Will Apple do the right thing for iTunes Match?
Apple shipped a great little iTunes update this week. In simple terms it replaces the music recognition algorithm used in Apple Music with the far more accurate one used by iTunes Match. What this also means is that if you own a bunch of music and then sign up for Apple Music you get all the features you used to have to pay more for in iTunes Match.
I’ll let Jim Dalrymple at LoopInsight explain:
“If you are a current iTunes Match subscriber and subscribe to Apple Music, you can let your Match subscription lapse when it comes up for renewal and still receive the same benefits. If you don’t subscribe to Apple Music and still want the benefits of iTunes Match, hold on to your subscription.”
This should also stop iTunes deleting tracks you own but it doesn’t recognise and help prevent it replacing your perfectly legal unprotected tracks with DRM-infested versions that mean you are forced to pay for Apple Music in perpetuity, or risk losing your entire collection. Those are real problems real people faced with Apple Music and Match.
Given those are real problems Apple Music users who also use iTunes Match faced in recent months, I think Apple might want to consider refunding customers who use both services with the cost of Match, and potentially offering discounts to existing Match users who may want to migrate to Music. It should also make sure that as Match subscription fees come due it explains why some of its customers may not need it any more.
I will be interested to see if this is what Apple does. I hope it does, as I think these are the right things to do.
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