Using Itunes Match as backup

I have a dilemma, I have over 80GB of music on my computer and I want to free up some space. I am looking at using iTunes Match as storage for my music instead of having it on the laptop but I have a couple of questions about it?
1. Once it is all uploaded to Match, if i delete it from my hard drive will iTunes still work or will it be constantly be looking for the physical files.
2. If I can delete it, how do I upload new music I acquire, do I have to physically put it on iTunes, then upload and then delete?
3. How does it work with my iPhone as I will never have the capacity to load all my songs on the phone. Is it easy to select an album or genre at a time to download to the phone?
Thanks in advance for your help

FAQ: Why iTunes Match can NOT be used as a backup!
1. Yes, the service will still work.
2. As new music is added to the iTunes library iTM will automatically scan and either match or upload the new tracks.
3. Tracks can be downloaded by Album, Artist or Playlist.
If you do decicde to delete the music from the computer's internal HDD you need to have a local backup scheme in place to store the tracks and backup any new tracks that are added to the library.

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I've twice tried to use iTunes match. It stalls in step 2. I've rebooted my Mac computer and still stalls. Apple's taken the $25 but not delivered the service. Can I get some personal help?

I've twice tried to use iTunes match. It stalls in step 2. I've rebooted my iMac computer and it still stalls. Apple's taken the $25 but not delivered the service. Can I get some personal help? There are 12,733 songs, a few dozen of which are not going to be in the Apple music library because they are unique to my collection. Also, some titled "Track XX" and no artist. I assume these would either not upload or else just be uploaded. But, after an overnight of step 2, the iTunes match program was still on song number 7384 or 12733 (it was on that number for over 12 hours). Looking in the music library, activating the iCloud icon and status fields, there were hundreds of songs with the status "waiting."

Lmwilliamson wrote:
Kernel panics:
After taking my late 2009 15 inch macbook pro to the apple store, the genius completely erased my computer and reinstalled the Mac OS X software, but the problem still persists.
I also took it to my college tech support center, they tried to take the ram out and reinsert it and clean up the dust, but the problem still remains.
I am able to use my computer in Safeboot mode (only)
Well it could still be a software problem if you installed a third party program after the OS X wipe and install, because by booting into Safe Mode it disables certain functions of OS X and hardware. Check for updates or problems for all your third party software, include everything, including menulets, System Preference panes, hacks and so forth.
If you restored any sort of software from backup like TimeMachine, it likely was corrupted data and now is returned.
If the college tech support found a lot of dust clogging the rear exhaust vents behind the fans, then likely the heat damage done to the machine has already occured and can't be reversed. Video cards are usually first to go, which Safe Mode does disable the video card somewhat.
Run through this list of fixes, it's systematic in nature, also has a Hardware Test to see what's going on
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Too bad this is occurring to a mere 4 year old machine, but dust will do that. Here is the culprit that Apple doesn't tell anyone about.

I have 2 iphones in the family and want to use itunes match on both devices, but my husband has his own itunes acct, how can he use the main itunes library and get out music on his phone also

I have 2 iphones in the family and want to use itunes match on both devices, unfortunately my husband has his own itunes acct and when i change on his phone to my itunes acct it states that the email is already in use, any help on how to get the itunes match to go onto both devices, thanks

"Method Three
Create a separate iTunes library for each device. Note:It is important that you make a new iTunes Library file. Do not justmake a copy of your existing iTunes Library file. If iTunes is open,quit it.
This one may work. I searched and searched on the website for something like this, I guess I just didn't search correctly, lol. I will give this a try later. My daughter is not be back for a few weekends, therefore I will have to try the Method 3 when she comes back for the weekend again. "
I forgot to mention that she has a PC at her house that she also syncs to. Would this cause a problem. I am already getting that pop up saying that the iPod is synced to another library (even though she is signed in with her Apple ID to iTunes) and gives the pop up to Cancel, Erase & Sync, or Transfer Purchases. My question arose because she clicked on "Erase & Sync" by mistake when she plugged the iPod to her PC the first time. When the iPod was purchased and setup, it was synced to my PC first. When she went home, she hooked it up to her PC and then she erased it by accident. I was able to restore all the missing stuff yesterday using my PC. However, even after doing that it still told me the next time I hooked it up last night that the iPod was currently synced with a different library. Hopefully, you can help me understand all this. She wants to sync her iPod and also backup her iPod at both places. Both PCs have been authorised. Thanks

