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Possible to share songs/content NOT purchased from iTunes Store?

I have a ton of content (mostly music) in my iTunes library that was not purchased from the iTunes store (i.e. songs ripped from CDs, purchased on other sites, etc.). Is it possible to share this content with my wife/children without having them login to my iTunes account?


The reason I'm trying to do this is to allow us to use Apple Music's family plan, which requires iCloud Family Sharing to be enabled. For years, my family has used individual accounts for iCloud (calendars, reminders, etc.), but we all shared my account for the iTunes Store. This gave everyone in the family access to our music, which was stored in my iTunes library and in iCloud via iTunes Match. The downsides to this arrangement (shared playlists, etc.) weren't a problem for us and, after playing around with iCloud Family Sharing when it came out, I decided that it was easier to stick with sharing my iTunes account for the store/music.


With Apple Music now available, I want to take advantage of the family plan (the $14.99/mo plan) and give everyone in my family the ability to stream songs at the same time. This requires iCloud Family Sharing to be enabled. I know that family members have access to the content purchased in the iTunes Store, but I don't know if it's possible - or haven't been able to figure out how - to share non-iTunes Store content like songs I've ripped from CDs. I understand that my iTunes Match account is not shared with iCloud Family Sharing, and I don't want to purchase an iTunes Match plan for everyone in my family. Even if I did, it seems the problem of populating iTunes Match would still exist, since most of the content is coming from my iTunes library.


If there's a solution to my problem, I feel it may lie in duplicating/sharing the iTunes library on our Mac. If my wife and sons each had their own iTunes library (hopefully shared vs. duplicated - it's really big) on the Mac, then Apple Music would presumably move it into the cloud like it has done for me.


I have read that iTunes Match and Apple Music each have iCloud Music spaces that operate separately, but in a similar fashion, save for the DRM on the Apple Music files. I had hoped that with the Apple Music Family Plan, that services iCloud Music content (i.e. my entire library) would be accessible by the rest of the family, but that doesn't seem to be the case. On their devices, I can only see content that I have purchased from iTunes, but none of the other content I have added from other sources.


If turning on Apple Music's Family Plan means that everyone in my family besides me loses access to our large iTunes library - most of which was NOT purchased from Apple - then I'm afraid it's a deal breaker for me. Apple Music or my music (including things like The Beatles full catalog, which isn't available on Apple Music)? I really hope that's not the choice I have to make.


Thanks for any help...

Posted on Oct 8, 2015 1:47 PM

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Possible to share songs/content NOT purchased from iTunes Store?

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