crankerchick
Level 1 (30 points)
iCloud

Q: What can I restore from iTunes Match?

I have a reasonably good understanding of iTunes Match these days except for the local library file versus the "cloud" library.

 

Before I started using Match, I always backed up my local library xml file so that I would never lose my ratings and play history. After match, I continued to back it up, although at that point I'm not sure what I was backing up. What exactly does that library even look like? Would it match iTunes Match at the time of the backup, or does that library cease to be anything valuable once you start using match? I vaguely recall when Match wasn't properly updating play counts and play history from iOS devices that my local library file differed from what was showing up in iTunes match, so if I turned off match and looked at my library it was different from what I would see with Match turned on.

 

At some point my backup failed, and then my hard drive crashed. Double whammy! Hooray. I've been busy with a new baby and didn't even notice.

 

My situation is:

-I have all of my music files stored on my NAS.

-My iTunes library .xml file is gone and my back is quite old. I don't know how closely it matches whatever is in the cloud which appears "up to date" when I look at it from my other computers.

 

What will happen if I restore this old .xml library and turn match back on? Will it make the library file look like what I see from my other computers with respect to playcounts and ratings or will it overwrite the cloud information with what is in the old file?

 

What is the best way to get myself back up and running? I'm not against just starting a new library .xml file on the PC and turning on match and going like that, but a potential problem is that the music won't be local anymore when played from that PC. It will be streaming them from the cloud unless I download them, which I don't need to do. The original files are .mp3. I don't really want to download my entire library again as mp4 when all the music is already sitting on my NAS in my preferred format (I have non-apple devices that access the music as well).

 

Ideally I would be able to start a library (either new or restored) and then turn on Match and access what's there, and then tell it all those songs are actually already "downloaded" and point to my NAS. Is it even possible?

 

I have lost my library before so I've already put mechanisms in place to restore ratings (I routinely embedded in the comments a rating system so if I ever needed to rebuild my ratings from the files alone, I could). I'm not bummed about losing the most recent ratings since I did an update, or even so much about possibly losing my play history, I just want to make sure I don't have any other options first.

 

Thanks for reading it all and thanks in advance for any help.

iOS 7.0.2

Posted on Aug 8, 2014 7:40 AM

Close
crankerchick

Q: What can I restore from iTunes Match?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Jimzgoldfinch,

    Jimzgoldfinch Jimzgoldfinch Aug 8, 2014 11:29 PM in response to crankerchick
    Level 6 (9,312 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 8, 2014 11:29 PM in response to crankerchick

    Hi,

    Have you read these support articles? iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists or iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?

     

    When you turn match back on, the iTunes library itl file will show last play count etc. The XML file will be recreated.

     

    Have you an itl or previous itl file that points to your NAS?

     

    JIm

  • by Michael Allbritton,

    Michael Allbritton Michael Allbritton Aug 9, 2014 2:08 AM in response to crankerchick
    Level 6 (16,832 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Aug 9, 2014 2:08 AM in response to crankerchick

    crankerchick wrote:

     

    ...I always backed up my local library xml file so that I would never lose my ratings and play history.

    The .xml file is not the correct file to be backing up to save all this data for an iTunes library. You need to be locally backing up all files and folders in  ~/Music/iTunes folder, but the file that contains all the play counts, playlists, ratings, etc is the iTunes Library.itl file. The .xml file is used strictly for sharing iTunes data between other iLife apps like iMovie, Garageband, iPhoto, etc.

  • by crankerchick,

    crankerchick crankerchick Aug 12, 2014 11:05 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch
    Level 1 (30 points)
    iCloud
    Aug 12, 2014 11:05 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

    Thanks for the help files. I hadn't read them. I'm not sure if they answer my question as it relates to iTunes Match though. I *think* my question is more along the lines of trying to make sure what is captured in that file is eventually in sync with the .itl file. I wasn't sure if that file ceased to matter any more once Match is turned on.

     

    I mispoke. I backup the .itl file. I read another post on here about .xml and just have xml on the brain now. I do have old versions of my iTunes library file .itl that has all of my music pointing to the NAS. If anything, even though the backup is 3 months old, there is maybe one new album I purchased in that time that wouldn't be a part of the backup. The difference is, the play count and ratings history is likely very different, since I've listened to music on my iOS devices in that time.

  • by crankerchick,

    crankerchick crankerchick Aug 12, 2014 11:06 AM in response to Michael Allbritton
    Level 1 (30 points)
    iCloud
    Aug 12, 2014 11:06 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

    Michael Allbritton wrote:

     

    crankerchick wrote:

     

    ...I always backed up my local library xml file so that I would never lose my ratings and play history.

    The .xml file is not the correct file to be backing up to save all this data for an iTunes library. You need to be locally backing up all files and folders in  ~/Music/iTunes folder, but the file that contains all the play counts, playlists, ratings, etc is the iTunes Library.itl file. The .xml file is used strictly for sharing iTunes data between other iLife apps like iMovie, Garageband, iPhoto, etc.

    Sorry, I mispoke. I back up the .itl file. I wasn't aware I need to backup the entire contents of the folder. I've always just backed up the .itl file and restored that so I maintained my playcounts, playlists, and ratings.

  • by crankerchick,

    crankerchick crankerchick Aug 12, 2014 11:11 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch
    Level 1 (30 points)
    iCloud
    Aug 12, 2014 11:11 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

    Jimzgoldfinch wrote:

     

    Hi,

    Have you read these support articles? iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists or iTunes: What are the iTunes library files?

     

    When you turn match back on, the iTunes library itl file will show last play count etc. The XML file will be recreated.

     

    Have you an itl or previous itl file that points to your NAS?

     

    JIm

    Hah, I'm dumb. I knew this already. LOL. Indeed, when I turn match on the computer with an empty library, all the play history will show. That's the point. I guess I just wasn't sure if that information is actually stored in the .itl file, allowing me to go ahead begin backing that file up again like I always have. I hpe that makes sense. I wasn't sure what was being displayed on screen from a local file versus that information coming from the cloud somewhere and displaying on my screen, but not being stored locally in the .itl file.

     

    Any idea how to make the music at that point reference the .mp3 files on the NAS, instead of show as in the cloud and available for download?