Itunes store match

Kayya · 2023-12-18T16:39:25+00:00

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Hello friends,

I want to open a topic to friends who use Itunes store.

Itunes sells a service called 'match'. With this service, it promises to be able to upload your local files to Itunes and use them from anywhere. There is also more. It says that no matter what quality your file is, when it matches, you can listen and use it as if you bought it in apple quality.

I bought this service to try it when I saw it, but it doesn't work yet. The page does not open.

I want to consult you, does this service really work like this? Can our local files be moved there as if they were purchased from iTunes?

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c0nsul

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/20092/itunes-store-match

I use iTunesMatch and can confirm it works.

I don´t use it to have my music in a cloud library, but to exchange low quality files into Apple iTunesStore quality.

You don´t need to open any page, it works within the Apple "Music.app" (formerly iTunes).

Be aware, that you will need to re-analyse and re-tag the "new" aac-files, also you have to delete the "old" files from Traktor and import the "new" ones.

My workflow:

I have 2 music.app libraries. One master library which has all my music inside and is used for Traktor and normal listening. The second library is my iTunesMatch-library and only used for this service.

This way, my Traktor files/library are not affected until I exchange the matched files manually.

To build a second music.app library or switch between libraries, hold OPTION-key while clicking on "music.app" to open.

The difference between both instances is in "music.app´s" preferences -> General

In master library: sync library UNCHECKED (off)

In iTunesMatch library: sync library CHECKED (on)

(Might be labelled differently because I use German language and don´t know the correct English spelling in the app)

I copy music that I want to be matched into the iTunesMatch library and start the process by selecting in music.app´s menubar item "file" -> Mediathek (library?) -> cloud library sync

It takes some time for music.app to scan your music and to check if they are found in iTunesStore. Then, music.app will upload your music that is NOT found in its catalogue and show you the matched files.

Now, you can delete the local, matched files and download the AAC-files from the store. The "new" files can now be exchanged in the master library. This is another workflow where you should take care of not messing up your master library.

Mind that you sometimes have to re-do this processs as the service not always recognises every file. Sometimes it takes iTunesMatch two or three attempts to find a track in iTunesStore..

Hope this helps you. If you have more questions, let me know.

Kayya

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117690#Comment_117690

It was a very useful post. Thank you very much.

I would like to get information when I found someone who tried it.

As you said, I purchased the match service from müzik.app. I think he could not work properly due to the compliance problem caused by the country I am in. I will try to solve it with apple tomorrow. After entering my password on the 'Save this device' screen, it freezes and stays.

1- with this service, I think that the file you have from different places is saved as if it was purchased through itunes and it felt like it could be abused. Am I wrong? My iTunes archive will be created for free.

2- the second point I think about my entire archive is in wav format and I manually keep it on my computer. When I switch to the Apple system, I'm afraid to switch to a poor quality format. Do you have any comments on this?

I will not make this transition immediately for my tagged archive, which has been analyzed in traktor. I will find a suitable solution and do it. I use tag notes and hotcues.

3- Do you need to buy apple music subscription or apple icloud service to listen to the music I have paired with iTunes match or to store it in the cloud?

4- Is it possible to create lists, tags while managing the iTunes library?

5- will there be a difference in the future between the files I bought on itunes and the files I paired with?

I will be very happy if you help me and I think I will switch to a very nice system.

elxsound

You don’t need an Apple Music subscription to listen to your uploaded tracks.

I subscribed to Match, starting in 2014, before stopping it this month. I used it to listen to my own library as well as upload and listen to works in progress on the go, but DropBox is easier for this and I already pay for DropBox for other uses.

There’s also several free upload to stream apps/sites that will play your uploaded music in non-lossy formats. Match is definitely not the only one

Match for me started to become more inconsistent after Apple’s push with integrating Apple Music into iTunes, and of course before deprecating the iTunes name in favor of Apple Music. I kept encountering error messages saying I needed to confirm sharing on my main computer, which was already done.

Anyway, off to easier things now.

Hope Match works out for you.

c0nsul

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117727#Comment_117727

1.) I don´t fully understand this question as English is not my first language. iTunesMatch can be "abused" to exchange illegally downloaded, poor quality files into legal standard iTunesStore files. Apple once said, it knows when tracks were illegally ripped, but they don´t care.

2.) When you have original, high quality lossless wav-files, the exchange with iTunesMatch will give lossy files! AAC @256kB are almost equal (a little better) to mp3 @320kB. So, the quality is of course not as superior like original wav-files. But, the quality of the AAC-files is fine to DJ with and fine to stream to your iPhone or iPad.

Use two music.app libraries to keep your master collection untouched and to avoid mistakes!

3.) No. I don´t need any additional subscriptions. I don´t use AppleMusic streaming service and I do not pay for iCloud. Your annual payment for iTunesMatch includes the cloud space for your tracks (up to 100.000 songs, tracks you bought in iTunesStore do not count).

4.) You can create playlists, edit tags, change cover in music.app. iTunesMatch also syncs your playlists and folders. But it is recommended to edit and create playlists after or before the syncing process is started. During syncing process changes sometimes are faulty, so wait until matching/uploading is done.

