Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

I tried to remove DRM with Apple Music Free Trial and it didn't work.

I was excited when I read I could remove the DRM from my music previously purchased on iTunes with either Apple Music or iTunes Match. I signed up for the Apple Music free trial, matched all my music, back-uped then deleted my library, reinstalled iTunes and all library files, and downloaded some previously purchased as .m4p files from the cloud and they are still .m4p and cannot play on non-Apple media managers or devices. Is this function disabled with the free trial and I need to buy iTunes Match? Thanks!

Posted on Apr 10, 2019 2:15 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 10, 2019 2:27 AM

If you download past purchases from the Apple Music Library rather than the iTunes Store Library they will have DRM added even if they didn't have it before and therefore will cease to be playable if you stop the subscription.


If you download past purchases from the iTunes Store Library this will not apply, but if they are older purchases which have DRM they will still have DRM. If you subscribe to iTunes Match these downloads will not have DRM, and this is independent of whether or not you have Apple Music (though in the latter case it's still a case of downloading them from the iTunes Store Library rather than the Apple Music Library).



If you decide that you don't want Apple Music (with its ability to stream or download from a large library) and would rather have iTunes Match by itself, you should note that a) you should cancel Apple Music more than 24 hours before the expiry of the free trial to avoid being charged, and b) when you cancel the free trial, even if it's some way ahead of expiry, you will immediately lose access to Apple Music.

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 10, 2019 2:27 AM in response to charlotteaudrey

If you download past purchases from the Apple Music Library rather than the iTunes Store Library they will have DRM added even if they didn't have it before and therefore will cease to be playable if you stop the subscription.


If you download past purchases from the iTunes Store Library this will not apply, but if they are older purchases which have DRM they will still have DRM. If you subscribe to iTunes Match these downloads will not have DRM, and this is independent of whether or not you have Apple Music (though in the latter case it's still a case of downloading them from the iTunes Store Library rather than the Apple Music Library).



If you decide that you don't want Apple Music (with its ability to stream or download from a large library) and would rather have iTunes Match by itself, you should note that a) you should cancel Apple Music more than 24 hours before the expiry of the free trial to avoid being charged, and b) when you cancel the free trial, even if it's some way ahead of expiry, you will immediately lose access to Apple Music.

Apr 10, 2019 3:22 AM in response to charlotteaudrey

See if this helps: https://support.apple.com/HT205919


AFAIK there is no bulk way of doing this. But Apple Music won't remove DRM. This is the info on iTunes Match:


iTUNES MATCH


This makes all items in your iTunes collection available online for access to your other devices. Songs you have purchased will be available, as with 'Tunes in the Cloud'; songs you have for example ripped from CDs you have bought will be matched by the version in the Store if this is available; if it isn't available your copy will be uploaded for access by other devices.


There is a limit of 100,000 songs - this applies only to items not available in the Store (as purchased items are already available online). There is a charge of $24.99/£21.99 per year. The storage for these items does not count towards your iCloud storage space (indeed, though marketed as being part of iCloud it's actually nothing to do with it). Items in iTunes Match are not affected by DRM (Digital Rights Management which restricts where you can play them).


Once downloaded you can still play them if you terminate the subscription (though in that event you can't make further uploads or downloads).




Apr 10, 2019 2:55 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

That was extremely helpful! How do I try to download from the iTunes Store Library instead of the Apple Music Library? To date I have only been using the download symbol in the song listing in my library. If I right click on that symbol (options include Download, Show Album in Library, Show in Apple Music, Show in iTunes Store) for a purchased/protected song and I select Show in iTunes Store, I get inconsistent results between it saying Purchased but not letting me download it and it showing a price as if I have not purchased it.


Is there any way to do this process in bulk for my entire library? My library is so big that doing anything album by album will take days.


Thanks!


I tried to remove DRM with Apple Music Free Trial and it didn't work.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.