høidahl

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Indeed, you are right, +1. However, this is starting to get a bit unwieldy as I like to have the "standard function keys" option on, i.e. I need to press 4 keys: Fn + Shift + Option + Play :P – Jonik Apr 22 '10 at 18:44
This tip also works for controlling Rdio. – Paul Lefebvre Oct 19 '11 at 00:07
++ Nice simple workaround. Too bad it isn't more intuitive. – Garen Checkley Jun 14 '12 at 15:06
kinda annoying having to use modifier keys, but hey, if it means i don't have to open something else up or keep closing itunes then I'm happy – andyface Dec 07 '12 at 12:59
In Mountain Lion (at least version 10.8.3), this behaviour seems to be fixed. When Spotify is open, iTunes does not open anymore. – Dag Høidahl Jun 03 '13 at 21:15
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This seems to not work on Mavericks – Fred K Dec 15 '13 at 09:58
I haven't needed to use this trick since Mountain Lion. The Play/Pause button does not open iTunes anymore if Spotify is open. – Dag Høidahl Dec 17 '13 at 08:56

score 28 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 03 '09 at 22:16

28

a better temporary fix is to start quicktime and just have it running(not playing a movie) in the background. It uses less ram/cpu than iTunes.

answered Sep 03 '09 at 22:16

Em.

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Indeed, this is a slightly better work-around – Jonik Sep 12 '09 at 21:29
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I've accepted this answer as it is the easiest and least problematic of the solutions. – Olly Nov 10 '09 at 15:47
This does not appear to work on Lion, iTunes still opens for me, regardless of if Quicktime is open or not. – MrDaniel Jul 28 '12 at 14:57
See answer from @bernk from 17-Oct-2014 that has a simple fix that survives new versions of the operating system and is simple and correct. – Tom Harrison Jr Jan 15 '16 at 20:12
here's a similar fix, if you happen to use google chrome and have it always opened: install google music app. or any chrome extension that will "hijack" the media keys, such as sway or streamkey. only thing is they [might bring some problems](http://www.omgchrome.com/chrome-google-music-media-keys/) of their own. now [I'm wondering how to fix this once and for all](https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/283395/get-media-keys-to-always-play-latest-media-run). – cregox May 12 '17 at 01:51
This is just sad :( – Navin Aug 31 '17 at 12:21
This was working for me up until Mojave (I skipped High Sierra). Now even when I have quicktime and amazon music open, iTunes still opens every time. – Gordon Jan 02 '19 at 14:42

score 19 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 24 '22 at 14:11

andrew px and dmonner wrote an excellent workaround here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2122639&start=30&tstart=0

It uses a python script and some renaming to prevent iTunes from opening when applications of your choice are already open:

Open a Terminal and type the following

cd /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS
sudo mv iTunes iTunesX 
sudo curl https://web.archive.org/web/20130327115441if_/http://www.cs.umd.edu/~dmonner/iTunes -O
sudo chmod uog+x iTunes

From https://web.archive.org/web/20130327115441if_/http://www.cs.umd.edu/~dmonner/iTunes

#!/usr/bin/env python

import sys, os, subprocess

launch = True
blocker = ""

apps = ["Spotify", "Songbird"]

ps = subprocess.Popen("/bin/ps -x", shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)

for line in ps.stdout.read().split("\n"):
    for app in apps:
        if app in line:
            launch = False
            blocker = app

ps.stdout.close()

if launch :
    os.spawnvp(os.P_WAIT, '/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesX', sys.argv)
else :
    print "Not launching iTunes while %s is running." % blocker

Add whatever application you need to the list apps = ["Spotify", "Songbird", "your app here"]

I've done this in the past, but Apple Update likes to overwrite it. This last time I tried making the file system and userimmutable, we'll see if Apple Update respects that flag. I cant really test it until a new update is available, but if anyone else wants to try it: sudo chflags uchg /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes sudo chflags schg /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes If you want to disable that (e.g to actually update): sudo chflags nuchg /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes sudo chflags noschg /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes — user16315, Jun 01 '10 at 19:35

score 6 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 31 '09 at 17:49

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Renaming iTunes only works until OS X finds it again. I deleted it from Applications and a couple of minutes later it was found on my backup disk and the problem returned. Deleted it from there to, no more problems. Don't forget to emty the Trash, or it will probably be found there...

