Apple Music and iTunes Match are two independent services that both conveniently provide access to your music library from all of your devices using iCloud. Apple Music and iTunes Match are not backup services for your original music library. Be sure to back up your music library so that you have a copy of your music and other information if your Mac or PC is ever replaced, lost, or damaged.
Using Apple Music
Your Apple Music membership includes an iCloud Music Library, which allows you to enjoy your entire music library from all of your devices.
When you first join, Apple Music checks your music collection to see which of your songs are also in the Apple Music catalog. It does this by matching against your song’s details (such as name, artist, album). If we have your songs in our catalog, we make them available to access on all of your devices.
When Apple Music adds these matched songs to your iCloud Music Library, Apple Music doesn’t change or alter your original music files that reside in iTunes for Mac or PC or on your iOS devices from which they were added. We make these matched songs available to your other computers or devices in high quality 256 Kbps AAC, and they can be played on them only while your Apple Music membership is active.
In addition, iTunes will upload to your iCloud Music Library those songs that we can’t find in our catalog, to make them available to you on all of your other devices.
Learn more about Apple Music membership.
Using iTunes Match
Your iTunes Match subscription also includes an iCloud Music Library, which allows you to enjoy your entire music library from all of your devices.
Songs that we find that are available in our catalog are instantly accessible on all of your other devices, and you can save them for offline listening on your devices indefinitely. When iTunes Match adds these songs to your iCloud Music Library, iTunes Match doesn’t change or alter your original music files that reside on iTunes for Mac or PC or on your iOS devices from which they were added. These songs are made available to your other computers or devices in high quality 256 Kbps DRM-free AAC, and any of these songs that you save offline can continue to play, even after your iTunes Match subscription ends.
In addition, iTunes will upload to your iCloud Music Library those songs that we can’t find in our catalog, to make them available to you on all of your other devices.
With iTunes Match, all of the songs that we matched or uploaded using iTunes on your Mac or PC during your iTunes Match subscription can be downloaded DRM-free (if matched) or in their uploaded form and are yours to keep. These songs can continue to play after your iTunes Match subscription ends.
Using both services
You can use Apple Music and iTunes Match together.
When you subscribe to both services, your iCloud Music Library will make available 256 Kbps DRM-free AAC files only for songs matched using iTunes on your Mac or PC.
Songs that can’t be matched are uploaded from iTunes to your iCloud Music Library and stored in iCloud in their uploaded form. You can also download them in that same uploaded form when you save them offline on your other devices.