Purchased songs have disappeared. From Music and iTunes for both Windows and my iPhone and iPad.

Why did I lose hundreds of PURCHASED songs from my library? I have checked my purchase history and now they only list purchases in the last few months. I have tried to download the songs I had purchased again but it says I don't have any. I exposed the hidden songs and purchases and that's empty. I read in the community that it could be a licensing issue. That is ridiculous because if I purchased a 45 from Target and they don't sell it anymore, I still have the purchased music.

HOWEVER these songs are all available for me to PURCHASE AGAIN,!


Windows, Windows 10

Posted on Feb 26, 2021 6:00 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 28, 2021 1:45 AM

As noted:


If this content is then added back to the store by the new rights holders these will be different entries in the iTunes Store's catalog, and won't match to your old purchases.


That may not be the only explanation, but is is a possible one. The ability to redownload past purchases isn't guaranteed to remain in perpetuity. Contact Apple Support for more information. In the meantime see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy - Apple Community and backup your library properly.


tt2

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 28, 2021 1:45 AM in response to shelah2

As noted:


If this content is then added back to the store by the new rights holders these will be different entries in the iTunes Store's catalog, and won't match to your old purchases.


That may not be the only explanation, but is is a possible one. The ability to redownload past purchases isn't guaranteed to remain in perpetuity. Contact Apple Support for more information. In the meantime see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy - Apple Community and backup your library properly.


tt2

Feb 26, 2021 6:35 AM in response to shelah2

We'll assume that you haven't changed regions, and have only ever used a single Apple ID. The ability to redownload or stream your past purchases depends on the continued availability of the items in the iTunes Store. Rights holders may remove content from the store without notice at any time. A typical reason for this might be a change of ownership of distribution rights. If this content is then added back to the store by the new rights holders these will be different entries in the iTunes Store's catalog, and won't match to your old purchases. Your existing copies and backups of such tracks would continue to play. If you haven't kept local copies and backups then you're in the same position you would be if you'd lost your 45 from Target.


tt2

Feb 27, 2021 5:50 PM in response to turingtest2

tt2- Thank you for explaining about the rights etc.

However, much of the music that I have purchased years ago is STILL AVAILABLE so I know this isn't a music rights issue. In the past, I've been able to go to my history of purchases and click to download them again if they turned up missing. That wasn't common - maybe a song or two in 5 years. This is so many songs and why should I have to buy them again?


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Purchased songs have disappeared. From Music and iTunes for both Windows and my iPhone and iPad.

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