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I'm really curious about this as well. They have documented it a bit, but it's not very clear if Apple Music will explicitly include the iTunes Match functionality. I hope we get more info soon, as my iTunes Match renewal is next week, and I'd rather not drop $25 if I don't need to.
 
What I don't like is iTunes Match's limit of 25,000 songs in your library. I have a huge library and the only reason I never subscribed to it was because of this limit. I hope they up it for Apple Music.

I get the feeling Apple lost interest in iTunes Match long ago. Google Music lets you upload 50,000 tracks and for free. They've been increasing the limit over time and making improvements to the service. Whereas I don't feel Apple has done a whole lot with iTunes Match since it initially launched. Look for iTunes Match to be killed off once Apple Music really starts to take off. The streaming service will have much more mass-market appeal, and that's where Apple tends to focus its resources over niche audience type stuff.
 
As far as I understood it, the only key thing iTunes Match will provide is the ability to upload your own songs to the cloud which Apple Music won't do. Essentially, if you combine iTunes Match + Apple Music, it would be like having Spotify + Google Music, except cheaper.
According to Apple you can upload your own songs:

http://www.apple.com/music/membership/

"With an Apple Music membership, your entire library lives in iCloud. We compare every track in your collection to the Apple Music library to see if we have a copy. If we do, you can automatically listen to it straight from the cloud. If you have music that’s not in our catalog, we upload those songs from iTunes on your Mac or PC."
 
I've been thinking this over since I currently subscribe to iTunes Match and Beats Music and will be moving over to Apple Music when it launches. I think it breaks down like this:
- If you subscribe to Apple Music and all of your devices are compatible with it then you don't need iTunes Match.
- iPods (except the Touch) will only work with music you own, not the broader Apple Music library. Some iPod owners will still want iTunes Match.
- Some people really like their existing library and will continue to combine iTunes Match with iTunes Radio.

I think it's just the case that the new service isn't for everyone and none of the older offerings (iTunes Store & iTunes Match) need to go away so they aren't.
 
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I personally think it means this; If you don't have iTunes Match then Apple Music only looks at the music you've purchased that is in the cloud. IF you do have iTunes Match then it looks at your purchased music + your iTunes Match songs. Which is why it says they're "complimentary".

No, this is wrong - it clearly looks at both purchases and your music downloaded elsewhere.
 
I think the clear difference is that iTunes Match lets you re-download "upgraded" versions of your music, and will support iPod Classic/Mini/etc.

What I'd like to know is if there is a catalog upload/match limit with Apple Music? I hit the 25k iTunes Match limit with my library and I'd like to switch over to Apple Music as a replacement, but not if I can't have all of my music. Anyone know?
 
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What I would like to know is that happens when you delete a local copy from itunes?

My music library was too big for my small SSD so I subscribed to iTunes match and after uploading all my library, I deleted the local copy, leaving all my music in iCloud. I have a local copy of a few playlists, but that's it.

What happens now with Apple Music?
Will it merge my icloud "match" library and a "apple music" library?
can I download local copies of songs from apple music?
 
What I would like to know is that happens when you delete a local copy from itunes?

My music library was too big for my small SSD so I subscribed to iTunes match and after uploading all my library, I deleted the local copy, leaving all my music in iCloud. I have a local copy of a few playlists, but that's it.

What happens now with Apple Music?
Will it merge my icloud "match" library and a "apple music" library?
can I download local copies of songs from apple music?

If it were me, I'd download all my cloud stuff before I subscribe.
 
I've been thinking this over since I currently subscribe to iTunes Match and Beats Music and will be moving over to Apple Music when it launches. I think it breaks down like this:
- If you subscribe to Apple Music and all of your devices are compatible with it then you don't need iTunes Match.
- iPods (except the Touch) will only work with music you own, not the broader Apple Music library. Some iPod owners will still want iTunes Match.
- Some people really like their existing library and will continue to combine iTunes Match with iTunes Radio.

I think it's just the case that the new service isn't for everyone and none of the older offerings (iTunes Store & iTunes Match) need to go away so they aren't.