So, deleting all copies works fine for me. My music is flac so I have no use for it anyway.

answered Aug 31 '09 at 17:49

1

I'd hope there was some solution also for those of us who use iTunes (too), and don't want to delete it... – Jonik Sep 01 '09 at 06:11

score 5 · Answer 7 · 2009-09-20T18:42:27.867

I have a 'workaround':

Quit iTunes
Locate iTunes.app in Finder (In Finder: Menu › Go › Applications...)
Ctrl-click on the iTunes.app-file and select 'Compress "iTunes.app"' (for backup)
Ctrl-click on the iTunes.app-file and select 'Show Package Contents'
Locate the file 'Info.plist' inside the folder 'Contents'
Ctrl-click 'Info-plist' and select 'Open with..' and select 'TextEdit' (or your favourite text-editor. Not Word tho.)

Near the bottom of the file locate the following segment:

<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.iTunes</string>

Change the last 's' in the word 'iTunes' to 'z', like so:

<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.iTunez</string>

Save the file
IMPORTANT: Drag the file 'iTunes.app' out of the Applications-folder and on to the Desktop
Drag the file 'iTunes.app' back into the Applications folder
(You should probably disable the iTunesHelper. This can be done by going to System Preferences › Accounts › (Your account) › Login Items and remove the 'iTunesHelper'.)
Log out and log in

I hope this works. It works for me!

It works but it seems to damage the iTunes Code Signing Certificate which is ok but everytime you open up iTunes (on a Mac) you'll be asked if the application is allowed to make outgoing connections. — cust0s, Sep 20 '09 at 19:17
Can't remove the iTunes.app out of Applications... it says "“iTunes” can’t be modified or deleted because it’s required by Mac OS X." — jobwat, Dec 12 '13 at 01:12

score 3 · Answer 8 · answered Aug 31 '09 at 16:10

For Snow leopard users: Ok i didnt find an answer for this problem, but i tried to work my way around(for people who wants to watch videos on VLC and pause it with the apple remote/keyboard and itunes keep opening) option 1: open itunes and let it run but click on itunes store and hide itunes or minimize it. continue with watching videos on VLC and music won't play.

option 2: Use Front Row to watch all your videos. To do so install PERIAN for quicktime(which allows you to play all formats in quicktime) and put all your movies in your "movies" folder. Enjoy watching movies through front row.

option 3:(this one worked partially. ) Rename itunes in applications folder to "itunes_off". In order to do this you might need to make your user privileges to" read and write". right click on itunes and click on "get info" then go in privileges and click on little lock icon, enter your password and then change your user setting to "read and write". After this rename itunes to something else. But this solution didnt work correctly for me. it stopped opening itunes for a while but when i restarted my mac it started opening it again. Try if this works for anybody. And keep me posted.

Out of all options presented so far, your **option 1** seems like an ok work-around; +1 for that — Jonik, Sep 01 '09 at 08:10

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Mar 22 '10 at 12:04

I only used iTunes and Spotify.

I've found the following low-tech solution works:

1. Open iTunes and select one of the folders under "library" that has no content - I never have any "ringtones" for instance; You can also create an empty playlist and select this.

2. Leave iTunes open, but select "Hide iTunes" in the "Itunes" menu.

The results is although iTunes is open it doesn't have any content to play and so when I hit the 'play' button all I hear is music from Spotify.

Creating a new empty playlist works as well. Just make sure this playlist is selected. — Paul Lefebvre, Oct 19 '11 at 00:13

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Apr 22 '10 at 17:58

2

Not sure how many other applications this will work with, but it certainly works with Spotify: if it's already open, pressing option while using the media keys will not open iTunes, and will control Spotify in the background.

answered Apr 22 '10 at 17:58

user34948

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Just tried this on my Macbook (OS X 10.6.3) with Spotify & iTunes. iTunes *did* keep opening despite pressing alt/option along with the media keys. :/ – Jonik Apr 22 '10 at 18:38
But if you add shift it works that way! See http://superuser.com/questions/31925/stop-play-pause-button-opening-itunes-in-snow-leopard/107466#107466 – Jonik Apr 22 '10 at 18:41

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 14 '10 at 15:31

Quick fix that I think is better than these... download functionflip at http://kevingessner.com/software/functionflip/ and check two boxes: "F8: Play/pause" and "Start FunctionFlip at Login." Then go to Ecoute or Spotify or whatever you're using, and set the keyboard shortcut for play/pause to F8 by pressing the play/pause key. Now it'll work just as you want it to, and you will still be able to use it with itunes if you hold down the function (fn) key while you press it.

