Q: WARNING: iCloud Music Library just destroyed my Mac's iTunes Library

(I posed my experience on page 13 and am now going back through and reading.)  I don't wonder if there's a sequence to activating iCloud Library.  I turned it on my iOS devices first and started choosing albums (because obviously that is what got released first), then iTunes later that day.  Now that I've restored my iTunes library, I don't wonder if turning iCloud Library back on there first and allowing it to match and whatnot before turning it on iOS devices would help.

This is what you have to do if ithe .itl file trick doesn't work.  Restore to pre iTunes 12.2 backup of your iTunes folder (that contains the .itl and .xml files, as well as your actual library.  Should be User > Music > iTunes.

That'll get your purchased music fixed.  And leave iCloud Music Library turned off or you'll just pull down the bad data again.

Had the same problem with the missing or completely wrong artwork. My solution was to clear the whole library, turn off iCloud library, then I deleted the itunes local library and created a new one without turning iCloud library on. After that I imported all the songs in this new library and let itunes search for the artwork. I turned on iCloud library now and waited until its all uploaded. Then I turned on the iCloud library on my iPhone. I saw that some artworks were still incorrect so i decided to go back to itunes deleted the corrupt artwork and instantly imported it manually (chose the artwork with a high resolution). Than i updated the iCloud library again and checked my iPhone after that. The incorrect artwork was gone but now there appeared others. So I repeated the whole artwork importing/updating thing until everything was fine. Now it works perfectly.

Well... not so fast. .itl restoration did not completely fix the issue. Launched a song this morning, another song randomly appeared in the library within the Genre I was browsing. That newly added song displayed in the "now playing" information, yet the actual music played and album jacket displayed were from the original song. ugh

iCloud is turned off. (and has been since I did the .itl restore). As others are pointing out, my local database is clearly corrupted.

I have my own sound effects library that I've been working years on. This morning I find my sound effects MY OWN GOSH DARN WORK is GONE. Freaking gone. It's not on iCloud, and I certainly can't click on it to have it play. So what.... does this mean if I create my own audio content that Apple is going to throw my work on the chopping block and delete MY work?

Yes, I have backups, and yes these are sound effects. Really good ones too... but what if they where music. My own content. Then what? does Apple delete that too? Or worse... would Apple remove MY work from MY computer, and then DRM MY WORK? - That would be an insanely insulting spit in my face.

How many of you understand these user agreements? mostly We just hit "I agree" to to answer the fundamental question "You want to continue using Apple?" ... what other answer is there? so yes "I agree". The user agreement may have spelled it out for legal purposes, but that doesn't change the more important thing... and that is my "Experience with Apple". Which is what "I agree" should really be representing. I don't have time to re-read these legal ULA's every single time a sentence has been added. Why should I have to always check whether Apple is still acting like Apple, or like a bait and switch Microsoft?

I have a very large library of non commercial source material all now in IOS 8.4. No changes occurred to my library, I assume that this is how it is intended to work.

It's incredible.

My library is almost destroyed. From 140 GB to 34 GB after 3 hours of working to reorganize things.

How Apple dares to modify my personal files?

And yes, I have a TM backup, but because Apple modified the whole library, TM went out of space and so deleted the previous (good) backup to accommodate the new (bad) one! Who could foresee that my files could be moved around and retagged (in a completely wrong way) by Apple?

I think that this will have legal consequences.

This is not software, it's a virus, it's an attack to our computers. I know it's unintentional, but the effect it's the same.

Apple, you have a lot of money, plan better tests for your software. And do not modify MY files.

I completely agree. Apple BETTER be making efforts to correct this.

On a side note and reference to the Library.ITL fix...

If since my previous library I've made changes (added files, deleted files, renamed, added comments) will reverting the library undo all of those hours of work and listening?

Cheers,

j

I spoke too soon. After a more thorough investigation, I found a lot of corrupted files and albums. I talked with Apple, and they advised me to restore from a Time Machine backup. Luckily I have two current backups. I'll try that and see what happens.

This *****. All of my playlists on my iPhone are gone. I just wanted to try out Apple Music. How do I turn off the iCloud Music Library option that I do not want on my phone?

