Ample reason to use an alternate to Apple Music?

Yes. Only to a point.

Depends how cavalier one is with purchases.

I have had my adverse experiences with it over the years.

You can lose music when a license for some music expires, etc. Buy a song & find is gone, or half of it. That appears to be quite infrequent, but how would you know, if you buy a lot of music until you stumble upon it? It has happened to me a few times.

If AM’s purpose is as a subscription service, it does not fit my need that well. It crashed my new iPad very recently (as far as I can tell).

In other words, iTunes begat Apple Music as an online radio subscription service, not a manager of owned content. My music investment is somewhat disposable, despite the thousands spent.

Essentially, I am on my own for a replacement. I understand that. Thx.

Its weird dropping out of the free subscription trial.

Stuff happens to conflict with tunes kept in the cloud. Cloud playlists. But I purchased & own the music involved.

I’m trying to assess the various alternatives without buying them all. Online reviews haven’t been decipherable. There are a lot of "App X is best for Y," so nearly every app "compared" is declared best. but they don’t compare equivalent features.

In recent year(s), Apple split A.M. & iTunes, correct?

There was a workaround allowing the old structure to continue. Maybe that is a complication.

• • Trying to figure out whether they are built ontop of Apple Music, as a new front end.
  • Or, double loads all the music twice, once for each application.
  • Also where the music resides—if it keeps music from disappearing, should AM no longer license some music.

I have issues with a new machine, in that apps get pulled down from the appstore on loading new machine. If an app is no longer on the appstore—I lose that app unless I can pull it from a backup, transfer from my old iPad, without explanation why it was discontinued. Is the same true of music?

I aware of the streaming subscription requirements. Good reiteration, though. I also understand people are quick to complain without a grasp of what’s going on. Therein lies part of the problem: not knowing why an issue occurred leaves people irate, whether there is a valid reason for being so, or not.

I have been usually happy with Apple Music, but needing to reload a new machine has me considering other options for music not bought from the service.

Thanks for the replies.