How to start Apple Music after iTunes AND Spotify

[Perosales]

Hi guys,

The day has finally come, I've decided to ditch Spotify in favor of Apple Music.

I have "collected" an extensive library of music through the years, spanning from the 1930's up until today...

That's why I would like to get some advice on how to start so I can keep it all manageable.

A short recap:

- CD's: Up until 2007 I purchased music from my favorite artists on CD. That was the basis for my original iTunes Collection. I ripped all those CD's in 192kbps. I still have those discs: Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Michael Jackson...

- Purchased iTunes: between 2007 and 2011 I purchased most music via iTunes.

- iTunes Match: I later converted practically everything I could into 256 aac. Not everything though!

This resulted in a very structured iTunes library of 15k songs, complete with ratings and smart playlists based on custom genre.

- Spotify: In 2011 I switched to Spotify and started a collection. Adding music became very easy so my Spotify library boomed to (estimated) over 30k new songs. As Spotify offers no decent way of organizing a library, I left.

Now... how do I get organized in one place: Apple Music?

What do you recommend?

1) Starting from scratch

I am seriously considering starting with a completely new music library. My original library is polluted with songs that were only there just to make collections complete. With streaming services offering everything, we can choose to be more selective and go for the best.

Is there still a good reason to start importing from CD's if you have Apple Music? Except for getting lossless audio files. Would this get me into trouble concerning Cover Art, Metadata on songs (release date) etc?

In short: is it still worth it?

2) Clearing iTunes Match (included in Apple Music?)

I cancelled my iTunes Match subscription years ago. If I start with importing songs that are NOT available in Apple Music...

Can I reactivate a brand new iTunes Match without it showing my old library? Is iTunes Match included in Apple Music?

3) Smart Playlists

The killer feature of iTunes / the iPod Classic back in 2007 were no doubt smart playlists. I could rip, add, buy new music and if it complied to certain rules, the songs would automatically be added to certain playlists on my iPod. My playlists excluded songs I had recently heard, keeping my music experience fresh and surprising. Something else that Spotify lacks.

Can I use Smart Playlists to mix music coming both from the Library and Apple Music?

And will I be able to keep these Smart playlists automatically synced on my iPhone, like with the iPod in 2007?

4) iTunes Library

How does a new iTunes Library work together with Apple Music? Do you have to switch between tabs and choose what you play? Or can you shuffle all music, regardless of "source"?

5) Purchased music

If I start with a brand new iTunes library, under the same account.

Can I still download my previously purchased music?

6) How do I match / import music or playlists from Spotify to Apple Music?

Self-explanatory. What is the cleanest way to copy over music. Can I see what was NOT matched to Apple Music?

7) Limit of Apple Music?

In Spotify you can "bookmark" or "save" 10k songs. Is the limit in Apple Music still 100K?

Would ripping all music I own on CD make me avoid reaching that limit?

I hope one of you guys can give me some best practice advice on one or more of the above topics

Thanks!
Kenny

 

[casperes1996]

How does a new iTunes Library work together with Apple Music? Do you have to switch between tabs and choose what you play? Or can you shuffle all music, regardless of "source"?

You have separate tabs for Apple Music that you've not "added to library". Once you hit "add to library" it will be almost indistinguishable from the music you own in your library. There are markings to show it's from Apple Music, but in terms of the player's behaviour, it slots in with the rest of your music.

If I start with a brand new iTunes library, under the same account.

Can I still download my previously purchased music?

Yes. You can. You can also stream it without downloading it to device actually, but you do have the option of downloading purchased music. When you open the empty library and login to your account, the library tab will fill up with the music you own and a cloud icon next to them, signalling that you can download them. If you don't want them in your new library (even in an undownloaded state), you can alt-click and select hide. If you do this, you'll have to go into account settings to download it again, or unhide it.

In Spotify you can "bookmark" or "save" 10k songs. Is the limit in Apple Music still 100K?

I don't know the exact limit, but it's certainly very high. I would imagine any limit is with iTunes' library in general and not Apple Music.

Can I reactivate a brand new iTunes Match without it showing my old library? Is iTunes Match included in Apple Music?

I don't know about the old library, but yes, iTunes Match comes with Apple Music.

Can I use Smart Playlists to mix music coming both from the Library and Apple Music?

As I said above, to the player, music added to library from Apple Music and the music you have gotten through other means, is behaviourally indistinguishable, so yeah.

Is there still a good reason to start importing from CD's if you have Apple Music? Except for getting lossless audio files. Would this get me into trouble concerning Cover Art, Metadata on songs (release date) etc?

You can maintain metadata and album art even with lossless ripping. CDs are 44.1khz 16-bit though, so lossless or not, you're limited in that respect. With that in mind, I don't think there's a drastic benefit to lossless relative to AAC256. If we're talking 24-bit music or music at higher sample rates though, I'd either say you'd need a higher bitrate codec or lossless.

 

[BrianBaughn]

The only thing I'll say is that if Apple Music has the album then you shouldn't rip your own copy. AM wreaks havoc on "matched" music.

 

[Perosales]

Excellent information! Thanks!

This helps a lot!

 

[tonyr6]

192kbps AAC is what I rip my CD's at. Anything higher and you might as well use MP3.

 

[casperes1996]

192kbps AAC is what I rip my CD's at. Anything higher and you might as well use MP3.

What do you mean?

 

[Tech198]

Apple lossless: Same quality, and compression AAC losses quality

192kbps AAC is what I rip my CD's at. Anything higher and you might as well use MP3.

I choose mp3's for use in Hyundai i30 Active