What is iTunes Match? & why you should use it

Many songs in many different teams. This is the reality of a large number of users. A most find it difficult to manage your playlists on different devices. Some even wonder at what point something as refreshing and relaxing as listening to music became another stressful day ‘s work. Does this sound familiar? You are not the only one. But rejoice, there is a solution to this predicament: the cloud services . Today we ‘ll talk about one of them. We refer to iTunes Match.

What is iTunes Match?

First of all, let ‘s define what is iTunes Match. In short, it is a iTunes service exporting the songs from each of your devices to the cloud, forming a single collection. You can add one maximum of ten teams where you sign in with the same ID. You can use iTunes Match on Apple – branded devices and those with Windows, provided they are compatible with the latest version of iTunes. To do this, you must subscribe for a year . Here’s how to do this.

How to subscribe iTunes Match?

Subscribe to iTunes Match is simple. You just have to do the following:

From your PC or Mac

• Open iTunes .
• Click iTunes Store .
• Go to the section Links .
• Select iTunes Match .
• Click the button Subscribe .
• Enter your ID in the box.

From your iPhone or iPad

• Enter. to Settings> Music .
• Tap Subscribe to iTunes Match .

At this point, you need to add your billing information, if you have not done, and pay the fee. After accepting the terms and conditions, a message that you subscribed successfully.

How iTunes Match work?

When you turn on iTunes Match on any of your devices, immediately one begins analysis of all the files on your local iTunes library. Powerful tools examine different formats and audio qualities. Metadata and waveforms of the items stored in your computers are compared with the stored tracks in the huge database of iTunes Store.

When iTunes Match match is found, it will replace your songs by those that are part of the catalog. These are files with AAC format at 256 Kbps . If you take into account that the Apple music store with millions of songs, it is very likely that most of your songs are replaced.

Of course, the files that iTunes Store is credited tend to be better quality than yours. Apple has no qualms about handing these songs, which under normal conditions would have to buy. And it does so without charging any extra charge. So replacing your songs is good news. Now, what if iTunes Match there is no match? Still store songs in the cloud, with these exceptions:

• Files that are larger than 200 MB.
• Loads take longer than two hours.
• Songs with a lower quality of audio at 92 kbps.
• Topics licensed digital rights management ( DRM ).

The next part of the process is to store your collection online . Match iTunes is loading songs as you complete the analysis. But where exactly the guardian? He does in iCloud Music library , another service you have access if you subscribe. Here you can climb up to 100,000 songs from local libraries of all your associated devices. The songs you purchase from iTunes Store do not count against this limit. Although the initial charge of all your files is completed, will continue carrying out regular reviews. If you want to add new songs to the cloud, you just have to save them to the local library one of your devices and let iTunes Match finds.

From now on, you must enter the iTunes player whenever you want to listen to your music. The general operation of the application remain unchanged. Each time you want to play a song, iTunes will automatically download to your device. All the songs you download from iCloud Music Library will be free of DRM license. This means that these files do not expire , even if you do not renew the subscription.

Know the interface changes after turning iTunes Match

When you subscribe to iTunes Match, iTunes player acquires new features . Let’s talk about one of the most important: the column Download iCloud . Here you will find details about the location of your music files and can detect problems related to the charging process. This information is presented in the form of icons . Learn what each of them means:

• Available for download : Indicates which songs iCloud Music library have not been saved on your computer.
• Duplicate : Indicates which elements are repeated in the local library.
• Pending : It refers to those issues that have not yet been analyzed by iTunes Match. If you want to resume the process, updates the application.
• Uncharged : Appears when a song could not climb the iCloud Music library. To charge, you must activate iTunes Match on the computer where the file is.
• Eliminated : Indicates which files have been deleted from the various associated devices.
• Incompatible : Items that do not meet the above requirements and, therefore, can not be added to the cloud, have this icon.
• Error : Alerts you if a file is corrupted or there was a failure in the load. When this happens, update the application. If the problem persists, try to upload a new copy.

Is iTunes Match for you?

Maybe you’re considering subscribe to iTunes Match service, but you’re not sure if you really should. Analyze the pros and cons will help you make a decision.

Advantages:

• Able to store up to 100,000 songs for 25 euros a year is a good deal. Spotify and Google Play Music, the main competitors of iCloud Music, do not provide a limit and at the same price. Of course, this factor will be an advantage if you have such a large number of issues.

• You can update thousands of files in your personal library. After all how much you have to pay to acquire the original versions of each and every one of your songs? Surely they would not be 24,99 euros per year.

• It has seamless integration with Apple’s ecosystem. If all your devices are brand apple, iTunes Match may be a good option for you.

Disadvantages

• If your music collection is far from the hundred thousand, Google Play Music could be a feasible alternative. They allow you to upload up to 50,000 songs for free, and play online.

• A single subscription is not enough to store songs of all family members. Although be subscribed to iTunes Match allows you to access the cloud from a maximum of ten devices, in all cases you must be logged in with the same ID.

• Your iTunes Match subscription alone does not allow you to listen to songs via streaming . You will need to download them to your computer.

The potential of online storage services are becoming more attractive. In the months and years ahead, we will continue to surprise with the arrival of new products and offers. We do not know what the future holds for us, but it seems inevitable that, sooner or later, all our music ends in the cloud .