HT204074 Can I use iTunes match in order to back up my music library?

Just wondering if I should use iTunes Match or something else in order to have a backup for my music files. If my computer crashes, am I able to use the files on iTunes Match to restock my llibrary, or is that not a possibility?

etod13 wrote:
Just wondering if I should use iTunes Match or something else in order to have a backup for my music files.
For your backup, you should use iTunes Match AND something else.
No backup is 100% reliable, and that includes iTunes Match. Note the following information from the Terms and Conditions:
"iTunes Match is provided on an “AS IS” basis and may contain errors or inaccuracies that could cause failures, corruption or loss of data and/or information, including music, playlist, and play history, from your computer or device and from peripherals (including, without limitation, servers and other computers) connected thereto. You should back up all data and information on your computer or device and any peripherals prior to using iTunes Match. You expressly acknowledge and agree that all use of iTunes Match is at your sole risk. To the extent permitted by law, Apple shall have no liability with respect to your use of iTunes Match, including the inability to access matched or uploaded content."

Using iTunes Match, very little album art is showing

I'm using Mavericks on a 2009 unibody (white plastic) Macbook. This is not my main computer so I'm trying to free up storage space. I had the idea to delete all of the music files from the Music folder and just use iTunes Match as a streaming service, just like on my iPhone and iPad. (The music files are stored on my main Mac with multiple redudant backups.)
I may have gotten overzealous in deleting data. I saw an album art folder with over 1 gigabyte of data and deleted that as well.
Now all of the music still shows up in the Album view - as it should - however very few of the tracks have any album art. I gave it some time to see if the art would download from iTunes Match, but it's not happening (get album art is enabled in preferences).
I had the idea to hold down the Option key while restarting iTunes and create a new library, then let iTunes Match populate it. I don't want to download any content, I just want everything to show up with album art.
Will this work, and how would I remove the corrupted library if it does?

Thanks but still no luck I'm afraid.
To update: I have been using itunes 6 from the outset and have always manually updated the ipod - it has never even been switched to automatic as I changed this at the start (advice from a friend). File formats for the affected tracks are all either AIFF or Apple Lossless - same as all the unaffected tracks.
The even stranger thing is that artwork for some albums, where all the tracks were imported manually at the same time, shows for some tracks on the ipod and not others. The artwork does, however, show for all of the tracks on the ipod when viewed through itunes!

How do i keep my apple lossless files when I use iTunes match?

When I started using iTunes Match, my Apple Lossless and aiff lossless files were converted to lower quality 256 files in iTunes on my mac. How do I stop this from happening? I want to keep the Lossless files as they are.
Thanks
Bud

Sorry ...... but .....
Would it make a difference when I used iMatch .... I started the service the day it was made available. Was it an original issue and has since been corrected?
-iTunes and the music files were on my iMac internal Hard Drive. Only 1 iTunes Library.
-No alternate iTunes libraries were created ergo match not turned on to an alterante.
-The original files were added to the iTunes Library from an external hard drive ... which were copied to my internal hard drive by iTunes. (Advanced tab feature) The external backup drive (4TB Seagate Mac Drive) is only connected when I use it to backup physical files. I do not use a backup program. Everything is copied its own folder. Most files were ripped from my cd's i.e. to the external Drive using XLD. Not one pirated file. a few HD albums purchased from HD Tracks.
-I even tried re-adding some of the Original FLAC files to iTunes again. They were physical in my iTunes on the internal hard drive. They were also replaced.
The fact is .... The Original Files were altered. They had not been deleted and replaced, they were altered. They were the original files on my internal hard drive. Only 1 copy of iTunes is on the computer.

