download old iCloud music library

[jadecricket]

Hey all,
Back in the day, before Apple Music, before the Music app, I used iTunes and subscribed to iTunes Match; I had my own bought (and ripped from CD) music library uploaded to the cloud this way. I then kept my music library locally, and backed up via time machine.
Many eons and computers later, I discovered the time machine backups were iterated out of existence (due to limited drive space, and time machine deleting the oldest backups first). The "iTunes Match" (probably long since replaced by iCloud) music library still seems to be intact on the cloud, and accessible from both my mac or iPhone. I'm wondering if there's a way I can restore it locally to my mac en masse, or is it forever relegated to the ether of the cloud?

thanks for any help or insight.
-quin

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

Apple Music includes all features iTunes Match provides, at least in the United States as far as I know.

iTunes Match is still a thing, though Apple is not promoting it.

if there's a way I can restore it locally to my mac

You can get the unmatched songs (select tracks, right click and download) back. The matched ones were never uploaded. iTunes Match isn't a back up service.

 

[kitKAC]

If OP is subscribed to iTunes Match, they can still download the matched songs to their library and get DRM-free copies (Apple Music gives you DRM'd copies).

Remember when people put bad-quality mp3 files through Match to get high-quality DRM-Free AAC files out the other side?

 

[jadecricket]

If OP is subscribed to iTunes Match, they can still download the matched songs to their library and get DRM-free copies (Apple Music gives you DRM'd copies).

Remember when people put bad-quality mp3 files through Match to get high-quality DRM-Free AAC files out the other side?

Sorry for the delay on following up on this - I don't think I am subscribed to iTunes Match, but the library is indeed still there. It's a bunch of stuff that isn't found in Apple Music, like radio shows and interviews I did. I just completely spaced when I obliterated old Time Machine backups and my current machine doesn't have the local files. So, just re-subscribing to iTunes match will allow me to get the original files back locally?
thanks so much for your help.

 

[kitKAC]

Hopefully, yeah!

 

[katbel]

Sorry for the delay on following up on this - I don't think I am subscribed to iTunes Match, but the library is indeed still there. It's a bunch of stuff that isn't found in Apple Music, like radio shows and interviews I did. I just completely spaced when I obliterated old Time Machine backups and my current machine doesn't have the local files. So, just re-subscribing to iTunes match will allow me to get the original files back locally?
thanks so much for your help.

I had an iTunes Match subscription for several years. Then I stopped it, 2 or 3 years ago.
I noticed though that it's still available in the cloud even if I'm not subscribed to anything and it plays on my HomePod Mini. No idea how to get it on my computer though but at the time iTunes told me to download everything if I didn't want to lose my music- I did it- but I guess it's still there.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Some posts seem to imply Apple has forgotten about iTunes Match if they are keeping playable uploads in iCloud without payment (though, I THINK I recall that new subscription to AM before Match subscription would end would keep the Match uploads available too... but that's a WEAK memory that may be completely wrong). Anyone with such access should download their songs ASAP before they notice and purge out the unpaid Match storage. Downloaded to your Mac will then backup to TM discs.

For OP: since you appear to have many unique recordings you don't want to lose, I suggest not solely relying on TM but backing up the downloaded files to a dedicated drive and/or burning the collection to 1+ BD or even DVDs for at least one, long-term backup NOT linked to TM.

And, of course, if you still have one of those old computers, you can probably boot it up and copy all of the old music out, then into the newer Mac you have (bypassing Match altogether). If you have old Macs and they are dead, you can probably open them up, remove the drive and put it in an enclosure to get at the old recordings. I had a need to recover something from an old, dead PowerMac G4 recently and directly accessing the drive worked out just fine.

 

[HDFan]

If you are able to recover the tracks

I suggest not solely relying on TM

implement the recommended 3-2-1 backup strategy where only one backup is TM.