Q: 30% of songs in Status "Waiting" iTunes Match problem

I had been having the same problems as everyone else and after reading all the complaints in all the discussions and trying every possible solution I have been able to get past this.  I have an iMac, Charter cable modem (30Mbps down and 4 Mbps up) and an Airport Extreme. I determined that my problem, like others, was isolated to my home network (not songs).  Found this out by setting my iPad (with Verizon Data Plan) up as a personal Hot Spot and connecting the iMac to it wirelessly.  Suddenly all songs in "Waiting" status began to upload, at least until my data plan was exhausted (About 250 songs), so I knew this was a networking problem. I in no way profess to be any kind of a network guru but I researched everything possible anyway. Apple routers do not offer QoS settings.  However, Apple has a piece of software for download that developers use for testing called "Network Line Conditioner".  Can't remember where I found it off hand, but figured it was a safe product to try since it was an Apple product and not some third party software. Initially I had no luck modifying the direct LAN connection to the router so I disconnected the LAN cable from the iMac. I then turned on the Mac's Wi-Fi and connected to my home network. After trying several of the pre-set options in the program, I was able to find one that worked and I slowed down my Upload speed and made a 1% allowance for dropped packets (My custom setting, I'm not sure I even know what dropped packets are).  Don't know what this fixed or what the problem really was but my songs in "Waiting" now upload without problems or failures or restarting.  The (GUI) program is very easy to use and simple to turn "On" and "Off".  When "On" it resides up top near the "Signal Strength" indicator and is selectable with a "Right Click".  I can't promise that this will work for any or all but I wanted to share my success.  Maybe others can elaborate on my lack of "Network Knowledge" and explain this a little better. Good luck to all!

I found a different way to fix this.    I still do not allow iTunes to manage my song library, so I have all my .mp3 files on a NAS drive in folders and didn't want to have to use iTunes to re-encode files and worry about getting them sync'd up with whats on my NAS drive.

I downloaded MP3 encoder from the Mac App Store and set it to bitrate 256, quality 10 (left method = CBR, stereo mode = auto, sample rate = auto)

I set preferences to Output the file "same as source" and had it Overwrite existing output files.    What this does is sets the encoder to re-encode "in place" basically replacing the old file with the new one.  This allows the songs to keep the correct pointers in iTunes (e.g. no re-copying them to iTunes)

I created a smart playlist that contains only the "waiting" files and right click each one, select "Show In Finder" then I drag the file in question into the encoder, encode, and magically iTunes somehow detects the song as needing to be re-sync'd to the cloud.

So basically by re-encoding them outside of iTunes but keeping the same exact name and location, its retriggering iTunes to re-match those songs.

Its a bit of a pain to have to walk through each one like that, but at least this way I'm not having to really touch iTunes... don't have to worry about removing songs, re-adding, making sure they get back to their proper playlists etc. 

I processed about 50 files like this and all were either matched or uploaded.   (once I got rolling it only took me a few minutes using this method)

I now have zero "waiting" files.

Hello,

I have NOT subscribed to iTunes Match.  Yet I have the same issue as you do.  The songs I purchased through Itunes say Purchased which I assume means they're available in the iCloud for me.  The rest are ones I've improted through CDs and they all say Waiting.  Waiting for what?  For me to subscribe to iTunes Match?

It wouldn't really be an issue except that every now and then iTunes randombly makes copies of my songs and puts them into iCloud and then asks me if I want to download them to my library.  Not better versions, just exact copies, in the cloud.  The originals of course are only available on my library as if I select them for deletion they dont have the little cloud download symbol next to them.

There's more to "waiting" than "waiting to be uploaded due to capacity" -  I have about 400 songs (out of 24300) still waiting, 2 months after I joined.

Thanks, kahuna6969, for this tip.

For the benefit of others, the software is actually a Preference Pane called "Network Link Conditioner" (not Line Conditioner) and was last distributed as part of Apple's Developer Tools in a package called "Hardward IO Tools for Xcode." It appears that package was last updatee in late 2012.

If you have an Apple developer account, it can be found here: https://developer.apple.com/downloads

I have not yet tried this, as a fix for iTunes Match. I plan to do so, but in the meantime, since it took me a while to find the software, I thought I'd go ahead and share this info for locating it.

Thanks again.  :-)

This has been the number 1 problem I've had with itunes match since I joined in December 2011.  This has consistently been a problem since day one.  I for one am incredibly tired of having to try fix after fix.

Time to cut our losses, and cut the itunes match cord.  If someone invests the time to organize thousands of songs and 30% of them aren't there?  And we have to perpetually browse forums and call apple support to fix it?  Even when I get a fix, there's always another glitch or "waiting" message on the horizon.

I'm here to warn people:  just don't bother.  Use something cross platform like google or amazon or just stay away from cloud storage altogether, unless you love to regularly browse forums so you can "fix" the service that houses your music.  Or use spotify, which is just incredibly convenient and low maintenance.  If you'd like to listen to music and avoid the ********, I've realized very belatedly that it has to be spotify.

You're right: iTunes Match is a joke. And I say that as an Apple "fanboy."

But not all of us can switch. I have tons of music that simply does not exist on Spotify or other services. I'm also musician, myself, with hundreds of my own tracks in my library and more being added constantly, And I need to be able to play what I want when I want it — not some genre-specific playlist that a stranger assembled.

Yes, Spotify is a viable option for many people, and if you're one of them, that's fantastic. But those services are not the same.

Apple needs to frigging make iTunes Match work. This is an embarrassment. Sadly, Apple's so big, now, that things like this — that work for the average person with 1000 songs — can go for months or years without being fixed, especially for the minority of users, like myself, who have over 20,000 songs. Of course, officially that's well within iTunes Match's capabilities. But in reality, it's a complete nightmare.

Apple, you've truly let us down, this time.

(Discussion Police: Please don't reply to this, telling me that Apple doesn't read these discussions and telling me where to post. It's called "venting.")