How to rebuild music collection?
Background: Over the years I have imported hundreds of CDs into Apple Music, I have purchased music on iTunes, and I have downloaded albums and songs from my Apple Music subscription. Over the past year I have rebuilt my MacBook Pro from scratch several times, and I recently got a brand new MacBook Pro. I noted that ALL of my local files have been wiped out, and I do not have backups of these files (my bad, lesson learned). I am prepared to re-import as many of my CDs as necessary.
My Music Library remains intact, however, so I seem to have access to all of my music. Before I discard all of the original CDs, I would like to know the following:
1) Music from CDs: Does Apple Music track that I originally owned and imported a given album/song? If I redownload an album that I had imported -- even though that same album is part of Apple Music subscription -- will I be able to retain those downloaded files? Or do I need to re-import the CD?
2) Music purchased from iTunes: basically the same question as above.
Basically, before I get rid of the CDs, I want to understand what would happen to my local music files if for some reason I terminated my Apple Music subscription. Will it wipe out all music, including that which I own (imported or purchased), and do I need to hold onto my CDs forever?
I can't seem to find a comprehensive view of how music ownership works with Apple Music. Thanks for any guidance here!!
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2
