Using Apple Music for my own music

[djs71a]

Hello, I have a large mp3 collection that I have uploaded to Google Play Music. It works OK, but thinking about moving my music to iTunes (Apple Music). I currently do NOT pay for Apple Music. Are there any gotchas that I am not thinking of? What I would do is:

1. Download mp3's from Google Play Music
2. Import into iTunes (soon to be Apple Music)
3. Manually put some or all of the music on my iPhone

I assume if I went through the above process, my music would all be on my hard drive on my MacBook Pro.

 

[techwarrior]

You have it right.

Apple Music is an App (think the audio portion of existing iTunes), and it is also a streaming service. The streaming service is optional. iTunes and Music, puts all of your music files in a Library. For Macs, that is under your username/Music/iTunes. In Catalina, Finder will be the interface for managing sync settings for iOS devices, accessing the music in your iTunes media library. It may change the iTunes folder names, but the music database will still be there.

So, with all of the music in the Mac, you can select which playlists or songs you want on your phone and listen to it anywhere, no subscription required. If you want a broader selection of music, the streaming service is similar to Spotify and allows you to listen to virtually any music that has ever been recorded without having to store them on your iPhone. You can also download songs from the service to your phone for offline listening, they vaporize if you unsubscribe to the streaming service, but your mp3 files will remain on your Mac.

 

[djs71a]

Thanks so much @techwarrior !

 

[WebHead]

Also, because the Apple Music streaming service includes iTunes Match, you can upgrade your MP3s to 256k AAC and keep those even if you cancel your subscription.