How much does a stream-only usage on iTunes match use?

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Level 1

25 points

How much does a stream-only usage on iTunes match use?

I apologize in advance for any repetitiveness in this question. I didn't find an answer to this specific question in my search through forums.

I admit I still don't fully understand the concept of this service, but I opted to buy it anyway. I just went through the 3-step process to "move" my music to the cloud (if I understand this correctly).

I do not plan on playing music locally from my iOS device, but rather only stream them from the cloud when I'm on the road. This also means I'm using my cell phone data plan as opposed to WiFi.

How much data can I expect to use, say per hour, if all I did was stream music from the cloud. Is there a way to change the quality of the streamed music?

Thank you for any information you can provide.

Posted on Mar 16, 2013 9:52 AM

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Answer 1

Only XM

Level 2

365 points

Mar 16, 2013 4:57 PM in response to Hemiolia

I have not been able to get an answer. You can go into settings, reset your usage to zero then stream for an hour to get an idea (with wifi off so that you are using data).

I stream all the time to my car, but it's only about 10 hours a month. Adding cell data, I use less than 3 GBs a month of my 5GB plan.

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Answer 2

doubr

Level 1

99 points

Mar 16, 2013 6:33 PM in response to Hemiolia

It is ease to count. My album is 60 min it is an AAC 256kbps (all matched music is 256kbps) album has 137MB so I would count one hour of streaming ~150MB if Apple streams 256kbps

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Answer 3

Hemiolia Author

Level 1

25 points

Mar 16, 2013 6:36 PM in response to Hemiolia

Thank you so much for the kind responses.

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Answer 4

Mar 17, 2013 12:03 AM in response to Hemiolia

doubr gave you a very good answer on the streaming estimate so I won't rehash that. I did want to follow up on a couple points in your OP, though.

Hemiolia wrote:

I admit I still don't fully understand the concept of this service, but I opted to buy it anyway. I just went through the 3-step process to "move" my music to the cloud (if I understand this correctly).

The music in your iTunes library has not been "moved." to the cloud. It is all still right where it was; this is a very common misconception with iTunes Match. When you play the music in iTunes it will still be playing the locally stored copy. It will not stream from the cloud unless you specifically delete the local track from your iTunes library.

Hemiolia wrote:

Is there a way to change the quality of the streamed music?

No. All music streamed music is 256 Kbps AAC.

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Answer 5

Hemiolia Author

Level 1

25 points

Mar 17, 2013 12:07 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

Michael

I'm very confused by your response. First off, I never use iTunes to play music. iTunes is as useless to me as Microsoft's Internet Explorer is for browsing.

The only device from which I use to play music is my iPhone. If my computer (where my music files locally reside) is turned off, where does iTunes match draw this information from?

I guess I should have done more reading up before buying a year subscription.

I'm so confused.

Thank you for your response.

Jimmy

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Answer 6

Mar 17, 2013 12:14 AM in response to Hemiolia

Hemiolia wrote:

The only device from which I use to play music is my iPhone. If my computer (where my music files locally reside) is turned off, where does iTunes match draw this information from?

iOS devices stream the music from the cloud, i.e. the iTunes Store. The music in your iTunes library is mirrored to Apple's servers and iTunes Store content is used, except in the case of uploaded tracks. Many people mistakenly assume that by enabling iTunes Match then all the music they play, on any device (iPhone, iPad, iTunes) will come from the cloud. This is not the case, which is why I responded to your "moved my music to the cloud" comment. The music has not been "moved," more like it has been "mirrored."

Also, keep in mind that iTunes Match is not a backup service.

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Answer 7

Hemiolia Author

Level 1

25 points

Mar 17, 2013 12:27 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

Actually I'm very glad you mentioned that iTunes Match isn't a backup service. I bought the subscription partly because I believed it WAS backing up music - or rather. . . if you somehow lost your music, the mirrored music on the cloud (or iTunes store) will allow you to download it to whatever device you have Match set up on.

Thanks for mentioning this.

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Answer 8

Mar 17, 2013 1:15 AM in response to Hemiolia

At a high level, yes, this is correct. If a disaster happens one could download the music from the cloud again. However, Apple advises you to not rely on iTunes Match or the iTunes in the Cloud services as backups. It is your responsiblity to backup your personal data, and you should be backing up to an external HDD regularly. Apple could cancel the iTunes Match service at any time for any reason and your "backup" would then disappear.

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