No "iTunes in the Cloud" for music on Apple TV?

[dgalvan123]

With "iTunes in the Cloud", you can download or stream music you have already purchased from the iTunes store to any PC or iOS device using your apple ID, without having to sync between devices.

http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/

So, if I purchase a song in iTunes on my mac, it will automatically download to my iPhone. OR I can simply navigate to that song in the iTunes Store app on my iPhone, and then stream it from Apple's servers for free.

This also works for purchased or rented TV shows or movies. Purchase or rent on one device, and any other device with the same Apple ID can stream the show/movie.

For the Apple TV, I can access all my iTunes purchased TV shows/movies on the ATV. But not my iTunes purchased music.

Why not?

(I know I can pay $25/year for iTunes Match, which is a different service designed to give you cloud access to your non-iTunes-purchase music. But why should I have to pay to stream my iTunes-purchased music on my ATV, when I DON'T have to pay to stream my iTunes-purchased TV shows on my ATV?)

 

[EmpyreanUK]

Why not?

Because.

There certainly is some inconsistency in the branding of 'iTunes in the Cloud' and 'iTunes Match'. On the basis of the promotional materials, and especially the manner in which each is conceptualised, one could expect iTunes in the Cloud to be an iTunes library (music, TV programmes, etc.) in 'the cloud', and iTunes Match a service which transfers music not purchased from iTunes into this cloud-based library.

As you have rightly observed, this is not how it works in practice. 'iTunes in the Cloud' is functionally nothing more than the ability to re-download previous purchases into a locally-hosted library. If you want a cloud-hosted iTunes library, then you need to shell out for iTunes Match. This is pretty opaque, to be honest, and is an ambiguity that should either be ironed out of the branding and marketing of the services, or better yet resolved by allowing users access to a cloud-based library, consisting of their previous iTunes purchases, as default. If they want to expand it by adding music acquired outside of iTunes, then —*and only then, if they want these concepts to be consistent —*should iTunes Match be necessary.

I expect we'll really begin to understand the nature of this when the renewals for the first users of iTunes Match start rolling in. I wonder if, should they not re-subscribe, their iCloud-based iTunes libraries will become inaccessible.

 

[dgalvan123]

I expect we'll really begin to understand the nature of this when the renewals for the first users of iTunes Match start rolling in. I wonder if, should they not re-subscribe, their iCloud-based iTunes libraries will become inaccessible.

Flickr, for example, has a free version that shows your 200 most recently uploaded photos. If you pay $25/year, you can upload and display an infinite number of photos. If your subscription lapses, all those photos do NOT get deleted. You just can't access them (except for the most recent 200) until you pay again.

I have no idea if Apple will follow this model, but they could do something like that. Keep your uploaded "matched" songs on their servers, perhaps for a limited amount of time like 6 months or something, and then simply keep you from accessing them until you pay up.

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As you have rightly observed, this is not how it works in practice. 'iTunes in the Cloud' is functionally nothing more than the ability to re-download previous purchases into a locally-hosted library. If you want a cloud-hosted iTunes library, then you need to shell out for iTunes Match. This is pretty opaque, to be honest, and is an ambiguity that should either be ironed out of the branding and marketing of the services, or better yet resolved by allowing users access to a cloud-based library, consisting of their previous iTunes purchases, as default. If they want to expand it by adding music acquired outside of iTunes, then —*and only then, if they want these concepts to be consistent —*should iTunes Match be necessary.

Yes. I agree completely.

To be specific though, I would be happy if Apple just made iTunes in the cloud work consistently with all devices for music. (This would allow me to play my iTunes Purchased songs on my ATV without having my computer turned on.)

It already does with regard to TV Shows and Movies: once purchased on any one device, I can stream/download an iTunes movie or TV show on any other mac or iOS device, INCLUDING APPLE TV.

But not for music: once purchased on any one device I can stream/download an iTunes song on any other mac or iOS device, EXCEPT FOR APPLE TV. UNLESS I pay for iTunes Match. Doesn't make sense.

On the Apple TV, under the Music menu, all that's available is iTunes Match. But in the Movies and TV shows menus, I can access my purchased Movies and TV shows. If Apple can stream a 1GB+ video file, surely they can stream a ~4 MB music file. So there is no technical obstacle here.

I think in reality they are just trying to confuse people into shelling out the $25/year to buy iTunes Match.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Why not?

Yup. I completely agree with everything you said. In fact I had no idea this was the case until I purchased my ATV. It confuses me too... And seems a little greedy.

 

[Soni Sanjay]

Flickr, for example, has a free version that shows your 200 most recently uploaded photos. If you pay $25/year, you can upload and display an infinite number of photos. If your subscription lapses, all those photos do NOT get deleted. You just can't access them (except for the most recent 200) until you pay again.

I have no idea if Apple will follow this model, but they could do something like that. Keep your uploaded "matched" songs on their servers, perhaps for a limited amount of time like 6 months or something, and then simply keep you from accessing them until you pay up.

----------



Yes. I agree completely.

To be specific though, I would be happy if Apple just made iTunes in the cloud work consistently with all devices for music. (This would allow me to play my iTunes Purchased songs on my ATV without having my computer turned on.)

It already does with regard to TV Shows and Movies: once purchased on any one device, I can stream/download an iTunes movie or TV show on any other mac or iOS device, INCLUDING APPLE TV.

But not for music: once purchased on any one device I can stream/download an iTunes song on any other mac or iOS device, EXCEPT FOR APPLE TV. UNLESS I pay for iTunes Match. Doesn't make sense.

On the Apple TV, under the Music menu, all that's available is iTunes Match. But in the Movies and TV shows menus, I can access my purchased Movies and TV shows. If Apple can stream a 1GB+ video file, surely they can stream a ~4 MB music file. So there is no technical obstacle here.

I think in reality they are just trying to confuse people into shelling out the $25/year to buy iTunes Match.

Music purchased directly from the iTunes Store can be streamed with the Apple TV, you only need Match if you want to stream music NOT bought from iTunes.

 

[niteflyr]

I think "iTunes in the Cloud" came to be with the implementation of Apple Music. The Apple TV doesn't support Apple Music yet. Supposedly coming in the fall. My guess is, that should fix it.