We are the excluded ones . The misfits . The ones who listen differently .
We are the ace that Apple dismiss . The obsessive music lovers . The ones with huge iTunes subroutine library . The ones who buy the iPod classic , mayhap even more than one , because each one can prevail as many as 40,000 songs .
We are the unity who can not use iTunes Match .
No iTunes Match for you!
OK , perhaps that ’s go a little overboard . But whenApple introduce iTunes Match on Monday , my request to move my iTunes program library to the swarm was instantly refused . Although Apple had already announced that you could only store 25,000 song using iTunes Match , I was surprised when iTunes informed me that , “ Your library hold back too many songs . ” The alerting the program displayed tell me that my depository library “ must hold no more than 25,000 Song that were not buy from the iTunes Store . ”
No iTunes Match for you !
I can for sure sympathise that Apple want a limit to the amount of space that it ’s willing to give you for the $ 25 yearly fee of iTunes Match . What I can not understand , however , is that iTunes Match simply refuses to let those with large library signalize up at all . It does n’t get you choose what you put in the cloud , and you do n’t get a screen allow for you to select specific artists , albums and/or genres , as you do when you synchronise an iPod . After all , given that Apple market the iPod classic — that 40,000 - song - stock medicine instrumentalist ( at 128 kbps , that is)—to masses like me , how can the companionship then rick around and say that I have too much music to utilize with this new earnings inspection and repair ?
One way iTunes Match and large libraries could get along.
My iTunes library currently incorporate 76,847 caterpillar track ( not songs ) . I stress the fact that these are not all “ Sung ” because more than half of my program library is classical music ; while some of that medicine is technically strain , most of it is not . I also have a large identification number of speak Logos recordings , such as a complete circle of Shakespeare ’s play , and some 1500 recordings of old wireless shows by Jean Shepherd .
But Apple is now severalize me that I have too much music — or permit ’s say too much “ audio frequency content”—in my iTunes library to play along . There are some antic to get around that 25,000 - track limit such as creating a new iTunes library that you’re able to use . This involves pick some of your music , and you could use it to put selected euphony in the cloud for access on other computers or on iOS devices , but it is a number of a kludge . Switching back and forth between your main program library and your cloud program library , to keep both up to date seems to be more trouble than it ’s worth .
It should n’t be too hard to allow users to choose which lead get matched / uploaded . There could be a checkbox , in the Info window when you take multiple tracks . Currently , on the Options tab , when you expose this windowpane , there are Part Of A Compilation , Skip When Shuffling , and other option ; why not add one for Use With iTunes Match ? drug user could go through their libraries , copy files they do n’t require to match to a play list , select them all and check a corner . iTunes would see that these files are flagged , and ignore them . Or I ’m certain there are half a twelve other ways Apple could make it go .
One room iTunes compeer and large library could get along .
I am sure in the minority , and I know that . While I do sleep with a just phone number of the great unwashed with heavy iTunes libraries — some even great than mine — most people only have a few thousand songs in theirs , and will tally in quite well with Apple ’s iTunes Match requirements . However , a quick coup d’oeil on Amazon.com show that the iPod classic is , today , the number four best - selling twist among Apple ’s medicine players there . This suggests that there are a lot of people who have declamatory music subroutine library .
Many of these masses with magnanimous library are classical euphony fans , or even collectors . Klaus Heymann , the head of Naxos Records , said in a recent interview that , “ There ’s pretty much a consensus in the industry that there ’s maybe a million [ classical music ] collectors in the world when you specify a gatherer as someone who bribe at least 10 CDs a yr . ”
Another group of citizenry with large iTunes library are fan of live music . Many bands — often call “ mess ” band , because they ’re great on improvisation — allow their fans to record and download their concerts . The Grateful Dead was one of the first groups to allow this , and I have 100 of its concerts . But other bands , such as Phish , moe . , and a whole fresh generation of jam band , allow their fans to trade music as well . They also sell many or all of their bouncy concerts as digital downloads , and it ’s not rare for serious fans of bands like this to buy dozens of live appearance , or even an entire tour ’s worth of concerts . Macworld executive editor Jon Seff , a fan of both the Grateful Dead and Phish , tell me that his iTunes library has more than 30,000 songs ( include fortune of live recordings ) .
These are the multitude who keep the memorialise diligence afloat . Without these musically - curious people , the music available today would be much more homogeneous , formulaic . yield , this is the case for much pop music , but what keeps the music industry alive is the constantly churning lower class of musicians , songwriters , and composer of all musical style who never reach the top of the chart , and make music that most people will never encounter .
So , Apple , please do n’t exclude us . We do take heed differently , we are curious about music , and we do use iTunes , iPods and iPhones . We buy Mac miniskirt to expend as medium servers . We rain cats and dogs our medicine to stereoscopic photograph using AirPort Expresses . We are the ones you should be welcome to this new service , not the one you turn away at the door .
[ Senior contributor Kirk McElhearn writes about more than just Macs on his blogKirkville . Twitter:@mcelhearnKirk is the author ofTake Control of iTunes 10 : The FAQ . ]
