Syncing iTunes with iMac and MacBook

[ZebraTalent]

Hey!

I did a search for this, but couldn't seem to find anything on it, so I was wondering; I have an iMac and a Macbook, all my music is on the iMac. Is it possible to sync this iTunes account with the MacBook so that when I add/remove songs, it updates on the macbook as well?

Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[wim.v]

I'm using iTunes match for that.

When you add a song on your iMac it's available on every device.
You can also delete all your songs from your hard disk. The songs stay in the cloud and you can download them again whenever you want.
(I am keeping a physical copy of my library on one of my devices. So when there's no internet connection I still have my music or when I cancel my iTunes match subscription I don't lose access to my music.

 

[Chippy99]

I'm using iTunes match for that.

When you add a song on your iMac it's available on every device.

Does this work for your own personal content, not purchased through iTunes - for example CD rips? I thought it did not?

I am not aware of any way to automatically keep 2 iTunes libraries in sync without the use of 3rd party software such as Supersync.

 

[wim.v]

Does this work for your own personal content, not purchased through iTunes - for example CD rips? I thought it did not?

I am not aware of any way to automatically keep 2 iTunes libraries in sync without the use of 3rd party software such as Supersync.

It works with all your music, and you're getting higher quality songs in return if Apple has them on their servers...
for €25 (don't know the price in other countries) a year your itunes library is in sync on all your devices and you don't need to buy extra storage on your iPad and iPhone. It's a streaming service.
I saved €200 on storage on my iPad and iPhone. That's 8 years iTunes Match subscription. A no-brainer for me.
If I'm going somewhere where I don't have internet connection and I need music, I download a playlist, or some CDs from the cloud to my iPhone or iPad before I go to cover the trip.

 

[Chippy99]

It works with all your music, and you're getting higher quality songs in return if Apple has them on their servers...
for €25 (don't know the price in other countries) a year your itunes library is in sync on all your devices and you don't need to buy extra storage on your iPad and iPhone.
I saved €200 on storage on my iPad and iPhone. That's 8 years iTunes Match subscription. A no-brainer for me.

Wow - I didn't realise that. All my music is lossless, so I won't be getting better quality from Apple servers, but nevertheless this is an interesting option. I will look further into this.

EDIT: Damn - I just noticed it says "Songs encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF will be transcoded to a separate temporary AAC 256 Kbps file locally, prior to uploading to iCloud."

I was hoping this might have been a good offline backup for my music with the added advantage of being able to sync across multiple devices. Still it looks interesting, but just not what I had in mind.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

I do this with Google Drive. My music co-lives on my iMac at work and my MacBook Pro at home. It isn't flawless, as the library files sometimes get duplicated, but, overall, it works well enough for me.

 

[wim.v]

Wow - I didn't realise that. All my music is lossless, so I won't be getting better quality from Apple servers, but nevertheless this is an interesting option. I will look further into this.

EDIT: Damn - I just noticed it says "Songs encoded in ALAC, WAV, or AIFF will be transcoded to a separate temporary AAC 256 Kbps file locally, prior to uploading to iCloud."

I was hoping this might have been a good offline backup for my music with the added advantage of being able to sync across multiple devices. Still it looks interesting, but just not what I had in mind.

You can still have your high quality files on your iMac in your library and listen to them. Somehow it seems logical Apple doesn't allow you to upload lossless music files. It would consume a lot of space on their servers if everybody would do that. Streaming also would be not that easy in areas with a slower internet connection.
So using it as a cloud backup is not that useful for you indeed.

 

[ZebraTalent]

Thanks for all the awesome answers guys iTunes Match seems like it might be a winner. I do like how the cost of it was justified by the savings you make not buying a larger storage phone or iPad!

 

[wim.v]

Thanks for all the awesome answers guys iTunes Match seems like it might be a winner. I do like how the cost of it was justified by the savings you make not buying a larger storage phone or iPad!

you won't regret it. I even bought an apple tv and hooked it up to my sound system and television. Now I can play music from my iPad, iPhone, iMac or even on the apple TV itself through quality speakers without copying my music collection on every device. Controlling your music collection couldn't be easier.
If my wife plays a song from her iPad I can take over control from my iPad or iMac without problems.