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one apple id two different users

I was the "original" purchaser and user of iTunes music. Had music on my desktop (then laptop) and iPhone and Nano and iPad Mini, etc. Many years ago I also got my husband an iPod. We just used my Apple ID and manually added music to his iPod since he and I have mostly different tastes in music. It wasn't really much of an issue back then. But since then he now has a Mac Mini and a new iPod Touch. His Mac Mini has it's own library of music which is obviously different than the library on my MB Air. We have "my music" and "his music" most all of which has been purchased from iTunes under the one Apple ID. I keep all of our mobile devices set to sync manually so there's no unintentional "cross mixing" of our music. Obviously in hind sight I should have setup his own Apple ID for all of his music back then, but that's a bridge already crossed.


So what's the problem? It started as one thing but has morphed into an additional thing... He was getting confused/irritated that on his iPod he was "seeing" "my" music which he didn't want to see or play. I did some googling and found the setting to turn off so that he would only see music that was actually ON his iPod rather than all purchased music.


Then the second problem came up. He had copied most everything from his library to his iPod Touch, and certain songs would play for awhile and then the sound would stop. Music would keep moving - but no sound. Several trips and phone calls and apple support help couldn't figure out the problem. It was not hardware related. I now think that the problem is that the music that stops playing is Protected AAC music and that is causing some squirrelly things to happen. I found a site that explains how to change this protected music to purchased music using iTunes Match. And I am not averse to doing that. But I am so unclear about how iTunes Match would work with both his library and mine that I'm not ready to do that without some input and guidance. I have two scenarios I would like help with:


Ideal Plan: Set him up with his own Apple ID but he still has complete access to all of the current music that he wants including getting the protected music to be purchased music so that it works. In the future all of his purchases are done under his Apple ID.


If That isn't Possible Plan: Use iTunes Match to change the protected music to be purchased music so (hopefully) his iPod Touch won't stop playing those older protected songs. And I think I'd like to use iTunes Match for my music library as well because I put music on my iPhone and it takes up a lot of space. Would rather be able to access it through the Cloud rather than have it all physically on my phone. But what next? I certainly don't want to see all of his music and playlists on my phone, and he doesn't want to see my music and playlists on his phone.


If I ...

a. setup iTunes Match on his desktop to fix the protected music problem, then

b. copy everything to his iPod, then

c. turn Match off on his desktop and iPod

what will happen if I

d. setup iTunes Match on my desktop and iPhone - will I see all of his music too which I don't want to do??


I am so confused and I'm not sure my questions make any sense to anyone else. But if anyone can point me in the right direction for a solution I would be extremely grateful.


Thanks for any tips or solutions.

Posted on Dec 19, 2014 10:21 AM

Reply
10 replies

Dec 19, 2014 1:26 PM in response to Marcy Matties

Marcy,


Here is the best way:

  1. Subscribe to iTunes Match on your machine with your account.
  2. Get non-protected versions of those old songs by following this document: iTunes Store: iTunes Plus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), paying attention to the section on "Can I upgrade my previously purchased music to iTunes Plus?"
  3. Give him a copy of the non-protected song files that he wants. He can add them to his own library on his Mac Mini.
  4. Delete the protected versions once and for all.
  5. Let him make all future purchases on his own account


Going forward, he can sync his devices to his own library, and you can sync yours to your own.

Dec 19, 2014 3:25 PM in response to ed2345

Thanks for the reply. Let me clarify a couple of things...


The old songs that he wants are on his machine, not mine. I do also have some old songs on my machine that I'd probably like to update as well, but for now the issue is his old music.


Could I just follow the iTunes Plus/iTunes Match directions from his machine and get the non protected songs on his machine (and deleted the protected versions)? And after all of "his" music is on his desktop would I then setup his own apple ID and once he logs in and syncs with iCloud with that ID the Cloud will only see "his" music because that is the only music associated with that apple ID? Would it see that music as purchased music or not? And if it did would it matter that it was purchased under a different Apple ID? And would that cause any problems in the future if he for some reason needed to download some of it again? Clear as mud? 😕

Dec 19, 2014 3:44 PM in response to Marcy Matties


Could I just follow the iTunes Plus/iTunes Match directions from his machine and get the non protected songs on his machine (and deleted the protected versions)?


That will work, but it requires authorizing his machine to your account, which is kind of contrary to what you are trying to do. Keep in mind that iTunes Match is per account.


And after all of "his" music is on his desktop would I then setup his own apple ID and once he logs in and syncs with iCloud with that ID the Cloud will only see "his" music because that is the only music associated with that apple ID?


