Music in a library vs the iTunes database

[Derkatwork]

I just got a new iPhone and didn't transfer the data from the old to the new. I boldly set it up as a new iPhone and thought I can just download my apps and music by myself. And I did get my apps. My computer went down and I'm waiting on that part. I had a music library full of music I had gotten from CDs in the glorious days when that was still a thing. Am I out of music until I get my computer back to life? Or does it count that having imported from a cd counts and I can download the music that was from CDs for free. It doesn't show up as a free download. Just checking.

 

[lordofthereef]

The only way you can download the songs again for free is if you pay for and use iTunes match. It is a yearly service (I think $15?) that scans your entirenitunes library and "matches" songs that are there, regardless of how you acquired them. If the song isn't in iTunes itnuoloads it to their server. From there you can either stream these songs or download them at your convenience

Since it doesn't sound like you did that, I expect you are going to have to wait for your conouter to be back online.

 

[Derkatwork]

If rather just own the songs than pay for a service. Thanks.

 

[mjschabow]

iTunes Match is totally worth it. It's $25/year. I was in the same position as you when I first got the iPhone 5s 16gb a year ago. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep my Google Music subscription from when I had Android, or if I wanted to try Spotify, but then when I found out about iTunes Match, I was sold. You basically just upload your entire collection to the cloud and it all appears in your library. If you're like me and have 15,000+ songs, this is the way to go.

 

[lordofthereef]

I agree that it's totally worth it. I view it is an extremely inexpensive cloud storage option. The more songs you have, the cheaper it gets! You no longer have to deal with managing anything locally. If you know you own a song and you want to listen to it, you can immediately either stream or download straight to your device wherever you are (with a data connection, of course).

It also removes all ads from iTunes radio.