HOURS wasted. My playlists have hours invested into them as I'm a music professional. This is a huge ******* deal. I switched back to Apple and iTunes a few months ago because of the music management... and then this.

I've put a days worth of work into re-ordering, creating playlists, editing files in the last few days and when I try to restore everything back to PRE update my library goes bonkers and all of those updates are lost.

To just walk into somebody's files (purchased on Google Play, Amazong, etc) and change it all. That's an invasion of privacy. The workings of a virus. Intentional or not.

Apple, FIX it. Now.

I do have one question. I don't use Match (I don't even know what it is) and I do not store anything in the cloud. I only store files locally, edit and manage those files and create playlists from the media.

Right now, my Album Artwork is crazy. What caused this? Should I be safe? I can't figure out a system in place for auditing this. I've added album art in iTunes but it won't carry over to iPhone during the sync. Aye.

Advice please.

if you have a time machine backup just recover the itunes folder from an earlier backup and disable icloud music on all of your devices until apple figures it out

no no time machine. there must be another option? I can't tell if I have as big as a problem as others that use cloud and match.. I also can't remember if I turned on apple music   . My head hurts.

I noticed that the fine print on the Apple agreement for downloading their music app contains the following when/if you unsubscribe [I formatted].  I am not downloading this thing.  I have a library with hundreds of songs not purchased thru iTunes and would have a heck of a time replacing them if they somehow got uploaded to their cloud, and I have no desire to subscribe either.  All this is one reason I delayed getting Apple products for so many years..their demands for control.  They can be very good at what they do, but they can also be quite the nazis when controlling what people can and cannot do with equipment and apps after purchase.  Its like buying a Porsche then having the dealer tell you where you can drive and how fast and what gas you have to use.  Wrong in so many ways.

Under Apple Music Subscription towards the end of the agreement:

....."If you buy a subscription to the Apple Music Service (an “Apple Music Subscription”), Apple will automatically charge the payment method associated with your Apple ID or the payment method associated with your Family Sharing Organizer’s account on a recurring basis until you turn off automatic renewal. You may turn off automatic renewal of your Apple Music Subscription at any time in the Account Settings menu on your device or computer, or in the Settings app on your device. If you turn off automatic renewal, you will continue to have access to the Apple Music Service for the remainder of your Apple Music Subscription term. When your Apple Music Subscription term ends, you will lose access to any feature of the Apple Music Service that requires an Apple Music Subscription, including but not limited to access to Apple Music Products accessible through the Apple Music Service or stored on your device, and any songs stored in your iCloud Music Library.  Apple Music Subscription purchases are final. Your payment method will be charged no more than 24 hours prior to the expiration of the current Apple Music Subscription period.".....

Under iCloud Music Library which follows...  So if you have a lot of your music in iCloud not purchased from the iTunes store, looks like you are s.o.l.

ICLOUD MUSIC LIBRARY

...."The iCloud Music Library feature is available to Apple Music subscribers who log in with an Apple ID. iCloud Music Library stores and permits you to remotely access songs and music videos purchased from the iTunes Store and other songs, along with related metadata, playlists, and other information from your other Apple Music-enabled devices. iCloud Music Library is turned on automatically when you set up your Apple Music Subscription. You will be prompted to enable iCloud Music Library when you log in to Apple Music on additional devices. You can enable iCloud Music Library in the Apple Music app settings on your device and in iTunes General Preferences on your computer. You can store up to 25,000 songs in iCloud Music Library. Songs purchased from the iTunes Store do not count against this limit. Songs that do not meet certain criteria or that are not authorized for your device or computer are not eligible for iCloud Music Library. You will not be able to access content stored in your iCloud Music Library when your Apple Music Subscription ends, but you can download songs that were previously acquired from the iTunes Store as set forth in, and subject to the terms of, the “Automatic Delivery and Downloading Previous Purchases” paragraph of the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions. You hereby agree to use iCloud Music Library only for lawfully acquired content. Any use for illegitimate content infringes the rights of others and may subject you to civil and criminal penalties, including possible monetary damages, for copyright infringement. ......"