Q: iTunes Match - download all songs?

For others in the future, it seems as though Apple has fixed this problem as I just enabled iTunes Match on my iPhon5 and it did not erase the music that was stored on my phone. If it does, just create a playlist in iTunes labeled "all songs". Add your whole library to that playlist. Update iTunes Match. Go to your phone and download the entire playlist.Voila!

I, too, want to maximize my local music availability, since my BMW iPod interface goes bonkers when songs are not "in" my iPhone. I can be listening to Song A from the device, but as soon as I plug it into my car and try to listen to it there, it'll play whatever song is available, alphabetically, from my whole collection.

Needless to say, I've heard "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" quite a bit lately. It's not the first song in my collection, just alphabetically the first one in local cache, I suppose.

I guess I'll make some playlists of music I'm likely to want to hear, and download from the cloud while connected to WiFi at home, before I go places.

Other than the BMW issue, iTunes Match has been a dream for listening to anything from my collection at whim!!

I was able to download all items by selecting them all, right clicking and hitting "download" on my MacBook air.

Hey, Svjim

I know what you are talking about, and contrary to information you received prior, there is a way to stream your music from the Cloud.

If you go into the iTune store and locate the "Purchased" link on the right side panel under the "Quick Links" section you can click on that and see all your purchased songs. From there, if you hover over the song you want a little "play" triangle will appear. Hit that triangle and you can play your song.

ALTERNATIVELY, and I'm assuming this is more what you are looking for, you can go into Edit> Preferences>Store and check the box next to "Show iTunes in the Cloud Purchases." This will make all your purchased songs appear in your Library with a little cloud next to them. This means that they are playing from the cloud aka streaming in your Library.

Hope that helps! I'm late to the party with this but maybe someone else can get use out of the information as well!

Have a blessed one!

~Shaks

Hi,

I think you are wrong.

1. When you go to previous purchases, you only get the preview not the full track.

2. With match, selecting " show iTunes in the cloud " in preferences does not make any difference. If the track is on your computer, there is no cloud symbol. If the song is only in the cloud, the cloud symbol with download arrow appears and therefore track can be streamed.

Jim

Hi Jim,

After closer examination, I realize that you are right about the previous purchases thing. Playing the song from the "Purchases" only allows a preview of the song. Forgive my misinformation there.

HOWEVER, the second suggestion still stands. Going to Preferences > Store and checking "iTunes in the Cloud Purchases" allows you to view the purchases that are stored in the Cloud in your regular Library view. When you hit play they will stream but WILL NOT be downloaded UNLESS you also press the cloud with the arrow in it. I have just double checked to be sure. However, I do not have iTunes Match and so cannot speak for how that works. What I am talking about is just in regular iTunes. Going to Edit>Preferences>Store and checking the "iTunes in the Cloud Purchases" will produces the above results. Thanks.

Hi,

Your second suggestion does not work if you have match

Jim

Actually it does, Jim, but it has nothing to do with iTunes Match. Shaksmac is confusing iTunes Match with the additional iTunes  in the Cloud service which allows re-downloading of past purchases from the iTunes Store. Enabling showing the iTunes Store purchases doesn't affect iTunes Match at all.

Hi,

I created a blank library and was able to see all past purchases and stream the tracks as previously suggested by Shaksmac.

However, in my main library with match on, I have all my music downloaded apart from a couple of hundred tracks that are either duplicate purchases or tracks I don't want in my library.

I can view those tracks in previous purchases, can play preview or download. They don't appear in my main library, so I can't stream those tracks.

Jim

I've just read this topic and this actually answered my question if it was possible to keep local music synced in my iphone + itunes match.  Guess it is not possible.

Does anyone know how to get a refound then?  My monthly download isn't big enough to handle all the streaming that itunes match would need

thank you

It is possible, Floyd. To do it you must disable iTunes Match on the iOS device, launch Music and let the content clear out. Then sync the music you want on the device via USB. After the sync re-enable iTM on the device. Or you can download music to the device while on a Wi Fi network.

To get a refund you'll need to contact iTunes Store support.

thanks for the tip Michael, i'll do that before trying to get a refound

welp, it doesn't work Michael.  When I re-enabled ITM, it still says that it will delete my local iphone library

That warning about deleting your library is a little misleading.

The "library" is the list of music on your phone - but it's not the actual music files. It's only the names of the songs, albums and artists.

When you turn on Match, it replaces the list of music that's only on your phone with the list of all your music, including the stuff on the cloud and the stuff on the phone, combined. But the music files stay right where they were (or at least they did with iOS 5, I'm not 100% certain about that with iOS 6).

It makes sense if you think about it, but at first it is confusing.

Joseph beat me to it.