I have to subscribe to iTunes Match just to sync music between my laptop and iPhone, otherwise songs on my laptop are deleted, is this correct?

No, not correct.

Your laptop's music should not be touched when you sync with an iPhone, and you do not need to subscribe to itunes match to sync directly over USB or Wi-Fi.

When syncing anything on the iPhone that is not part of the iTunes Library on the computer will be deleted from the iPhone, but the library on the computer remains untouched. The library on the computer is the master basically.

iTunes Match is used to match or upload your music library from a computer to the cloud, so it can be accessed by other devices such as your iPhone without needing to sync directly to the computer.

I believe its iTunes Match that can let you reclaim media onto a computer, since its the one that provides non DRM protected files for the matched and uploaded music, while all tracks in Apple Music are protected, so while they can be downloaded, they cannot be accessed if the subscription to it is discontinued.

Syncing an empty iTunes library with a full device will remove content from the device. Syncing should not remove content from the computer, but that should be backed up against any unforeseen events. I know Apple Music can be used as a workaround to reclaim media on a device into your library. I don't know for certain that iTunes Match provides the same facility. See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - Apple Community for more.

tt2

Hi Phil,

I don't think it is entirely clear, but Subscribe to iTunes Match - Apple Support talks about setting up iTunes Match from a computer and uploading its library to the cloud, whereas Join Apple Music on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC - Apple Support suggests you can sign up for Apple Music on an iOS device where, presumably, existing content on the device can be matched or uploaded. It might be that either service will work, but to be on the safe side I'd recommend manually extracting media from a device first while the opportunity exists.

tt2

Assuming the media is already matched or uploaded iTunes Match can let you reclaim it. If its not I'm not entirely sure apple Music does that from an iOS device, but cannot say for sure. You may be correct.

turingtest2 wrote:

Hi Phil,

...

It might be that either service will work, but to be on the safe side I'd recommend manually extracting media from a device first while the opportunity exists.

tt2

I completely agree. 😉