All iPads How not to use iTunes?

[rwp]

I have a ~32GB music library. It is comprised of about 70% songs I ripped from CD's I own, 15% iTunes music purchases, and 15% mp3's I have created myself from various hobby bands. All of this is currently managed by iTunes on my iMac, and is one of the last remaining anchors keeping me from moving completely to my iPad Pro.

I do not want to subscribe to Apple Music for $10/month.

Is there any other way to manage my music archive without involving iTunes? I am particularly concerned with a future time when I upgrade to a new iPad and cannot move my music library to it without iTunes.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Shirasaki]

You either need to use some sort of PC/Mac software to manage music (such as iExplorer) or use third party music players capable of storing files within the app and also allow sharing through various ways (I am using paid version nPlayer).

 

[rwp]

You either need to use some sort of PC/Mac software to manage music (such as iExplorer) or use third party music players capable of storing files within the app and also allow sharing through various ways (I am using paid version nPlayer).

Thank you for the suggestion. I am fine with a one-time app purchase if necessary, however the app has to support the 15% of songs I purchased in iTunes (AAC/DRM). Do you know if nPlayer (or anything else) does this?

 

[logicstudiouser]

Not aware of any third party solutions, but curious if you considered iTunes Match? It is only $25 per year and puts all your music in the cloud, Apple will match as many songs as they can with songs in the iTunes Store and upload the rest DRM free and you can access on any Apple device with your purchased music.
My library, similar to yours is made up primarily of ripped CDs. I have been a satisfied iTunes Match user since 2011.
More on iTunes Match here.

Just wanted to add..
It is always advisable to keep a local external backup of your music, especially if you are concerned of support in the future.
It would be highly unlikely in my view that Apple would cut off access to music in the cloud abruptly, if it did happen, they would give notice.
All your music will remain drm free (unlike Apple Music) in the event you do cancel

 

[Shirasaki]

Thank you for the suggestion. I am fine with a one-time app purchase if necessary, however the app has to support the 15% of songs I purchased in iTunes (AAC/DRM). Do you know if nPlayer (or anything else) does this?

I am unaware of any DRM protected music sold by Apple in early days but nPlayer fully supports iTunes Store format.

Also, there is a free version in App Store. You can try it out before deciding to buy this app.

Once you have this app, you could then store all your music into this app, and easily transfer it to another device with the help of a computer. You don't need to mess up with iTunes anymore in regards of music transfer.

 

[rwp]

Not aware of any third party solutions, but curious if you considered iTunes Match? It is only $25 per year and puts all your music in the cloud, Apple will match as many songs as they can with songs in the iTunes Store and upload the rest DRM free and you can access on any Apple device with your purchased music.
My library, similar to yours is made up primarily of ripped CDs. I have been a satisfied iTunes Match user since 2011.

I was trying to avoid any re-occurring service fees, but $25/year isn't terribly onerous. Thank you for the suggestion.

It is always advisable to keep a local external backup of your music, especially if you are concerned of support in the future.

How would I keep an external backup of my music without a computer/iTunes? Is it possible to transfer files from Apple Music to external hard drive (e.g.: NAS) with the iPad directly?

I am unaware of any DRM protected music sold by Apple in early days but nPlayer fully supports iTunes Store format.

Thanks for that -- I am definitely going to check out nPlayer.

 

[Shirasaki]

Is it possible to transfer files from Apple Music to external hard drive (e.g.: NAS) with the iPad directly?

nPlayer supports various ways to connect to an external drive without involving into using computer, such as FTP and SMB. Quite powerful.