Signs of Apple Music Begin Showing Up in iOS 8.4 Beta Music App

[NavySEAL6]

The last entry on the apple music faq:

"Does Apple Music work with iTunes Match?

Yes. Apple Music and iTunes Match are independent but complementary."

Can you, or anyone else, please explain what this means? Do you essentially get iTunes Match for free with Apple Music? I want to know because my iTunes Match is going to renew soon so I may want to put that on hold

kewl.

I sure hope its not tied to valid CC like Match is.... The fact u have Store credit but unable to use it for service is crap. It's there, so u should be able to use it as u see fit. Otherwise i'll be limited to reduced content from from non-U.S.

My match subscription has a credit card but it's never been billed. I always have a gift card balance and it deducts from there.

 

[Karma*Police]

I'm asking a serious question can most folks distinguish between 256 and 320?

No, judging by how most people use the cheap headphones that came with their device and Beats owns over 50% of the premium headphone market. Most people just aren't that discerning.

 

[Aragornii]

I'm asking a serious question can most folks distinguish between 256 and 320?

The source makes way more difference than the bit rate at that point. A Mastered for iTunes 256 kbps AAC is going to sound better than any rip from a CD regardless of bit rate, and a 256 AAC is going to sound as good or better than a 320 MP3 in either case.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Can you, or anyone else, please explain what this means? Do you essentially get iTunes Match for free with Apple Music? I want to know because my iTunes Match is going to renew soon so I may want to put that on hold

No one but Apple can give you absolute answers. Here's how I view that: if you are going to subscribe to Music, you probably don't need to keep Match too. However, I don't think it is the same. Match has that feature of upgrade <256kpbs music you own to Apple's 256kbps copy that you can then download onto your own hard drive as a DRM-free replacement. I doubt that you get that with Music.

Similarly, (I think) Match has that ability to upload songs that it doesn't match in your collection so that you can stream those if you don't sync those to your iDevice. I doubt that Music will offer that too.

Edit: In post #89 hlfway2anywhere points to a quote from Apple's site that seems to refute the one just posted starting with "Similarly".

Third, there is reasonable amounts of information that says the iTunes library in its entirety is not going to be accessible via Music in spite of what is implied in the one FAQ question on this topic. At least some artists are not on board yet and a few publications have said that Apple's streaming library is not going to have much more than Spotify's streaming library (though Taylor Swift music will apparently be an exception). So, there may be a scenario where some of your owned music that you can currently stream with Match may not be streamable with Music if that Music is outside of the collection of music that IS included in streaming. Conceptually, that could be a LOT of music for some people or as little as none for others.

So, what I would do if I was you is maximize that upgrade feature (upgrade <256kpbs songs to 256kbps) and then download all those upgraded songs to your local hard drive. Then, I'd let Match lapse and subscribe to (the) Music free trial, see how it goes and then decide if you need to buy back into Match if any of the above applies in a way that would matter enough to you to warrant the extra $25/yr.

Again, the above is not ABSOLUTE FACT but my best speculation based on what I've read & seen so far, along with a little thinking about how both Match and Music are meant to work and why Apple would spin them as "independent but complimentary." The key to my suggestion is that it's easy enough to just try and see what happens with your own music. There doesn't seem to be a downside unless turning off Match would lock you out of a streamable song(s) that you simply MUST be able to play for some reason in some situation where you couldn't sign up for Match again for streaming access to it/them.

 

[HenryDJP]

I heard bad things about family sharing, hesitant to turn that on.
Also, forget family sharing for a bit and think of single-user, wonder if it will let you login to multiple devices on the same account simultaneously. I know spotify doesn't.

Although I don't have proof of this I would say you can't do this. If you could log in to multiple devices under the same account that would be the cheapest way to bypass paying for the family plan.

 

[Primejimbo]

kewl.

I sure hope its not tied to valid CC like Match is.... The fact u have Store credit but unable to use it for service is crap. It's there, so u should be able to use it as u see fit. Otherwise i'll be limited to reduced content from from non-U.S.

I use iTunes gift cards all the time to pay for my iTunes Match.

 

[matrix07]

I am currently subscribed to Beats (solo account) prepaid for a year (ends in November). I understand I can migrate my subscription from Beats to Apple Music. However, I would like to sign up to a family subscription at $14.99 per month. Have they mentioned yet how this will possibly work? Not as straight forward as a solo to solo account. Would be a shame if I have to wait until November.

I think what you need to do is migrate, cancel your solo subscription then re-subscribe as family.

 

[RickInHouston]

The source makes way more difference than the bit rate at that point. A Mastered for iTunes 256 kbps AAC is going to sound better than any rip from a CD regardless of bit rate, and a 256 AAC is going to sound as good or better than a 320 MP3 in either case.

Please provide the non-apple paid source of this info.

 

[matrix07]

Please provide the non-apple paid source of this info.

Use your ears maybe. I use it and it's exactly as Apple said. If you test it then disagree with it you can sue for false advertising.

 

[Captain Nougat]

AAC was developed to be the successor to MP3, to be more efficient in file size while maintaining good audio quality. 192kbps-256kbps AAC is Sounds the same or better than a 320kbps MP3.

Your ears won't be able to tell the difference between 256 AAC and 320 MP3. But if people are inclined, try ripping a CD in both formats and nitrates and see if you can tell.

Aragornii is right about mastering being the difference. Crappy mastered music sounds bad no matter the format or bitrate. The Mastered for iTunes files sound darn good, they master from high resolution originals and downsample down while using different tools to alleviate clipping and over compression. http://www.justmastering.com/article-masteredforitunes.php

In the end, let your ears judge the sound and not let some 320 > 256 numbers fool you.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

Can you, or anyone else, please explain what this means? Do you essentially get iTunes Match for free with Apple Music? I want to know because my iTunes Match is going to renew soon so I may want to put that on hold.

