Kelsey64

Q: How do I backup all my music to I Cloud

How do I backup all my music to I Cloud

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on May 14, 2016 8:14 AM

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Q: How do I backup all my music to I Cloud

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  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe May 14, 2016 9:44 AM in response to Kelsey64
    Level 8 (38,766 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 14, 2016 9:44 AM in response to Kelsey64

    As a "backup," you should use an external drive.  As a Mac user, you have a built-in feature called Time Machine that can back up your complete startup disk (and any external drives) automatically (in the background) every hour that your iMac is active.  Set it and forget it (until you need it).

     

    You CAN put your iTunes music library in iCloud, by subscribing to iTunes Match ($25 per year).  iTunes Match gives you an iCloud Music Library,  After iCloud Music Library is enabled, it becomes your primary music library that is seen (and accessed) by other computer and devices that are associated with your Apple ID.  Your original song files (stored on your computer) are not affected by the iCloud Music Library.

     

    However, your iCloud Music Library is not precisely a "backup" of your local iTunes music library.  For example, your songs are matched at 256 kbps AAC (even if they are originally MP3 or other format).  For songs that do not match, they are uploaded, not but at a maximum of 256 kbps AAC.  While this often means the matched version is higher quality (because the original version was something like 128 kbps MP3), the reverse can be true.  Maybe your local songs are in Apple Lossless format (highest quality); whether they are matched or uploaded, they are "only" 256 kbps AAC (at best) in your iCloud Music Library.  The primary purpose of iCloud Music Library is to make your music library commonly accessible from all of your computer and devices, not to act as your iTunes data backup.  Even with an iCloud Music Library, you should use Time Machine to backup your locally stored complete iTunes library media files.

     

    NOTE:  The Apple Music streaming service also provides an iCloud Music Library.  For this purpose, if you want to subscribe to Apple Music, you should also subscribe to iTunes Match (and have iTunes Match active first).  This document explains the difference between iCloud Music Library, as implemented by iTunes Match and Apple Music

     

    iCloud Music Library: Understanding differences between Apple Music and iTunes Match - Apple Support

     

    Customers with both services have the iCloud Music Library for iTunes Match (which is better).