General Nuisance

Q: Can I keep my iTunes library after I get an Apple Music subscription?

If I get an Apple Music subscription, can I still keep the songs in my iTunes library without moving them to the cloud? I ask because I understand that Apple Music will swap your songs for the closest thing in its library. I'm fine with this, except that I have a lot of classical music and I prefer the specific recordings and interpretations that I've been collecting for years. Will I still have immediate access to these tracks? Also, if Apple Music doesn't have the song I'm looking for, can I still use iTunes to download it? Thank you.

iPod touch

Posted on Jun 18, 2016 8:05 PM

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Q: Can I keep my iTunes library after I get an Apple Music subscription?

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  • by Jeff_W.,

    Jeff_W. Jeff_W. Jun 20, 2016 11:38 AM in response to General Nuisance
    Community Specialists
    Jun 20, 2016 11:38 AM in response to General Nuisance

    Hi General Nuisance!

     

    I understand you have concerns about joining Apple Music, and I'm happy to go over some information for you. You can absolutely keep the songs in your iTunes library, even if they are uploaded to iCloud Music Library.  Any songs that cannot be found on Apple Music will be uploaded so that they're accessible from all of your devices.  Alternately, you can choose to not enable iCloud Music Library which would simply mean you could not access your personal collection across all of your devices.  Below you'll see some support articles that explain in detail how iCloud Music Library works, and I would also recommend backing up your personal music collection as described in the third link below under "Back up your library and media files".

     

    As for your second question, if a song is not available on Apple Music but is available in the iTunes Store, you would need to purchase those specific songs.

     

    Add music from your own collection to your Apple Music library

     

    Sync Apple Music across your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and computer

     

    Manage and back up your iTunes media library

     

    Thanks for contacting Apple Support Communities.

     

    Cheers!