No one but Apple can give you absolute answers. Here's how I view that: if you are going to subscribe to Music, you probably don't need to keep Match too. However, I don't think it is the same. Match has that feature of upgrade <256kpbs music you own to Apple's 256kbps copy that you can then download onto your own hard drive as a DRM-free replacement. I doubt that you get that with Music.

Why wouldn't it let you do this? Apple Music is more expensive than iTunes Match, after all.

Similarly, (I think) Match has that ability to upload songs that it doesn't match in your collection so that you can stream those if you don't sync those to your iDevice. I doubt that Music will offer that too.

Apple's website says it does do this.
"With an Apple Music membership, your entire library lives in iCloud. We compare every track in your collection to the Apple Music library to see if we have a copy. If we do, you can automatically listen to it straight from the cloud. If you have music that’s not in our catalog, we upload those songs from iTunes on your Mac or PC. It’s all in iCloud, so it won’t take up any space on your devices."

 

[Ludatyk]

Can you, or anyone else, please explain what this means? Do you essentially get iTunes Match for free with Apple Music? I want to know because my iTunes Match is going to renew soon so I may want to put that on hold

iTunes Match is just a feature that Apple Music provides already. I think the real issue is that once you transition to Apple Music how will that work?

I get it will be a simple sign up for Apple Music, but I wonder will they have a system in place for transitioning iTunes Match users.

 

[jonblatho]

So... On September they release it for Android.. End of Free trial?

Each person gets a three-month free trial whenever he/she decides to start the trial. If you start the trial on July 8, your trial will end—and you will be charged $9.99—on October 8. You'll be billed on December 30 if you start the trial on September 30, and so on.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Apple's website says it does do this.
"With an Apple Music membership, your entire library lives in iCloud. We compare every track in your collection to the Apple Music library to see if we have a copy. If we do, you can automatically listen to it straight from the cloud. If you have music that’s not in our catalog, we upload those songs from iTunes on your Mac or PC. It’s all in iCloud, so it won’t take up any space on your devices."

I (likely) stand corrected. However, Apple's website also implies every song in iTunes will be accessible in Music but there are multiple reports that groups like the Beatles are not available in Music. So some of what is there may not be absolutely correct... though that certainly reads pretty conclusively that THAT feature of Match is duplicated in Music.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Why wouldn't it let you do this? Apple Music is more expensive than iTunes Match, after all.

Because Apple wants the $25 too? There needs to be SOME reason Apple is saying both services are complimentary. I read that to mean Match must offer SOMETHING not included in Music. That's one of my (now only 2) guesses at what will justify keeping Match if someone subscribes to Music.

 

[Captain Nougat]

I'm thinking Apple Music and iTunes Match let you upload tracks in your personal library that isn't offered in the streaming service,

The difference might be iTunes Match lets you redownload and keep the upgraded file forever while Apple Music only lets you stream the uploaded tracks and won't be able to be downloaded (except for offline play on your iOS device)

 

[RichardH1]

https://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/
Scroll down to "How iTunes Match Works."
It says: You can store up to 25,000 songs in iCloud (more if songs are purchased from the iTunes Store)
Songs that you buy are NOT included in the 25,000.

Good clarification. Thank you.
In the end, it still doesn't change anything because if the library holds more than 25k of tracks that are not from iTunes, you are excluded from even signing up for iTunes Match. It's not like a user can select which 25k tracks get uploaded.

 

[RoboCop001]

That orphaned word is really bugging me lol.

 

[egeek84]

so if i'm on iOS 9 I can't get Apple Music on launch day unless I wipe and reinstall 8.4? :/

 

[xamount]

I have yet to see any confirmation that A) smart playlists or B) star ratings will survive the transition to Apple Music. Both are in working order in this latest beta, but this screenshot has me concerned that my 12 years of star ratings may be replaced by dinky, binary hearts (at the track and album level) once the full Apple Music experience shows up. If someone sees stars somewhere, I'd love to know!

 

[roland.g]

What do you get if you don't sign up?

Is iTunes Radio going away.

I don't use Match.

I don't need access to all my music everywhere.

The Beats1 station sounds interesting as does some of the we make awesome playlists for you. But overall this doesn't sound like $10-15 in value for me.

 

[gigapocket1]

I have yet to see any confirmation that A) smart playlists or B) star ratings will survive the transition to Apple Music. Both are in working order in this latest beta, but this screenshot has me concerned that my 12 years of star ratings may be replaced by dinky, binary hearts (at the track and album level) once the full Apple Music experience shows up. If someone sees stars somewhere, I'd love to know!

where are you seeing these hearts at?? I'm on 10.11 beta 1 and have stars

 

[xamount]

where are you seeing these hearts at?? I'm on 10.11 beta 1 and have stars

On the Apple Music information page thingy.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

I (likely) stand corrected. However, Apple's website also implies every song in iTunes will be accessible in Music but there are multiple reports that groups like the Beatles are not available in Music. So some of what is there may not be absolutely correct... though that certainly reads pretty conclusively that THAT feature of Match is duplicated in Music.

Apple's Music website doesn't mention iTunes at all. It says "Apple Music library" -- which i'd say is absolutely correct. Misleading? I guess maybe. But definitely not inaccurate.

 

[Wreckus]

I wonder if Apple would merge iTunes & the OS X app store into one big application for the Mac and just call it Apple store. Maybe they would add the online store into the app as well to make it easier to buy accessories and hardware...probably wishful thinking though.

Windows will still have iTunes probably.