I think this is the most logical explanation. Since not all the devices will support apple music, itunes match is needed to use the cloud music on those machines. And that is how itunes match will be complementary to Apple Music, as described by Apple.

I think current match subscribers will be able to migrate their libraries to icloud music library without any loss in either content or the functionality.
 
It's not rocket science people. Good grief.

Since you seem to be so knowledgeable in regards to this topic why don't you go ahead and provide me with the answers to my doubts?

You must surely know?

Signed by an MD PhD.
Not a rocket scientist but neither a stupid ignorant fool.
 
Well, although I have my own reason to not use either match or :apple: music, I also feel confused.

Seems that iTunes match is just a cloud based private music library while Apple music is more like a shared music library. The reason is iTunes match is private for single Apple ID, while Apple music can be subscribed in a family basis.
 
Ok so I love the fact iTunes match exists, not so much that it still doesn't work properly (i.e. library organisation) now, when I was first having this problems i contacted apple, and they couldnt do anything, i emailed tim cook ( i know its not I'm that reads em) and an engineer for iTunes match contacted me, they pulled some logs from my phone and macbook, and they said its not me its them. No surprise there, but I kinda hoped there would've been an iTunes match announcement on the last event. I am also nervous about Apple Music killing it off because I'm against streaming services, it doesn't pay well especially to young artist.


thoughts? will iTunes match be killed off? you think they'll stop making it a hobby and actually put time into it
 
Well it's not looking good for match at the moment. The albums are being split and artists lists are all over the place because of something apple has done (see other post about match gone haywire). Am hoping iOS 8.4 when released will restore some order. But it's been severely overlooked and neglected.

I wish they would clearer on it's future too. I love the concept too - I am very against streaming, it uses too much data, probably caches all over the phone and costs too much when I don't really buy much music. My prediction is match will slowly be killed off and Apple Music will be the only way to go at some stage. So I question what will happen to my locally stored music (including uploaded cd's that do not exist in the iTunes store) - can we still sync in the old way to get this music on, will our smart playlists still update on the fly/in the cloud. I much prefer locally stored music on the device as I never stream outside of wifi. I use match for easy downloading of my library when I want a song but only when in wifi environment. Plus my apple TV is pretty much useless for music without match. It's an older 2nd Gen Apple TV and stopped receiving updates a long time ago so it needs match to remain active
 
Well, iTunes Match isn't going away according to the FAQ's at the bottom of this page: http://www.apple.com/music/membership/

I'm with Scottyboy99 at the moment though - Match has gone belly up over the last few days and the organisation of my (once impeccable) library is all over the place.
 
Yeah thats the thing! I have a VERY organised library, and have over 14,000 songs so imagine my stress at the moment. i just hope they stop neglecting it and give it some love and I truly dislike streaming, its expensive and musicians don't get enough out of it.
 
Since you seem to be so knowledgeable in regards to this topic why don't you go ahead and provide me with the answers to my doubts?

You must surely know?

Signed by an MD PhD.
Not a rocket scientist but neither a stupid ignorant fool.
I'm not that poster but I'll answer:

Match: iTunes matches your collection, up to 25,000 songs, with ones in the iTunes store. What doesn't match is uploaded and is available on any Match-capable device. What is matched is also available on any Match-capable device and furthermore, the matched song can be downloaded to replace a lower-quality original file. You may keep these upgraded files forever.

Music: matches your collection (no mention of song limit) with the iTunes store. What doesn't match is uploaded for streaming and/or downloading on Music-capable devices. What is matched is just part of your collection. You can stream or download for offline use all of these tracks, but you may not keep any of them. Downloaded songs will be inaccessible and contained within the Music app, unlike Match songs, which, if downloaded, are stored on your hard drive like any other music files that iTunes accesses.

I get the confusion. Apple has done little to help this and it's very surprising that they've left it so murky.
 
I'm not that poster but I'll answer:

Match: iTunes matches your collection, up to 25,000 songs, with ones in the iTunes store. What doesn't match is uploaded and is available on any Match-capable device. What is matched is also available on any Match-capable device and furthermore, the matched song can be downloaded to replace a lower-quality original file. You may keep these upgraded files forever.