Works great for me!

score 1 · Answer 12 · edited Dec 18 '12 at 19:40

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Instead of changing the name of iTunes.app, try changing the name of

/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes

to, for example

iTunes_

This prevents the iTunes.app from working when you double click on it, but at least it saves you from the respawning of iTunes when you press play/pause. If you want to use iTunes.app just rename the file back to "iTunes"

edited Dec 18 '12 at 19:40

ChrisF

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answered Jul 01 '10 at 00:31

Vrolijk

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Works perfectly, even on Sierra :) – Navin Sep 09 '17 at 03:05
On El Capitan this doesn't work: ```foo:MacOS root# pwd /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS foo:MacOS root# mv iTunes iTunes_ mv: rename iTunes to iTunes_: Operation not permitted``` – Peter Jenkins Dec 28 '17 at 08:01

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Sep 25 '10 at 11:22

I have found a solution, though slightly hacky. Basically run iTunes, but select 'Applications' or 'Radio' from the side menu.

That way, when you press the play buttons, there is nothing to play in iTunes so it doesn't do anything, but it works in the application you want to control.

score 1 · Answer 14 · answered Jun 01 '11 at 04:04

There is a patch available at http://www.thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch that will disable opening iTunes when pressing the Play/Pause multimedia key. You have to unzip the file you download from the 'Play Button iTunes Patch 0.7' and run the 'Patch.command' program in the PlayButtonItunesPatch directory.

I have tested it on Snow Leopard (Mac OSX 10.6) and it works flawlessly. Play/Pause continues to work on open programs but will no longer open up iTunes. If you test it please leave feedback in the comments, whether it works or not.

score 1 · Answer 15 · answered Jul 02 '13 at 18:27

The patches provided here generally don't work on more recent versions of Mac OS X like Mountain Lion. Drawing more attention to @trisweb's answer in a comment:

Latest Mountain Lion patch here: thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch / github: github.com/thebitguru/play-button-itunes-patch

score 0 · Answer 16 · edited May 11 '17 at 08:29

0

WORKING FIX, simplest and most effective solution (per mritunjai at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2570254?start=75&tstart=0):

Open Terminal

Enter (these are two separate commands)

launchctl stop com.apple.rcd
launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.rcd.plist

edited May 11 '17 at 08:29

cregox

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answered Feb 16 '17 at 22:22

Jacob Irwin

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is this so different from [the second most voted answer here](https://superuser.com/a/827710/28411) so you had to add an answer rather than simply putting a comment there? – cregox May 11 '17 at 08:31
Can this duplicated answer be hidden and closed? – Fish Monitor Jun 05 '17 at 03:21

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Feb 12 '18 at 14:15

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I realize the OP originally asked about Snow Leopard, but it seems that at least for Spotify, this problem no longer exists on High Sierra -- the remote control buttons work just fine with Spotify and iTunes is no longer started as a side-effect.

answered Feb 12 '18 at 14:15

dandan78

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score 0 · Answer 18 · edited Jul 09 '11 at 13:43

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I did a sort of low tech thingy that at least prevents iTunes to auto start. I renamed the iTunes.app using:

sudo mv /Applications/iTunes.app /Applications/iTunesX.app

This stops iTunes from autostarting but if you have it started you're still able to use media controls for it.

edited Jul 09 '11 at 13:43

Gaff

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answered Apr 29 '10 at 06:09

user35516

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score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Nov 13 '18 at 12:51

a solution that worked for me for Mojave was to remove the execution bit from iTunes:

sudo chmod -x /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes

and optionally add the media player in question under

Preferences -> Security & privacy -> Accessibility

score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Dec 16 '19 at 14:47

The software Mac Media Key Forwarder provides a user-friendly approach to prioritizing Spotify for your media keys. It runs in the background and gives you a few simple settings in the Mac menu bar. It just works.

