I subscribed to iTunes Match a few days ago and it is obvious to me that it will not upload my entire library i.e. it only seems to be matching my library with songs only available in the iTunes store. For example, I have quite a few CD's of my own that are not available in iTunes Music Australia and I can see that iTunes Match is not allowing these tunes to be played on other devices, even Apple Devices! They are appearing 'greyed out' and won't play.
My understanding from subscribing to this service was that it didn't matter what songs you had in your library, it would upload ALL of your music (that's right, it said EVEN your own CD's when signing up).
This, to me, is a hoax. They don't actually Match everything if it is not available in the iTunes Store.
Does anyone out there have any answers? I have read quite a few threads out there, I have tried updating iCloud Music Library, unchecking and checking iCloud in preferences and to be honest there does not appear to be any other way to allow my own personal CD music to show in Apple Play unless it is available in the iTunes Store.
If this is indeed the case then there is absolutely no point in me subscribing to iTunes Match for $35.99 a year. I may as well just stick with the regular music streaming service at $11.99 per month.
Best Answer
Apple scans your library, if it identifies your file as part of the iTunes Store collection, it will 'match' it. If not, it uploads the file to your cloud. In your iTunes library you should see an iCloud icon next to your filenames - use the Show View options to add the column 'iCloud Status' - that will tell you if the song has been matched, uploaded, or waiting. Check if your CD uploads are in the correct format to sync.
If you right click on the song there's an option to 'Remove download' - this will delete your file off your local device. If you make a backup of your current library, you could 'remove download' for your entire iTunes Match library - all the music should be stored in iCloud, and if it's matched, it will play the iTunes Store quality version. Sometimes there's issues with multiple devices on the same iTunes account conflicting sync.