Will iTM have a match for ALL my music?

[patent10021]

Like many people, I have lots of music that is non-mainstream so I'm worried there won't be a 'match' for much of my music.

Is the iTunes catalogue so vast now that everything is on there? Is it even an issue anymore?

Would love to delete everything off my HDD and go with iTM. 256 kbps right?

What would happen to my ALAC files? They get trashed and replaced with 256? Would there be any iTM system errors because my files are ALAC?

EDIT: Found a strange quote.

I can confirm that WAV files are retained as WAV within iCloud if there is no match. However, I have more testing to do on the ALAC side. So far, my ALAC tracks are appearing at 256KB within iCloud, even though these tracks are not for sale, at least currently and within the US iTunes store.

According to Apple's documetnation, unmatched stuff above 320 is converted down to 256 AAC when it's uploaded.

The accurate info:

For ALAC and other high bit rate file Itunes TEMPORARILY creates a 256 file to upload to Icloud. That file is then discarded.

Your ALAC etc. files will not be changed on your hard drive.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4914

QUESTION. Can you share your iCloud music to friends' devices? They would need your Apple ID? Could you be logged in at the same time? Obviously you can right so I assume many families are sharing this way?

Lastly, if I delete my original ALAC files from my HDD and then say cancel my iTM subscription what will happen say if I re-subscribe using my same Apple ID? Will it remember my songs? An Apple ID can't be erased since I am still using it for other things so maybe there is some kind of memory?

 

[Rigby]

Like many people, I have lots of music that is non-mainstream so I'm worried there won't be a 'match' for much of my music.

If it can't match a song, it will upload it.

Would love to delete everything off my HDD and go with iTM.

I would recommend to always keep a backup of your own files.

What would happen to my ALAC files?

They will be transcoded to 256kbps AAC. You can find information about how Match handles file formats here under "Additional Information":

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4054

Lastly, if I delete my original ALAC files from my HDD and then say cancel my iTM subscription what will happen say if I re-subscribe using my same Apple ID? Will it remember my songs? An Apple ID can't be erased since I am still using it for other things so maybe there is some kind of memory?

I haven't tried it, but I'd assume your songs will be deleted from the cloud once the subscription expires.