This baffling issue is stopping me from switching to Apple Music

[iMore.com]

Why do I have to plug my iPhone into iTunes to solve an Apple Music issue in 2023? Full story from the iMore Blog...

 

[Up_And_Away]

I agree. This is one that I suspect is driven by ITunes being so popular and integral at one time, Apple making the switch to the Apple Music app (and separate podcasts and TV apps) while killing ITunes app, but also Apple not able or not willing to actually fully kill iTunes.
Put an engineering silo on it, Bite the bullet, expect some lumps, but completely kill ITunes. Have an all in one Media Store. the Music app and the TV app sync with Media Store. Relabel iTunes as the recovery app rewritten for just that purpose only.
Spotify has been a streamer for a long time. They benefit from that experience. Time imho for Apple to be 100% native streamer that can be improved on without ever saying “what about that iTunes component”.