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I havec26 GB OF MUSIC HOW CAN I MOVE IT TO ICLOUD?

How can I move my music off my to the iCloud in order to free up space?

iPhone 11, iOS 13

Posted on Jul 28, 2020 6:01 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jul 28, 2020 6:35 AM

iCloud itself is a syncing service.


Anything you put on iCloud (via iCloud Drive) has by definition a local copy. Which means deleting an item form the computer or device synced to iCloud deletes it from iCloud as well.


There cannot be content on iCoud that does not exist on a computer or device in some form.


You could use iCloud Music library and delete everything from the computer you use to set it up (it can only be set up from a computer) and simply stream it , but iCloud Music library is a paid service. If at any time you stop paying for it and don't have a local copy of your music on a computer, then you lose it entirely on all devices.


If you need to free up space on an iPhone or computer, then the best bet is to copy it to an external drive.


For music purchased from the iTunes store, you can directly delete it from the Music app, and it will be available from the iTunes store cloud at any time and can be streamed from there as well as long as its still available in the store.


For any other music that did not come from the iTunes store, you will need to extract it from the iPhone, and back it up to an external drive. If the music only exists on the iPhone and nowhere else, then you will need a 3rd party app to extract it from the iPhone and onto a computer from which you can then place it onto an external drive.


See here: Recover your iTunes library from your iOS device - Apple Community

7 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 28, 2020 6:35 AM in response to Kimozodad

iCloud itself is a syncing service.


Anything you put on iCloud (via iCloud Drive) has by definition a local copy. Which means deleting an item form the computer or device synced to iCloud deletes it from iCloud as well.


There cannot be content on iCoud that does not exist on a computer or device in some form.


You could use iCloud Music library and delete everything from the computer you use to set it up (it can only be set up from a computer) and simply stream it , but iCloud Music library is a paid service. If at any time you stop paying for it and don't have a local copy of your music on a computer, then you lose it entirely on all devices.


If you need to free up space on an iPhone or computer, then the best bet is to copy it to an external drive.


For music purchased from the iTunes store, you can directly delete it from the Music app, and it will be available from the iTunes store cloud at any time and can be streamed from there as well as long as its still available in the store.


For any other music that did not come from the iTunes store, you will need to extract it from the iPhone, and back it up to an external drive. If the music only exists on the iPhone and nowhere else, then you will need a 3rd party app to extract it from the iPhone and onto a computer from which you can then place it onto an external drive.


See here: Recover your iTunes library from your iOS device - Apple Community

I havec26 GB OF MUSIC HOW CAN I MOVE IT TO ICLOUD?

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