Can I disable iCloud Music Library when signing up for Apple Music?

[Luba]

I like Apple Music when I used during the free trial, but the horror stories concerning Apple screwing up your iTunes Library made me conclude it's too risky to sign up for Apple Music. In the old days, I'd feel it's a rare bug, but Apple these days hasn't been as good in squashing out the bugs. I have backups of my iTunes Library but even having a backup can be a big hassle if your Library can screwed up as you wouldn't know which backup to re-install. It could be months before you discover that Apple Music had changed some metadata or whatever in your iTunes Library.

I read creating playlists would require using iCloud Music Library. But what if I don't create any more additional playlists once I sign up for Apple Music could I then keep iCloud Music Library off and just use Apple Music to stream music?

 

[zorinlynx]

My suggestion would be to use Spotify or a difference service than Apple Music.

I don't use Apple Music PRECISELY because it requires that I muck around with my carefully collected (over 15 years) music library.

If you MUST use Apple Music, I suggest creating a copy of your music library and using that for Apple Music from that moment on. If Apple Music horribly ruins your library or corrupts things in a subtle way, you can always go back to that copy you made.

Funny coincidence; the iTunes Match subscription I bought last year expires today. I stopped using it because of problems with matched tracks and corrupted metadata. Spotify it is for me; rented music stays separate from owned music.