My playlists have not been trnasferred to my iphone while using iTunes Match

They have completely disappeared. I had been using ITunes Match on my iPhone and it was working fine, but I noticed the new things I had bought or CDs I had ripped weren't showing. So I turned match off and turned it back on and that's when I lost my playlists. Where are they? All the music is showing except the playlists. How do I get them back???

Wicked annoying but I actually uninstalled iTunes on my Mac using an AppZapper. You can also get AppCleaner which is free. After I just went to apple.com/itunes and redownloaded iTunes. My music and playlists were still there, then I turned on iTunes Match and turned it on my iPhone once the upload finished. Try it!
NOTHING else worked! This was the only way I could jumpstart iTunes Match to actually give me my playlists. PLEASE backup your Library first. Nothing bad should happen, but don't take any chances. Good luck!

Use iTunes match with iCloud

(I don't want to but) need to get iTunes Match so I can keep songs that have not been purchased on iTunes. Can i still use iTunes Match if my iCloud storage is only the basic one and my iTunes library is greater then my storage plan? Or do i have to upgrade and pay more money...

Hey Missg789,
Thanks for your question about whether songs in iTunes Match count against your iCloud storage capacity limit. The following article describes what counts against that limit. iTunes Match songs are not part of it -
iCloud: iCloud storage and backup overview
Enjoy the use of iTunes Match!
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Happy computing,
Brett L

Conserving storage on iPhone 5S using iTunes Match

Do anyone know how I can reduse the amount of space my music fills on my iPhone 5S when I use iTunes Match.
I have more music on my Mac that what I can store on my iPhone 5S. I started using iTunes Match in order to have access to all my music in my iPhone 5S at least when I am on a wi-fi network. However, Match seems to download music as I listen to it and now the storage is almost full and music is the asolute largest chunck (which actually was the prime reason to start using Match).
From iPhone 5S Setting I can delete the entire music library, but that is not my intention.
When administrating iPhone 5S in iTunes on my Mac, iTunes tells me music is being accessed through iCloud.
iCloud.com do not offer any administration of the music on the iPhone.
Do any one knows?

Other is a problem. It has been for a long time, but it's become worse under iOS 7. There are a few things you can do.
Close all web pages then close all apps. Go into Airplane mode and open the Videos app. Check it for any videos that you didn't set up to sync to the phone. If you find any delete them. (I streamed some things from the cloud and used AirPlay to send them to my TV. They were left on the phone but instead of using memory listed under Videos, they were using memory listed under Other!)
Open messages and delete all unnecessary pictures and videos. Also do this with any other chat type apps.
Close all remaining apps, turn the phone off and on again and sync and see what happens.
If, after all this, you're still stuck with too much Other, backup your phone and do a restore. It's a royal pain in the butt, but I've had to do it every 2-3 weeks since I got the 5S and iOS 7 and a regular restore has become part of my routine maintenance, regardless of how much I hate it. It also has the benefit of keeping some other wierd bugs at bay. If your Applecare plan is still in effect, call them about this. I have an open ticket that goes back to November!
Let us know if any of these steps helped.

HT204406 Can I use iTunes Match without Genius turned on? Genius is fine but Match then sends me additional music to my Libary that I don't want

Can I use iTunes Match without Genius turned on? Genius is fine but Match then sends me additional music to my Libary that I don't want

Without a computer you will not be able to do any managing of the music in the cloud. There is no way to edit any metadata on an iOS device.
Also, iTunes Match is not a backup service and should not be relied up as such. With no computer you will not have any backups of your music.

