itunes match and new pc

I have a new windows pc and when I log into iTunes I only have 6 albums in my library. Now I know I can physically transfer my ripped music from the old pc to the new pc but I have been subscribing to iTunes match for years so that if anything happened my pc or backups I could get access to my music but this does not seem to be the case. What is the advantage of subscribing to iTunes match, it sounds like it is redundant? I use iTunes to keep my two very old but large iPods up to date.