5.) I don´t fully understand this question. Songs you bought on iTunesStore are basically the same as the matched ones. But, you might to have re-edit its tags. Sometimes matching gives you a clean version of a song instead of the explicit original version, but you can notify Apple about this mistake and they will give you the explicit song.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117733#Comment_117733

@elxsound has a point mentioning that there are cheaper services to upload and stream your very own tracks. Which service fits best for you depends how you want to use it.

If you want to use the music.app on Mac, iPhone and iPad and save storage on mobile Apple devices go for iTunesMatch.

If you don´t want to use music.app you can use alternative services. AFAIK, iTunesMatch does not work with other audio apps other from music.app, nor does music.app work with other services.

If you want to exchange low quality files into iTunesStore standard quality, there is no other service I know of.

Kayya

@c0nsul

You understood and commented correctly for

1- question. What I fear is abuse. That people can own and use itunes files with fake files.

5- For my question, I wanted to ask the difference between the files I matched and the files purchased from iTunes. I explained this with the articles I just read below.

In this process, I read a few articles.

They write that the files with this match are drm protected and will not be like your original files. It looks like they will be different from what we buy on Itunes. We may not have a chance to play with Traktor. Is it true ?

They write that the information of our files will remain as it is and will not be updated with what they match with iTunes. You shouldn't expect correction from Itunes.

It is written that when we leave the match service or this service is removed, we cannot access these files.

When we read these, we understand that we should not delete our original files. We may not be able to reach it one day.

The articles I read were old. There may have been a change.

c0nsul

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117750#Comment_117750

to 1.) fake titles won´t match. Apple checks part of the audio and doesn´t rely (only) on tags and titles.

to 5.) The matched files are definitely NOT DRM-protected. I use them daily with Traktor. Also the purchased iTunesStore files are not protected. Only AppleMusic streaming files are protected and can not be used inside Traktor.

When you end the Match subscription you can still use the matched and downloaded files, only the streaming of uploaded files does not work anymore. I ended my subscription during the last years several times and could always play the exchanged (and downloaded) files in every software.

Kayya

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/117763#Comment_117763

According to these descriptions, everything looks good and you've been using it for years.

I'm surprised how free it was to become legal without being limited to fake files. I didn't expect that.

As I said, I won't pass right away. It should be worth my Wav files. I'm going to investigate this. The reason I want to pass is to be technological, to have legal future qualities and to have a cloud system.

İssues I need to adjust;

To find how to transfer my tags, hot cues and playlists.

Finding 100% match for smooth use. (All my files are music on the market known beatport, apple music.) (find a way to try again and again without mixing unmatched music.)

Finding how to create, group, tag playlists in Apple music. Maybe I can see these lists ready in the tractor.

Thank you very much for the information. As people in two different languages, thank you for trying to understand our English with patience. :)

Kayya

@C0nsul @elxsound

Do you know the best file quality after iTunes match?

Kayya

@c0nsul @elxsound

Today I found out that the quality of my wav files is bad. I did some research and found out that the quality of itunes lags behind beatport, for example. It automatically overlaps from formats like Flac.

I found a way to replace the dj program tags in my archive with new files. The Lexicon app supports this feature.

I want to ask you the following question;

Is itunes file quality sufficient for professional? Will iTunes bring updates that change file quality in the future? Is it important to be included in the iTunes system?

Or should I chase the flac format? I can't be involved in any streaming system in the future. This detail is important.

c0nsul

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/119625#Comment_119625

I dj with AACs (256kbs) and MP3s (320kbs) for more than 15 years on a variety of sound systems in different sizes of locations. As far as the files are bought from iTunes (or another official music store) the sound was always more than sufficient. Never had problems.

The sound itself depends not only on the files but also on your sound interface, the amplifier and the speakers. Even the best original wav files might sound bad, when played through cheap speakers..

Here are some links about this topic:

https://djtechtools.com/2012/09/26/a-djs-guide-to-audio-files-and-bitrates/

https://www.digitaldjtips.com/music-file-formats-for-djs/#:~:text=Best%20Practices%20For%20DJs,-So%20let%27s%20cut&text=For%20most%20DJs%2C%20going%20for,between%20these%20and%20lossless%20files

https://djtechtools.com/2017/11/08/format-djs-buy-music-djs-guide-mp3-flac-wav/

https://djcity.com.au/blog/what-is-the-best-audio-format-for-djs/

https://wearecrossfader.co.uk/blog/understanding-file-formats-for-djs/

https://www.londonsoundacademy.com/blog/audio-formats-for-djs

Kayya

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/119716#Comment_119716

Thanks for the posts, I have a little information, they were nice to confirm the information.

Aac and mp3 are considered suitable for a standard and quality DJ. I also think it is important to be in the system on an official platform like iTunes. You also have a cloud. If apple develops the file format in the future, everything will be automatic. The archive never interferes. (Will there be an update so I want to ask)

On the other hand, lossless quality is needed for the full meaning of the word professionalism. Since I like to do everything I do well, I care about it as an investment. But it is very difficult to access music with this format. Since I will not be a member of the platform, I need to take notes one by one. It is necessary to find it one by one. This is what I don't like the most.

Actually, that's the whole point when I think about it. And I can't decide. I will take a step and go this path for a long time.

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