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HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO AND USE ITUNES MATCH





Apple's iTunes Match is a subscription service that allows you to upload and store all your digital music files in the Cloud. Storing digital music in Apple's iCloud service is one privilege that's reserved only for songs you buy from the iTunes store. 

But, what if your system is populated with songs from other sources that you will like to save to the cloud as well for safety, how do you go about that? That's where iTunes Match comes in.
ITUNES MATCH

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO AND USE ITUNES MATCH


By subscribing to the iTunes Match service, you can upload songs that have come from other sources, like ripped audio CDs, digitized recordings (e.g. - analog tape), or downloaded from other online music services and websites. You get to save your complete music library to the cloud.

One useful feature of the iTunes Match is the scan and match algorithm which first analyses the contents of your music library. Rather than uploading every file as with most online storage solutions, the scan and match algorithm in iTunes Match first analyzes the contents of your music library.

 If Apple already have your songs in its huge online music catalog then it instantly populates your iCloud music locker. This can be a huge time-saver especially if your music library is large.

Setting Up iTunes Match

Requirements

The first thing you'll need to make sure of is that your iTunes software is up-to-date. Apple's software usually updates automatically, but you can force iTunes to check for updates manually if you want to be sure. 

In order to access iTunes Match on a Mac or PC, you'll need at least version 10.5.1 of the iTunes software. If you've got an Apple device, then you'll also need to check that you meet the following minimum specifications:
o   iPhone (minimum 3GS)
o   iPod Touch ( 3rd generation or higher)
o   iPad or iPad 2
You'll also, need at least version 5.0.1 of the iOS firmware installed on the above Apple hardware.
If you haven't got iTunes installed on your Mac or PC yet, then you can download it for free from the iTunes website.

Signing up

As mentioned earlier, you'll need the right version of the iTunes software to be able to subscribe to iTunes Match. You'll also need an Apple ID in order to Sign in to your iTunes account.
To sign up for iTunes Match, ensure the iTunes software is running and do the following:
·        In the left pane of iTunes, click the iTunes Match menu option (underneath the STORE section).
·        A screen should now appear with a description of the service and a subscribe button near the bottom. If you don't get this screen, then click the Store menu tab followed by Turn on iTunes Match.
·        If you decide that you don't want to sign up after all, simply click the No Thanks button to quit the subscription process. If you do want to proceed and sign up for a year, click the Blue Subscribe button to proceed.
·        On the next screen, type in your iTunes account security credentials (Apple ID and password) and then click the Subscribe button. The credit card that is associated with your iTunes account will then be billed as usual.

The Scan and Match Process

iTunes The match should now start its scan and match wizard which is a 3-step process. The three stages are:
1. Gathering information about your iTunes library
2. Matching your music in the iTunes Store
3. Uploading artwork and remaining songs
The above steps are done automatically in the background and so you can use iTunes as normal if you want to. If you've got a large library that contains a lot of tracks that are unlikely to be matched, then this could take quite a long time.

When the scan and match 3-step process is complete, click Done to finish. Now that your music library is in iCloud, you will see a cloud icon next to Music in the left pane of iTunes through which you can access your files.


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