Can't delete songs on iphone (itunes match) iOS6

This is the official from Apple web site:

Does iTunes Match stream or download songs?

On a computer, any songs stored in iCloud will stream over the air when played, though you can download them at any time by clicking the iCloud download button. iOS devices will start playing tracks from iCloud as they download and will store them so that you can listen to them later even if you don’t have a network connection. Apple TV only streams songs.

I ve filled the feedback form informing how much disapointing was this overall change on iTunes Match. Its a commercial strategy to people stop keep downloading music and consuming the straming ability. So, if u unsubscribe, there is a chance that customer doesnt have downloaded the song, so...music lost.

In reference to the storage issue, i.e. cached songs will take up valuable space, I found this statement in the IOS6 + iphone manual:

When iTunes Match is turned on, you can’t delete music. If space is needed, iTunes Match removes music for you, starting with the oldest and least played songs.

Not sure if that addresses the concerns, but I thought it might have some bearing.

The problem is I didn't buy icloud/ iTunes Match so I could stream all my music. That doesn't work for me as I have data usage limitations and I'm often underground at don't have network access. Instead, I got iTunes Match so I could manage my music using my phone and not have the plug it into iTunes every time. I also wanted it so if I wanted to get access to my library whilst not at home I could do. IOS6 has removed these features which means I don't need. My solution is to get amazon cloud which has many of the features of the old iTunes Match. I.e. you can delete individual tracks on your phone.

You can still download entire playlists, albums, and artists. Just not single tracks anymore.

This sounds like a good thing, but isn't.

On previous version we have full control of funcionalities and what was streamed and what was downloaded. Stream now is really impressive, but the proactive buffer still downloads songs that maybe I dont want to hear.

And the new iTunes app (iTunes 11) sounds like same way. No full control anymore.

Soundcloud and Amazon are offering services more consciously.

I had already unsubiscribed my iTunes Match for this.

I don't like the changes to iTM in iOS 6 any better than other people who don't like them. I'm simply telling dcwarren that he can still download songs and does not HAVE to stream everything.

FYI: iTM in iOS 5 did not stream. It was download only.

iOS 5 used to do a pseudo-stream: if music was not downloaded, a stream with iTM is make then song will be played as long the buffer is getting full with all music data. when buffer ends stream, music is downloaded.

Im not arguing with you, only expressing to Apple that the changes was not made ina good way. But obviously there are some interests behind this change.

🙂

In my own 'playing around' I see no difference between how iOS5 and iOS6 handle music playing. In both operating systems, when I start playing a song, it starts immediately to play and at the same time triggers a download of the song. Can someone elaborate as to the differences they are experiencing?

FYI: iTM in iOS 5 did not stream. It was download only.

I agree with you entirely on the results. I think the reason people say it was "downloaded" before is that it was physically on your device at that point. It was there for all your offline listening until you removed it manually (an easy swiipe). Now it is "streamed." Now it is secretly on your device. You can't delete it, though the system may do automatically behind the scenes if it thinks its a good idea.

The method by which songs can be removed has been changed between iOS5 and iOS6. That is for sure. But why do people say iOS5 'downloaded' and iOS6 'streams' as if there is a difference? I see no differences where it matters. In both operating systems, the song starts playing right away, and at the end, you've got a local copy of the song. From what I am slowly gathering, the big difference in iOS6 seems to be how streamed/downloaded (they are the same) music is handled. In iOS5, it had to be handled manually. And in iOS6, it sounds like it will be handled automatically. I really want to understand this better.

In terms of actually getting songs onto your device, the only difference seems to be that IOS5 allowed you to download individual tracks whereas it seems IOS6 only seems to give you the option of downloading entire albums, which is annoying if you don't have much space on your phone.

But what makes the situation worse is that you can no longer manually delete these unwanted tracks. This is a problem for me as I often needed to delete unwanted tracks to make room for new apps etc. it seems the only way you can get rid of them is to delete all tracks from your phone. The alternative is to go back to managing what tracks are on your phone through iTunes, which seems like step backwards, or sign up to amazon cloud and their cloud player app which still allows you to manage your music on the actual device.

OH, and under iOS6 you can't see what tracks are on your phone and what are on the cloud unless you keep turning "show all music" on and off

Totaly agreed.

This is absolutely brutal.

So bad I can't help but wonder if this is now on purpose. If the licensing has changed so that only "entire" albums can be "streamed" you now have no choice but to download it instead of chosen tracks (even from your own collection!)

I am livid at this stupid change. I always have songs downloaded to my iPhone 4 so I can listen when I don't have a signal (wifi or carrier). I constantly change what I want to listen to on my 16Gig iPhone 4. Also, I don't know about everyone else but data usage with my phone company is finite, so when I'm out and about I can't be hammering it all the time!! My iPhone 4 is always hooked into my car system too. It's just not practical to be streaming from your car.

So now you have to turn iTunes Match off in order to delete music from your iPhone. Why?! I just did this and then it took 2 minutes to come back to life after I turned Match back on! What monkeys made this usability decision? Pathetic.