Download and installation

It can be downloaded and installed directly from the homepage, or by using e.g. Homebrew:

brew cask install macmediakeyforwarder

Notes

It is compatible with macOS Catalina.
The software was previously known as High Sierra Media Key Enabler.
Ensure the application is given sufficient privileges in Security & Privacy in the System Preferences.
I am not affiliated with the developer(s), I am just a satisfied user.

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Oct 15 '10 at 07:13

0

There was a recent Lifehacker article that pointed how to disable it:

Free Your Mac's Media Keys from iTunes, No Manual Hacking Required

answered Oct 15 '10 at 07:13

spong

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score 0 · Answer 22 · answered Feb 11 '11 at 12:04

0

this solution is permanent and fool-proof. Go to your login items and take the iTunes Helper out of the login items, then go to Activity monitor (found in the Utilities folder under Applications) and quit out of iTunes Helper. The keys keep working, but iTunes Helper does not reopen and hitting play no longer opens iTunes.

answered Feb 11 '11 at 12:04

lan1k

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Wrong. iTunes Helper launches iTunes when e.g. an iPhone is connected. I just `killed` the `iTunesHelper` process and pressed *Play*, iTunes still launched. – Daniel Beck Feb 11 '11 at 12:36

score 0 · Answer 23 · answered Mar 03 '11 at 06:12

0

This has been fixed now with iTunes 10.2 (released the same day the iPad 2 was presented). Now I can use Spotify without having to open an idle instance of Quicktime!

answered Mar 03 '11 at 06:12

Eliseo Soto

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I just updated to 10.2.1 and the issue still occurs. – garrow Mar 12 '11 at 11:07

Paul Lockwood · Answer 24 · 2009-09-02T03:43:17.447

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This is a work-in-progress solution.. I mainly use XMBC and Hulu so can live without iTunes until there is a real solution:

Delete iTunes from Applications
Delete Front Row from Applications
Empty your trash can

After these steps Hulu and XMBC are usable via the remote again! The only issue is that the Menu Key on the Remote still opens Front Row

=====

Personally I am considering using Win7 on my HTPC Mac Mini. Every app I use on the Mac has a Windows counterpart. It looks like this open source software will let the IR work in Boot Camp: http://www.eventghost.org/

edited Sep 02 '09 at 03:43

answered Sep 02 '09 at 01:24

Paul Lockwood

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As with http://superuser.com/questions/31925/stop-play-pause-button-opening-itunes-in-snow-leopard/33046#33046, a very limited number of people can take this advice. Many of us want to use iTunes (too), or need it for e.g. iPhone syncing. – Jonik Sep 12 '09 at 22:42

score 0 · Answer 25 · answered Oct 27 '09 at 19:24

In System Preferences, under the Keyboard pane, on the Keyboard tab, enable "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys". Be sure to read the note about getting that functionality back by holding the Fn key.

Assign your Function-keys to various functions either in the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane, given application, or other preference pane (Exposé, etc).

Use an application like Quicksilver or Butler to assign actions, applications, and/or AppleScripts to various key shortcuts of your choosing.

score 0 · Answer 26 · edited Nov 10 '11 at 22:06

I got around this problem (I only use spotify and iTunes so it probably wasn't as difficult) using an applescript that play/pauses spotify and Quicksilver. It won't work with a remote but If you just want to be able to quickly play/pause spotify without making itunes open and play etc it works like a treat.

This is the applescript if you're interested:

tell application "Spotify" to activate
tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Spotify"
        click menu item 1 of menu 1 of menu bar item 5 of menu bar 1
    end tell
end tell

score -1 · Answer 27 · answered Dec 05 '10 at 12:44

Easiest solution: rename itunes.app!

Get read/write permissions on itunes select the app and press ctrl+i click the small lock icon in the bottom left corner enter your password now set "everyone" to read write close the info window
Now you can rename the itunes.app

No more itunes popup open all the time!

What can I do to stop the Play / Pause button from opening iTunes?

27 Answers27

Uninstall

Linked