When using the MPMusicPlayerController - ApplicationMusicPlayer the iTunes/Apple Music audio pauses when the app enters the background. In all previous iOS versions it would continue to play when the app was backgrounded.
Our apps are used for therapy and combine iTunes audio with binaural audio. The binaural audio continues to play in the background, but the iTunes audio now pauses. A test app demonstrating the issue has been submitted to the Feedback Assistant (ticket 6946855).
I've tried different approaches and ensured that the applicationMusicPlayer is being used on the app's main thread but nothing is changing this behavior.
It would be really helpful if an Apple dev could chime and confirm whether this is an iOS bug or if MPMusicPlayerController - ApplicationMusicPlayer will no longer play in the background by design.
If it has been taken away I'd ask/beg that the decision be reconsidered. End users don't usually respond well to losing features they've relied on for years and typically blame the app developer with 1-star reviews that can destroy an app.
Beta 7 also still has a bug that was first introduced in Beta 6 where the MPMediaItemPropertyPlaybackDuration property is zero. (Feedback Assistant ticket 6963688)