HT4914 Can I use iTunes Match to transfer music from an iPhone4 to a new iPhone5s? I'm traveling without my laptop!

Can I use iTunes Match to transfer music from an iPhone4 to a new iPhone5s? I'm traveling without my laptop!
- Music was purchased outside of iTunes store
- On a vacation
- iPhone 4 has all my music
- No access to iTunes
- Want to buy a new iPhone 5s on vacation but this is holding me back

Honestly, I've never used iTunes Match.
Keep in mind that iTunes Match is only for music, any other media content would not be affected.
Also, pictures synced to the device from a computer will not be moved over unless the new device is restored from a backup on that computer.
Personaly, unless the current iPhone was damaged or otherwise acting as if on it's last leg, I'd wait. There may be better options in 3 months.

HT4915 I have icloud music on my phone but NOT in my itunes libarary, and I want to delete some of the icloud content. I DO NOT use itunes match.

I have icloud music on my phone but NOT in my itunes libarary, and I want to delete some of the icloud content. I DO NOT use itunes match.

iDevices are not and have never been backup devices.
Authorizing a computer does not cause media to magically appear.
Media is only where the user puts it.
Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from the old computer to the new computer.

Can I use iTunes Match for 2 iPhones with different music, same account?

My wife and I each have an iPhone and share an iTunes account. We share a master music library but each manually manage our music on our iPhones. So she has certain songs on her phone and I have different ones on mine, both coming from the same master library. I'm trying to figure out if I can use iTunes Match in this scenario. I don't want to see her songs on my iPhone. Is there a way to only see music on my iPhone if I use Match or am I stuck seeing my entire library on my iPhone?

I think I'm getting it finally, thanks for the clarification. So at least I know there is a way to not see all music in my library from my iPhone.
So in my case i have about 800 songs on my iPhone out of about 1600 on my iTunes library. If I'm understanding correctly I would have to enable Match on my iPhone, then turn off the "show all music" option. This in turn should leave me with my original 800 songs listed which I woud then have to download from the cloud. Once I have all of my 800 songs back down from the cloud I won't be required to download them again from that phone.
A worse scenario would be that I enable Match, and then have to find my 800 songs out of the total 1600 manually from the list and then download them from the cloud.
Which scenario is correct?

I recently sold my Mac Air to a friend, he wants to use iTunes Match, but it says he can't for another 40 days because it was attached to my account. How can I get that turned off so that he can use his account and turn on iTunes match.

I reecntly spold my mac book air,to a friend, when he tries to use itunes match it says the computer is registersed to another user and cannot be done for another 40+ days. How do i get that to turn off. I have unregistered it under my account.
thanks s

You either have an incredibly complex computer setup or I think you are confusing terminology here. If you have iTunes set to share your library with others in your iTunes preferences then other computers in the area will see it as an item when they are running their iTunes and have it set to check for shared libraries. Your husband is probably seeing this when running iTunes on his computer. You can disable this sharing on your computer and/or he can set his not to pick up shared libraries.
By the way, an iTunes account is something you log into when you want to buy something from Apple. On your computer it is simply your iTunes collection or your iTunes application. So you need to turn off sharing in your iTunes application preferences.
Your husband is seeing "his" iTunes collection when running iTunes, but it is possible he doesn't have anything in it if it is a brand new computer.

HT204053 I want to play newly purchased music but cant, i get the message "You can use iTunes Match on this computer with just one Apple ID every 90 days. (mobileme family pack is the problem i think)

I purchase a new album on my phone but then cannot download it to my laptop - I get the message:
"You can use iTunes Match on this computer with just one Apple ID every 90 days. All I can think is that the problem stems from purchasing a mobileme family & some of the music being my daughters. (she is 9 & I need to be ble to listen to more than Katy Perry & Justin Bieber) Please help! :-(

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Youll get that message when you change the iTunes account you are logged into, you can't keep changing it.

Using Itunes Match as backup

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