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I have Apple Music and iTunes Match. What happens if I turn off iTunes Match?

I have Apple Music Family (actually Apple One Family). I also have iTunes Match. I have about 500 iTunes Match songs shown as Uploaded (in the iCloud Status column in iTunes).


We are told (such as here https://www.imore.com/do-i-still-need-itunes-match-if-i-have-apple-music and iTunes Match included in Apple Music - Apple Community) that we don't need iTunes Match if we have Apple Music. What exactly does this mean? That first article is pretty vague. The second quotes a support page that no longer says the quoted text.


What happens with these Uploaded songs when I cancel iTunes Match? Will they still be available on all my devices? Will I still be able to rip a new CD and upload unrecognized tracks and have them available on all my devices, exactly as with iTunes Match?


What about songs that are recognized by iTunes Match and thus are not uploaded, but are not in Apple Music? The two libraries are pretty similar but not the same. I have a few songs that are not offered on Apple Music but are matched on iTunes Match. Will I still have access to those on all my devices if I cancel iTunes Match?


Thanks.

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 11:21 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 11:53 AM

Hi,

Apple music and iTunes Match use the same iCloud music library. Therefore, if you cancel iTunes Match, the change will be seamless. Your library will not change. The uploaded song will be as before. Matched songs were originally matched with songs in the iTunes Store and the matched versions will remain as before. With Apple Music most of the matched tracks are also available in lossless or hi-res format and they are available to stream or download. The download will have DRM.


As always, you should keep a separate backup of all your matched or uploaded music.


Jim

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1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 28, 2023 11:53 AM in response to DaveLoveHatesApple

Hi,

Apple music and iTunes Match use the same iCloud music library. Therefore, if you cancel iTunes Match, the change will be seamless. Your library will not change. The uploaded song will be as before. Matched songs were originally matched with songs in the iTunes Store and the matched versions will remain as before. With Apple Music most of the matched tracks are also available in lossless or hi-res format and they are available to stream or download. The download will have DRM.


As always, you should keep a separate backup of all your matched or uploaded music.


Jim

I have Apple Music and iTunes Match. What happens if I turn off iTunes Match?

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