"Adding itunes purchase to playlist will download a copy to your computer"

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Level 1

15 points

"Adding itunes purchase to playlist will download a copy to your computer"

What does this mean??? (Long story) I recently updated to El Capitan 10.11.3 and also iTunes 12.3.2.35. I don't have Match on because it caused numerous problems for me. I was happy to see "Music" as a playlist that shows everything in iTunes is in this version. The previous version I was using on OS 10.6.8 didn't have that.

Looking at the Music playlist I noticed I had a duplicate song. One was already in one of my playlists where it belongs, and I could click on "Show in Finder." The other version was not in a playlist and I can't "Show in Finder." The quality of this version is better than the copy I have on my computer so I decided to move the other to the trash and move the better copy into the the playlist where the other was. But when I tried I get this-

"Adding itunes purchase to playlist will download a copy to your computer"

I take it this is a purchased version, cloud or something, and is not really on my computer, yes? As far as I know, I don't have Apple's cloud going. I like my music to be actual files on my computer and to be able to move them around and organize them however and whenever I want. I don't want some mysterious music files that I might, or might not be able to listen to at some point depending on what service I'm using, or a file that I'll need to download a copy whenever I want to put it into a playlist. What's more, I don't want or need two copies of any song even if it's one I want, especially if I can't delete it if I want.

What's going on here? I've stuck with iTunes all these years but it seems every time I upgrade something gets worse...or am I just stupid for not getting it?

Posted on Feb 5, 2016 2:19 PM

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Answer 1

dmcpeake

Level 1

4 points

Feb 7, 2016 5:33 AM in response to DOUGZEUG

Agree what is going on with iTunes? All my old playlists are gone and then this message "Adding itunes purchase to playlist will download a copy to your computer" I just want to have playlists for my various moods, activities, etc.

Music I burned from CDs seems to have vanished.

Fix this crap!!!

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Answer 2

ed2345

Level 9

62,498 points

Feb 7, 2016 12:16 PM in response to DOUGZEUG

DOUGZEUG wrote:

What does this mean??? (Long story) I recently updated to El Capitan 10.11.3 and also iTunes 12.3.2.35. I don't have Match on because it caused numerous problems for me. I was happy to see "Music" as a playlist that shows everything in iTunes is in this version. The previous version I was using on OS 10.6.8 didn't have that.

Looking at the Music playlist I noticed I had a duplicate song. One was already in one of my playlists where it belongs, and I could click on "Show in Finder." The other version was not in a playlist and I can't "Show in Finder." The quality of this version is better than the copy I have on my computer so I decided to move the other to the trash and move the better copy into the the playlist where the other was. But when I tried I get this-

"Adding itunes purchase to playlist will download a copy to your computer"

I take it this is a purchased version, cloud or something, and is not really on my computer, yes? As far as I know, I don't have Apple's cloud going. I like my music to be actual files on my computer and to be able to move them around and organize them however and whenever I want. I don't want some mysterious music files that I might, or might not be able to listen to at some point depending on what service I'm using, or a file that I'll need to download a copy whenever I want to put it into a playlist. What's more, I don't want or need two copies of any song even if it's one I want, especially if I can't delete it if I want.

What's going on here? I've stuck with iTunes all these years but it seems every time I upgrade something gets worse...or am I just stupid for not getting it?

Doug,

When you purchase a song from the iTunes Store or other source, make sure to download a copy to your computer right away.

Also, go into iTunes Preferences. On the General tab make sure Apple Music is not checked, and on the Store tab make sure Automatic Downloads is checked.

Also, do not sign up for Apple Music or iTunes Match, as they -- in the name of providing a seamless experience -- tend to create confusion with the files that are already on your confusion, which per your post you are trying to avoid.

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Answer 3

DOUGZEUG Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 7, 2016 12:19 PM in response to ed2345

Yes, it's strange but that's it Ed. No idea why though. I had those settings are right in the preferences. I suspect it has something to do with another problem I've had for a while, a year or maybe two. I have no idea what it started though. I've got over 10,000 tracks in iTunes, the majority, probably 75%, are from CDs I own. Some track, a small percentage, started showing up as ⚠ not being found. This isn't the same problem most people have with this where all that needs to be done is relink one song and then all the missing files from that source are found, each missing song has to be relinked one at a time. These tracks have not been moved, and they are all still in the nice neat folder iTunes made when they were imported. They are right where they should be, never moved etc. I found it was easier to just delete the missing tracks from the playlist and drag/drop the files from their iTunes folder back into itunes.

The downloaded tracks, I've found several more like the one I mentioned above, that are ones I know I downloaded and have listened to, may have a similar linking problem. Could it be these tracks that show up as "a copy needs to be downloaded" are tracks that have somehow become unlinked, like the tracks that I have imported from CDs but are missing, even though they are not? I'm starting to think this is a residue from my brief destructive try of iTunes Match.

I'm still not sure what is going on but at least I know what to do to fix the problem when I occurs.

Thanks Ed2345 😀

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Answer 4

ed2345

Level 9

62,498 points

Feb 9, 2016 7:42 AM in response to DOUGZEUG

Could it be these tracks that show up as "a copy needs to be downloaded" are tracks that have somehow become unlinked, like the tracks that I have imported from CDs but are missing, even though they are not? I'm starting to think this is a residue from my brief destructive try of iTunes Match.

Can't say for sure, but that is quite possible. If your intention in using iTunes is to manage the song files on your computer (which is certainly the way I like to use it), then it is good to avoid both Match and Apple Music.

.

I'm still not sure what is going on but at least I know what to do to fix the problem when I occurs.

Thanks Ed2345 😀

Doug,

You are quite welcome. Enjoy the music!

Ed

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