I have an iPhone 3GS which has all my non-purchased music on it. I have recently got my first iMac and iPad. If I subscribe to iTunes Match from my iMac will my non-purchased music on my phone become automatically available on all three devices or will I have to try to transfer the music from my iPhone to my iMac before subscribing?
The latter. The only device that can be used to actually Upload / Match non-purchased tracks is one that can run iTunes (so basically a Windows or MacOS computer only).
Thanks, Roebeet. I had been led to that conclusion myself but was not entirely sure. I remain confused because I have since been assured by AppleCare Support Centre that on joining iTunes Match the non-purchased music on my iPhone will become available for all my devices automatically. The irony of all this is that I have moved lock, stock and barrel from years using Windows based computers to Apple so that I might enjoy the seamless integration of all my new goodies. Nothing ever is as it first appears.
I've since had confirmed from iTunes Store Support that-
"The answer to you question is, Yes. The music that you did not purchase form the iTunes Store will automatically be available to your devices as long as it matches with the songs available from the store. For you to understand better, I provided some articles that will confirm my answer.
If you want the benefits of iTunes in the Cloud for music you haven’t purchased from iTunes, iTunes Match is the perfect solution. It’s built right into the iTunes app on your Mac or PC and the Music app on your iOS devices. And it lets you store your entire collection, including music you’ve imported from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes. For just $24.99 a year."
On the strength of that I am willing to give iTunes Match a try, I guess.
Until some unknown file issue causes Match to hang and crash iTunes...
Non-purchased Music and iTunes Match
