iTunes Matched AAC music files.

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Level 1

6 points

iTunes Matched AAC music files.

Since using iTunes Match my hard drive is loaded with many of my music files in both MP3 and matched AAC formats.

Ideally I should just be able to delete the MP3 format files but not all my music is matched, (Vinyl and some compilation CD's are generally not matched and some tracks within an otherwise matched album are not matched) so a simple deletion of all MP3 files would remove some irreplaceable music.

Each downloaded matched AAC file always has an associated MP3 file so a global removal of the dowloaded matched AAC file would make the much needed hard drive space available.

However, I have noted that the iTunes library only links to the matched AAC format (where available) and an initial experiment in deleting a matched AAC file resulted in iTunes not finding the associated MP3 file implying that I would need to locate each 'original' MP3 file manually - a near impossible task.

Consequently:

If I removed all the downloaded matched AAC files is there a single way to point the library to all the associated MP3 files?

Is there a way to identify only the MP3 formats which have a matched AAC download to facilitate the deletion of the MP3 format?

Finally, if my subscription to iTunes Match is not renewed, what becomes of my downloaded matched AAC files?

Thank you

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Oct 6, 2018 10:46 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Oct 7, 2018 7:15 AM in response to Greg A Lach

Ideally you would have a complete backup of your library from before you started working with iTunes Match in case you discovered, at some point, that you weren't happy with a matched replacement, e.g. clean replacing explicit. I would recommend you obtain a spare external drive and backup to it before you attempt any cleaning.

See Music Folder Files Not Added for a script that could help you remove tracks that aren't currently connected to the library. An alternative approach would be to add the entire media folder to the library, then use one of the deduping tools from the same site which might give you more control over which file you keep and which you discard.

If you allow your iTunes Match subscription to lapse you lose access to anything stored in the cloud and not stored locally, but your downloaded matched tracks remain yours.

tt2

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Answer 2

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Oct 7, 2018 3:08 PM in response to Greg A Lach

Cleaning the currently unlinked files should be much for effective. In principle if you removed downloads for all the music in your library, deleted the contents of <Media Folder>/Music and redownloaded all of your music you'd be in the same position, but you'd spend a lot of time redownloading content that you currently have.

tt2

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Answer 3

Greg A Lach Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 7, 2018 8:07 AM in response to turingtest2

Hi tt2,

Good to hear from you again. We corresponded a while back when I was then trying to locate the media files on an external drive.

I have a full Time Machine back up but will make a further copy of the media files on an external drive as you suggest.

Thanks for the link. These scripts look really interesting, specifically "Track CPR", but one thought I have since had is that iTunes Match must only hold the uploaded 'unmatched' MP3 files along with all the relevant matched AAC files (in addition to purchased AAC files). This would be a clean 'reference' library.

If I were to remove all my existing media files, is there any way that this 'clean' library can be downloaded to my Hard Drive to become the media files for my terrestrial iTunes?

Thanks and best wishes.

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Answer 4

Greg A Lach Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 7, 2018 3:09 PM in response to turingtest2

Thanks, tt2.

I'll take your advice and get in touch with Doug's scripts.

Best wishes and thanks for your prompt and clear responses.

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Answer 5

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Oct 7, 2018 3:13 PM in response to Greg A Lach

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

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Answer 6

turingtest2

Level 10

278,297 points

Oct 25, 2018 3:58 AM in response to Greg A Lach

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

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Answer 7

Greg A Lach Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 25, 2018 1:51 AM in response to turingtest2

Hi, tt2.

Just a quick update.

Unfortunately Doug's Scripts for iTunes couldn't resolve the issue. The 'CPR' script only re-links to exact file names (which includes the file extension) so would not associate a missing [name].m4a to the associated [name].mp3. Other proprietary programmes also couldn't identify [name].m4a and [name].m3a as duplicates.

By chance, a previously owned MacMini has been returned to me. I have now set this up on my home network using Screen Share on my MBP. On it I have created a new iTunes library into which I have downloaded the complete iTunes Match library . All but a handful of files successfully downloaded and all existing playlists were replicated.

Now my MBP is simply matched to the Cloud library (with no downloaded music) while I use Screen Share on the MPB to manage the MacMini library.

Needless to say I did back up all my MBP music media files before proceeding and have since copied the downloaded matched library to archive as well.

Thanks again for your support and guidance.

Best wishes.

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iTunes Matched AAC music files.

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