If his machine is authorized only to his account, his cloud will only show his music. (The music on his hard drive, of course, may have come from your account or from non-iTunes sources.)

Dec 19, 2014 4:02 PM in response to ed2345

That will work, but it requires authorizing his machine to your account, which is kind of contrary to what you are trying to do. Keep in mind that iTunes Match is per account.

If I authorized his machine to my account and did iTunes Match and got everything on his machine correct and "un protected", and then had him sign out of my account and sign in to his own account would he then be disassociated from i'Tunes Match? And I could go in on my account and turn on iTunes Match and fix my own protected music?

Dec 19, 2014 4:18 PM in response to Marcy Matties

If I authorized his machine to my account and did iTunes Match and got everything on his machine correct and "un protected", and then had him sign out of my account and sign in to his own account would he then be disassociated from i'Tunes Match?


Marcy: Yes. Don't skip the step where you deauthorize his machine from your iTunes account.


And I could go in on my account and turn on iTunes Match and fix my own protected music?

Yes.

Dec 23, 2014 6:50 AM in response to Marcy Matties

If I authorized his machine to my account and did iTunes Match and got everything on his machine correct and "un protected", and then had him sign out of my account and sign in to his own account would he then be disassociated from i'Tunes Match?


Thanks so much for the info. I have just seen another bit of information that says a device (such as the iPod Touch) can't be authorized on a different apple ID for 90 days. So if I do this iTunes Match thing and then deauthorize his Mac and authorize it on his new apple id, will it be 90 days before his iPod can be authorized on that new account? This is just getting more complicated and frustrating ... 😟

Dec 23, 2014 6:56 AM in response to Marcy Matties

So if I do this iTunes Match thing and then deauthorize his Mac and authorize it on his new apple id, will it be 90 days before his iPod can be authorized on that new account? This is just getting more complicated and frustrating ... 😟


Marcy,


Well let's put it this way: it would be nice to avoid any potential conflicts by keeping your account off his stuff!


That is why it was previously suggested to start with Step 1: "Subscribe to iTunes Match on your machine with your account." After you get the unprotected files, copy the files to his machine via a USB stick.

Dec 23, 2014 7:09 AM in response to ed2345

ed2345 wrote:


So if I do this iTunes Match thing and then deauthorize his Mac and authorize it on his new apple id, will it be 90 days before his iPod can be authorized on that new account? This is just getting more complicated and frustrating ... 😟


Marcy,


Well let's put it this way: it would be nice to avoid any potential conflicts by keeping your account off his stuff!


That is why it was previously suggested to start with Step 1: "Subscribe to iTunes Match on your machine with your account." After you get the unprotected files, copy the files to his machine via a USB stick.

I understand. But "his stuff" isn't on my machine so iTunes Match wouldn't find "his" music to match up. It's only on his machine.

Dec 23, 2014 7:11 AM in response to Marcy Matties

Marcy Matties wrote:


ed2345 wrote:


So if I do this iTunes Match thing and then deauthorize his Mac and authorize it on his new apple id, will it be 90 days before his iPod can be authorized on that new account? This is just getting more complicated and frustrating ... 😟


Marcy,


Well let's put it this way: it would be nice to avoid any potential conflicts by keeping your account off his stuff!


That is why it was previously suggested to start with Step 1: "Subscribe to iTunes Match on your machine with your account." After you get the unprotected files, copy the files to his machine via a USB stick.

I understand. But "his stuff" isn't on my machine so iTunes Match wouldn't find "his" music to match up. It's only on his machine.

I guess I could get "his" stuff off of his machine on a USB and put it on mine ... and then match it and then put it back on the USB and back to his machine...

Dec 23, 2014 7:16 AM in response to Marcy Matties

I understand. But "his stuff" isn't on my machine so iTunes Match wouldn't find "his" music to match up. It's only on his machine.


Marcy,


Match looks for stuff to upgrade in your purchase history, not on your machine. In fact, to make the upgrade work, the first thing you have to do is delete the DRM version!


Here are the steps for using Match to upgrade (the reference doc is iTunes Store: iTunes Plus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Apple Support ):


Can I upgrade my previously purchased music to iTunes Plus?

Yes. If you subscribe to iTunes Match, you can download your previously purchased music again in the iTunes Plus format. To do so:

  1. You need to delete the original DRM song from your library first. Doing this enables you to download the song again in the iTunes Plus format from iTunes in the Cloud.
  2. Click the Purchased tab in the iTunes Store.
  3. Click Music.
  4. Locate the artist of the song you want to upgrade.
  5. Click the iCloud Download icon next to the song you want to upgrade.

one apple id two different users

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