itunes match...

[SirReal]

OK, I've read all the threads here and researched through the apple website. I'm looking for anybody currently using this service as a DJ to give me their thoughts, issues and thoughts about it. From what I understand, it analyzes your itunes library and makes a 256k aac available on all your devices but doesn't delete anything from your library (thus keeping my traktor links, cues and beatgrid) as long as I don't delete those files from my collection. Can anyone with user experience and likes/dislikes chime in about their thoughts please? It seems like I can free up a ton or space with all the files I currently don't use to DJ with. I'm also curious about workflow of tracks that people use from the "cloud" in itunes match.
Thanks in advance for any info/input.

[botstein]

There is a limit to how many songs you can upload - songs that are recognized as available on iTunes don't count against it, but if you need to download them again you get them in iTunes quality only. For me, it covered about 1/6 of my music.

I would never trust any cloud service to play out with - I almost don't trust any WiFi network but my own.

[fullenglishpint]

It's really useful for me since I have an iPhone and an iPad, but I don't use either of them for DJing. What's annoying is that everything is always visible in the music apps on your devices but if you don't have a solid Internet connection you can't listen to them.

[SirReal]

Thanks for the advice guys but I have too many songs to do itunes match. I've got 37000 songs and you can only have 25000 that weren't bought on itunes. Sucks, I wish I could designate what songs I don't want matched.

[ksandvik]

I ended up building multiple libraries to go around the 25k limit. Still, iTunes Match is so handy.

[mostapha]

I'm not a fan of iTunes Match, or iTunes's cloud implementation. I find it annoying.

If you happen to have a local copy of the files that are in the cloud (or were purchased from iTunes), and you add an album to their new "up next" feature, or just play the album……both copies get played. The way around it is to either turn off the cloud or delete the local files.

Also, transcoding files from mp3 to aac is detrimental to audio quality. Transcoding from wav/aif to aac isn't as bad, but you're still not getting the quality you paid for.

Frankly, I see it as a half-assed solution for people who don't actually care much about music. I think it pales in comparison to a real backup system. And I just don't get where its advantages are.

[Xtian317]

I love iTunes match. I don't use it for backup..per say. I use it to toss music between devices. I can record a mix or an idea from my Macbook, send it to the cloud and download it to my iPhone on the way out the door and listen to it in my car. Same for downloaded music...I can download music at work or home, send it to the cloud and have it on my phone in short order. The only music I actually download to my Macbook is my EDM/DJing stuff, the rest stays in the cloud or on other devices.

[nem0nic]

Match is terrible. Mostly because it's an either/or option. If you select Match, then you will run into situations where you don't have access to your music because your connection isn't fast enough. If you want a good portable music solution, I find Spotify a much better option. Google also has a fantastic storage option in their PLAY software.

[protocollie]

Also, transcoding files from mp3 to aac is detrimental to audio quality. Transcoding from wav/aif to aac isn't as bad, but you're still not getting the quality you paid for.

i may be completely incorrect in this (i'll have to verify later) but i'm fairly certain there is no transcoding done... ether it exists in the iTunes store and you get the iTunes 256kbps aac version or it uploads it in the quality you have and that counts against your allotted space, regardless of what format it's in.. i've definitely uploaded AIFFs to it and had them upload relatively fast and be instantly accessible on other devices, if they were transcoding i would expect a delay while that took place

i'll double check this to be sure though.

that said, don't use it with DJing. i think it's a good way to manage music you listen to but don't necessarily want to keep around, particularly if you have a couple apple computers or an iphone or something, but it's just not up to spec for DJs. i like it for listening though.

EDIT: verified. if the song doesn't exist in the iTunes catalog it's uploaded and stored as is, extra metadata and all. i pulled down a track that doesn't exist on itunes and it came down in 320kbps mp3 with the 'purchased on beatport' metadata and initialkey tag intact

[protocollie]

Match is terrible. Mostly because it's an either/or option. If you select Match, then you will run into situations where you don't have access to your music because your connection isn't fast enough. If you want a good portable music solution, I find Spotify a much better option. Google also has a fantastic storage option in their PLAY software.

you can download stuff locally to your devices no problem. if your connection's not fast enough you just only have the stuff that's currently downloaded. itunes match supplements the audio files already on the device, not replaces them, and when you play a track it's copied locally to your hard drive.