Music: matches your collection (no mention of song limit) with the iTunes store. What doesn't match is uploaded for streaming and/or downloading on Music-capable devices. What is matched is just part of your collection. You can stream or download for offline use all of these tracks, but you may not keep any of them. Downloaded songs will be inaccessible and contained within the Music app, unlike Match songs, which, if downloaded, are stored on your hard drive like any other music files that iTunes accesses.

I get the confusion. Apple has done little to help this and it's very surprising that they've left it so murky.


For me, the confusion lies in iTunes management. If you can download songs for offline listening, why didn't they set up a system to sync those to an iPod (shuffle, nano, classic)? If I subscribe to Apple Music and can download any song I want to my collection, when it comes to syncing playlists that include my own music and Apple Music to an iPod. Is the setup going to be a jumble of prompts saying I cant sync this playlist because it includes music I don't own or will only songs I "own" sync to the iPods?
 
Is the setup going to be a jumble of prompts saying I cant sync this playlist because it includes music I don't own or will only songs I "own" sync to the iPods?
In my thought, you can only sync songs you actually "own" to whatever types of iPod (except iPod touch).
 
In my thought, you can only sync songs you actually "own" to whatever types of iPod (except iPod touch).

You're right. But that is my point. The reason I'm on the fence is the jury is still out to how exactly iTunes collections will be fractured when it comes to syncing devices. Sure, Apple Music functions the same way Spotify does, but I guess I was hoping for Apple Music to come through with a way to include all devices, not just iOS devices. So far, there isn't a compelling reason for me to switch from Spotify. At least with a Spotify subscription I can stream on other devices such as my Chromecast/Roku and even my PS4.
 
You're right. But that is my point. The reason I'm on the fence is the jury is still out to how exactly iTunes collections will be fractured when it comes to syncing devices. Sure, Apple Music functions the same way Spotify does, but I guess I was hoping for Apple Music to come through with a way to include all devices, not just iOS devices. So far, there isn't a compelling reason for me to switch from Spotify. At least with a Spotify subscription I can stream on other devices such as my Chromecast/Roku and even my PS4.

Hmm, multiple platform support. To be honest, this might be a great deal in many cases, although the drawback is not clear. You know Microsoft office is available on even mac and iOS for quite a few months right? That means i can use it at almost anywhere.

Apple music may have their own exclusive content collections attracting music lovers who love exploring music rather than selecting specific artists, styles, genres and buy whether digital or physical media. And as we all see, Apple has announced multiple platform support even including android. You may think judging whether Apple music would become a blockbuster or not is early, but what I think is: Apple has become a star in many areas including OS, cloud services, and now, music. It is growing fast, trying to grab as many customers as they can from competitors through Apple brand or something more than this.

If your hope is multiple platform support, then you may count on it. I don't like streaming music unless I just want to explore something new on the air.
 
What I would like to know is that happens when you delete a local copy from itunes?

My music library was too big for my small SSD so I subscribed to iTunes match and after uploading all my library, I deleted the local copy, leaving all my music in iCloud. I have a local copy of a few playlists, but that's it.

What happens now with Apple Music?
Will it merge my icloud "match" library and a "apple music" library?
can I download local copies of songs from apple music?
Get an external hard drive then, they are so cheap now. Why would you want to rely on someone else's servers all the time? Stuff does go wrong and it has. What happened if they matched the wrong version of the song also?
 
Apple Music is great and all...but now I wonder if iTunes Match subscriptions are going to be moved over to Apple Music?

Makes no sense for Apple to have both Match and Music. Match should hopefully be rolled into Music.

What do you guys think?

Just found that a while ago: http://www.imore.com/apple-music-faq
Maybe they are keeping iTunes Match around for people who don't want to pay the $9.99/month for Apple Music but don't mind paying $24.99 for iTunes Match.

This is confusing me as well.

It would make sense if iTunes Match functionality (matching songs, uploading the rest) was built into Apple Music and then iTunes Match was sold separately for people who don't want the additional functionality of Apple Music.

I guess you're right.
 
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