iTunes Match... no need to backup my library anymore?

[MasterHowl]

Is anyone ditching their Time Machine backup (or any other backup) because all your music's in the iCloud now?

I'm too scared to delete my Time Machine backup incase something goes wrong and I lose my library!

 

[OneOkami]

I would never not have a personal backup of my library. I'm considering using iTunes match for the convenience to have a music cloud for all my Apple devices, but I would never completely entrust Apple and their remote servers with all my music. There's always the possibility that I would like to transfer my music to a different type/brand of device (I've done it multiple times in the past). Also, stuff happens, and who knows when I could lose access to the cloud.

 

[ipedro]

iTunes Match isn't a backup. If an artist or their label de-lists a song, it will no longer be available for playback or download from iCloud unless its status is Uploaded instead of Matched.

What you can do is move your library to an external HDD to free up space on your internal HDD then store that external as a backup of your library. You won't have to plug in the external to access your library for as long as you have a subscription to iTunes match.

 

[Julien]

iTunes Match isn't a backup...

...or it should only be viewed as a "last ditch" backup of a backup.

 

[PNutts]

I deleted my local backup. To me it's redudant to have the CDs, the songs in iTunes, a local backup, and a copy in the cloud. I'm a big believer in recovery so when my iTunes Match subscription expires I will make a local copy of the songs.

 

[Julien]

...redudant to have the CDs, the songs in iTunes, a local backup, and a copy in the cloud. I'm a big believer in recovery....

Oxymoron since in order to help insure the highest chance of recovery for all possible situations you can never have too much redundancy.

 

[Smileyboy]

How do u delete all the music off your library... I redownloads files every time you use it.

 

[wackymacky]

Why would you want to no longer have a personal backup of your own? Storage is cheap nowadays. Even if you don't use time machine you should always back up.

If your machine dies, it is really simple to restore form a backup. And if your only talking about your music library, well it will be much quicker and simplerly than trying to download the lot again, assuming all the tracks remain available. Plus what about other stuff in your library. Movies etc?

I believe having a cloud backup away from your house is good (in the event of fire/theft/disaster), and having a backup in your possession is good in the even of cloud service backup fails.

Most cloud services will not accept responciablilty for data loss in event they have a failure.

 

[ipedro]

I deleted my local backup. To me it's redudant to have the CDs, the songs in iTunes, a local backup, and a copy in the cloud. I'm a big believer in recovery so when my iTunes Match subscription expires I will make a local copy of the songs.

I would look into that strategy if I were you. Like I mentioned above, if an artist is no longer listed on iTunes, you lose access to that song if you don't have a local copy. Matched songs are simply references to the file on iTunes. If that song isn't on iTunes, it's gone.

 

[PNutts]

I would look into that strategy if I were you. Like I mentioned above, if an artist is no longer listed on iTunes, you lose access to that song if you don't have a local copy. Matched songs are simply references to the file on iTunes. If that song isn't on iTunes, it's gone.

Agreed. I should have been clearer. I still have the local files of all songs (used by iTunes). I only deleted a local copy of those so I no longer have 2 copies of each song locally.

 

[damir00]

I snapshot my library to a RAID. Takes no time, disks are cheap, and one less thing to worry about.

 

[alphaod]

Uh no, cause iCloud only matches/uploads 256kbps versions of my lossless music, so I will keep backing up.

 

[jpswansea]

Itunes matched songs - artwork missing on iPhone

Not too sure if this question is for this thread, however I have ripped some CDs into my library which have been MATCHED by iTunes match, and the artwork shows correctly. However whilst the tracks are present on my iPhone and iPad, the artwork is a bit hit-and-miss, sometimes not showing. Does this happen for anyone else?

 

[Julien]

...However whilst the tracks are present on my iPhone and iPad, the artwork is a bit hit-and-miss, sometimes not showing. Does this happen for anyone else?

Yes, there have been numerous threads about this.

 

[echo.park]

Due to the fact that Apple recently enabled the "re-download" option for previously purchased music in my country, I stopped backing up my music I bought off iTunes. I still have it on my Air and iPod, should both of them fail, there's still the option for re-downloading.

I only backed up music that I've ripped myself or bought somewhere else. Because I don't use iTunes Match.

 

[Julien]

Due to the fact that Apple recently enabled the "re-download" option for previously purchased music in my country, I stopped backing up my music I bought off iTunes. I still have it on my Air and iPod, should both of them fail, there's still the option for re-downloading...

What about songs that have been, could be or will be removed from iTunes? How will you deal with those without a backup? What if the record industry forces Apple to stop allowing re-download (change is the only TRUE constant so it could happen)? Is a $30 USB HD too much to spend for extra insurance for what may be several $1000's worth of music (some that could be or become irreplaceable)?

 

[Razeus]

I always back a local backup. I would hate to have to re-download 22,000 tracks if disaster struck.

 

[roebeet]

iTunes Match isn't a backup. If an artist or their label de-lists a song, it will no longer be available for playback or download from iCloud unless its status is Uploaded instead of Matched.

What you can do is move your library to an external HDD to free up space on your internal HDD then store that external as a backup of your library. You won't have to plug in the external to access your library for as long as you have a subscription to iTunes match.

Holy crud I didn't even think about that - an excellent observation and I wonder if Apple would actually delete that track in iCloud? I'm guessing you are correct.

I've been preaching the "always have a backup" comment in the Apple-based discussion board, but I will keep your comment in the back of my head if it comes up again. EDIT: Although keep in mind that some artists like AC/DC are still "matching" even though their songs aren't available in iTunes, so it's not a certainty that de-listed songs will disappear. But again it's a risk I personally wouldn't take.