iCloud Music Library adds DRM without buying you dinner first

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icloud-music-library-itunes-match
iCloud Music Library is almost identical to iTunes Match with one glaring issue.
Photo: Apple

Well iCloud Music Library is pissing people off already. The new service almost identical to iTunes Match has a DRM problem. Turned on, iCloud Music Library is taking the music you rightfully own and place in your iTunes library and automatically adding DRM protection to it. In essence, it’s placing a lock on music that’s already yours.

On top of iCloud Music Library problems already plaguing some users, Senior Macworld Contributor Kirk McElhearn first discovered the DRM issue and wrote about it on his blog. He’s a subscriber to iTunes Match for $24.99 per year. Previously when he would rip an album and add it to his iTunes library, the service would search through the iTunes database, match the songs, and save them for access on all devices. If he needed to save one of the files, he’d get a hassle-free, DRM-free download.

iCloud Music Library, included with an Apple Music subscription, serves the same purpose except when it comes time to download anything you find your files locked up with DRM – yes, the files you put there in the first place from the CD you possess.

Additionally, if you cancel your Apple Music subscription, you lose access to all of your music whether you ripped it and added it yourself or not. If you’re planning on ripping music from albums, adding it to iTunes, then throwing the CD out, don’t do it. If you ever lose your data or cancel your subscription, iCloud Music Library gets to keep the songs and you’re without the music you bought.

Furthermore, if you wish to continue using iTunes Match instead of iCloud Music Library, it’s still available for purchase for non-Apple Music subscribers.

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