Apple Music - Cancel iTunes Match?

[NavySEAL6]

If I choose to continue Apple Music can I safely discontinue my iTunes Match subscription? Will I lose any functionality?

 

[jmmo20]

If I choose to continue Apple Music can I safely discontinue my iTunes Match subscription? Will I lose any functionality?

that depends. Do you still have all your original music files stored locally in at least one computer?

 

[NavySEAL6]

that depends. Do you still have all your original music files stored locally in at least one computer?

Thank you for your reply! My music all lives locally on my Mac, and time machine back up. What does this mean?

 

[Will0827]

Currently with itunes match, matched songs can be redownloaded without DRM, apple music songs that are downloaded for offline use or matched songs have drm.

 

[bobr1952]

I've gone back and forth on doing this but decided to give it a try and not renew. Match for me ends next week so I guess I will just see how it all works then. All music is stored on two external drives for me--primary and backup.

 

[NavySEAL6]

Currently with itunes match, matched songs can be redownloaded without DRM, apple music songs that are downloaded for offline use or matched songs have drm.

The main functionality that I'm concerned with is will my entire library continue to live in the cloud available for download? And if I continue to pay for Apple Music, if I add non iTunes tracks will they still upload to the cloud and be available for download? (iCloud music library?)

I've gone back and forth on doing this but decided to give it a try and not renew. Match for me ends next week so I guess I will just see how it all works then. All music is stored on two external drives for me--primary and backup.

Let us know what happens!

 

[malnar]

The main functionality that I'm concerned with is will my entire library continue to live in the cloud available for download? And if I continue to pay for Apple Music, if I add non iTunes tracks will they still upload to the cloud and be available for download? (iCloud music library?)

Think of it this way, Apple Music is like the library (just ignore the fact that we pay for it) in that you can borrow music for as long as you want, but if you stop paying, you stop having access. You don't own anything in the library, but are free to borrow anything you want. iTunes Match is like a storage locker you pay for. You add your music to it and can retrieve it at any time as long as you keep paying. So if you upload or match music through iTunes Match, those uploaded/matched files are yours to keep... as long as you keep paying for iTunes Match. Once your subscription to iTunes Match runs out, those songs are there, but you no longer get to keep them. But because Apple Music matches songs and uploads the unmatchable songs, you can still listen to that music on your computer, iPhone, iPad, etc, even making them available for offline use... you just can't download those songs for keeps.

 

[bobr1952]

Think of it this way, Apple Music is like the library (just ignore the fact that we pay for it) in that you can borrow music for as long as you want, but if you stop paying, you stop having access. You don't own anything in the library, but are free to borrow anything you want. iTunes Match is like a storage locker you pay for. You add your music to it and can retrieve it at any time as long as you keep paying. So if you upload or match music through iTunes Match, those uploaded/matched files are yours to keep... as long as you keep paying for iTunes Match. Once your subscription to iTunes Match runs out, those songs are there, but you no longer get to keep them. But because Apple Music matches songs and uploads the unmatchable songs, you can still listen to that music on your computer, iPhone, iPad, etc, even making them available for offline use... you just can't download those songs for keeps.

Well that is exactly how I understand all of this as well--which is why I am not renewing Match. I have permanent copies of my songs so am happy to just stream My Music from the "Apple Library" using AM.

 

[tkermit]

I've gone back and forth on doing this but decided to give it a try and not renew. Match for me ends next week so I guess I will just see how it all works then.

Any regrets? Did the iCloud status of all your tracks simply switch to Apple Music or has anything else changed as well? I'm thinking of letting my subscription expire, but I'm also wondering whether it would theoretically be possible to return to iTunes Match at some point . I would then want any tracks that had been matched and uploaded once again be treated as such without needing to start the whole matching process over again.

 

[bobr1952]

Any regrets? Did the iCloud status of all your tracks simply switch to Apple Music or has anything else changed as well? I'm thinking of letting my subscription expire, but I'm also wondering whether it would theoretically be possible to return to iTunes Match at some point . I would then want any tracks that had been matched and uploaded once again be treated as such without needing to start the whole matching process over again.

Frankly, I've not noticed any difference. All of the music I uploaded from my external drive a year or so ago using Match is still there with Apple Music and I can stream any song from the cloud on my Macbook, iMac, iPad or iPhone--I don't have the external drive that actually contains any of my music connect to my Mac. Or I can stream the music I've added through Apple Music--it all shows up in My Music. So as long as I keep Apple Music, all should be fine.

As for getting rid of Apple Music and going back to Match. I guess if I were to do that I would want to keep Apple Music, re-subscribe to Match, then cancel Apple Music. That should work but I don't play on trying it as long as I am happy with Apple Music.