iTunes Match -- How do I know what songs I can upgrade?

[Hrothgar]

I just subscribed to iTunes Match. I have a lot of protected songs that I want to upgrade to non-DRM. I understand that this may not be available for every song -- depending on the contractual rights.

To upgrade, I understand that I have to delete the song from my library, and then download the non-DRM 256 version from the cloud. What if I delete a song that doesn't have the non-DRM version available? Do I lose it?

 

[Julien]

...What if I delete a song that doesn't have the non-DRM version available? Do I lose it?

No, you will just download the same DRM song.

 

[Rigby]

To upgrade, I understand that I have to delete the song from my library, and then download the non-DRM 256 version from the cloud. What if I delete a song that doesn't have the non-DRM version available? Do I lose it?

If you want to be sure, simply make a backup copy of the file before you try it. Also, you can easily tell in advance if it will work: Go to the song list in iTunes and enable the "iCloud Status" column; if the status is "Matched", re-downloading will give you the DRM-free version.