iTunes 12.2: The iCloud Music Library Debacle

[kirkmc]

iTunes 12.2: The iCloud Music Library Debacle

[jowie]

I have a question... I've upgraded the two "slave" MacBook Pros to 12.2 and Apple Music. Neither of these machines have my full library on them.

 

I still have my main "master" library on the Power Mac G5 running iTunes 10.6 and iTunes Match. I haven't switched this machine on for a couple of weeks, but I intend on doing so sometime this week and pulling down all my latest purchases. Will having my master library on 10.6 without Apple Music save my library metadata from the issues?

[kirkmc]

As long as you don't turn on iCloud Music Library it should be safe.

[jowie]

As long as you don't turn on iCloud Music Library it should be safe.

Hmmm. iCloud Music Library is already on for both my "slave" machines. I don't think I should be able to turn on iCloud Music Library on the G5 because the iTunes version is too old. Do you reckon I'll be okay then as long as I don't try to download any previously-tagged music on the slave machines?

[kirkmc]

I'm really not sure. What I know is that it's iCloud Music Library that messes things up. If the master library is on a Mac that can't use iCloud Music Library, then there shouldn't be any worry. I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this, so I can recommend something (and so I can update my main Mac it 12.2).

[jowie]

I'll fire up the G5 tonight and see what happens. It's going to be difficult to see at a glance if iCloud Music Library has messed anything up, because I can't remember specifics of metadata I updated in the past. If I notice anything, I'll let you know!

[Jon_Eric]

I was also seeing tracks stuck in waiting status for my iTunes test library on my Macbook Pro. I had to turn off iCloud Music Library, delete the tracks from iTunes (keep the file), restart iTunes, add the tracks back to the library and then turn iCloud Music Library back on. I did this in batches, a couple of artists at a time. I kept an eye on the status indicator in the upper right corner and would wait for that batch of matching/uploading to finish before repeating the process.

[Galley]

Would I be able to safely use Apple Music (only) on my MacBook Air? My iTunes library resides on an old iMac, but I'm afraid even enabling iCloud Music Library will wreak havoc on my other devices.

[kirkmc]

That's what I'll probably do: turn it on on my MacBook Pro, which is my test Mac, and which already has iTunes Match, and on my iPod touch, which is my test iOS device.

[Jon_Eric]

I am doing something similar. Apple Music and iCloud Music Library off for the iTunes library on my Mac mini. Apple Music, iCloud Music Library and a "test" iTunes Library on my MacBook Pro. Seems to be working OK so far, nothing I have done on the MacBook Pro has affected what's on the Mac mini.

[Galley]

Thanks for the info. I use streaming services mostly for discovering new artists. If I like something, I buy the CD.

[jowie]

Update: I booted up the old G5 last night and let it sync (boy, it's slow). Firstly, I was getting a -4007 error... I read up on this and found the remedy is to sign out of the Store, sign back in and then turn back on iTunes Match.

 

So I did this, and after leaving it on all night for it to upload about 60 items, I discovered that it had completed 'successfully' but not synced anything new at all. It would appear that now my old Leopard machine is too old to stay in sync with iTunes Match, possibly because I have switched on Apple Music and/or iCloud Music Library on my other machines...? Who knows.

 

I'm wondering how many other old-skool Mac owners are going to have the same problem, and if Apple are now officially not supporting iTunes 10.6.3 then I guess I will need to consider upgrading my Power Mac G5 to a Mac Mini or something.

[kirkmc]

Good point. I wonder if the back-end database is different, which could lead to issues. When was the last time you updated iTunes Match from that Mac?

[jowie]

When was the last time you updated iTunes Match from that Mac?

Well, I thought I'd updated it in the past month or so, which is what I used to do. I was shocked to find I hadn't updated it at all this year! So the most recently added track in my library is from the end of last year. I've added 295 items since then, and iTunes 10.6.3 doesn't acknowledge them at all.