ITunes Match is set to renew. Why do I still need it?

Hey Jim.

what do you mean when you say you can reverse this?

Are you saying that if you follow these steps you can’t play your downloaded higher res version after your annual iTunes Match subscription expires?

1. subscribe to iTunes Match and the system scans your local drive for music and where apple has a higher res version it indicates that with an icon
2. the user then goes to their own hard drive and deletes the original music file for that particular track
3. user then clicks the download from the cloud button that results in the higher res version of the file on your local machine
4. user cancels i tunes match at the one year anniversary.
5. are you saying that the file downloaded from step 3 won’t be playable after step 4?
6. are you also saying to allow the file to be playable from step 5 the user must then re sub to iTunes Match?

thanks

john

Hi,

You don’t need iTunes Match as its features are included with your Apple Music subscription. You can allow your iTunes Match subscription to expire. Make sure that you have backed up your library bearing in mind that most of your matched music will be available as lossless or hi-res versions for streaming or downloading.

To get those versions, you need remove the original download and then download lossless version. However these versions have DRM and are only available whilst you have an active subscription. You can reverse this action whilst you have a subscription.

Jim

Hi,

If you cancel iTunes Match subscription but have an active Apple Music subscription, you can still play and download lossless and hi-res matched music. If you subsequently cancel Apple Music you won’t be able to play those downloads. When I say reverse this, I mean that you need to remove those downloads and re-download as 256 Kbps AAC files so that you can continue to play them. You don’t need to re-subscribe iTunes Match. If you re-subscribe to Apple Music in the future, your existing library will be rescanned and if the music is matched, it may be available as lossless or hi-res where you will be able to remove original and use upgraded versions.

ps You should keep a backup of your music on a separate hard drive.

Jim

Would the OP not lose cloud access to any ripped music that they uploaded that is not part of the Apple Music catalogue?

When I signed up for AcornTV I was told that I could cancel any time by viewing my account at iTunes. Is ITunes the same as Apple Music? I pay 10.99 a mo. for Apple Music. Do I also have to pay for iTunes to view and, if desired, to cancel my AcornTV subscription?

Hi,

The music app replaced iTunes app on MacOS. What happened to iTunes? – Apple Support (UK)

You use the music app as you would use iTunes in the past to manage your subscriptions. You can also use the App Store If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple – Apple Support (UK).

Apple Music is a subscription service that uses the music app. You don’t need to subscribe to Apple Music to view or manage other subscriptions.

Jim

Hi,

Yes you lose access to music matched or uploaded to the iCloud music library. Therefore it is essential that the music has been downloaded to your computer before expiry.

Jim