Apple confirms reports of iTunes music deletion issue, 'safeguards' coming next week
Apple in a statement Friday said it is investigating reports of a supposed Apple Music compatibility bug that deletes local music files without user permission, adding that an updated version of the media management software is expected for release next week.
Earlier this month media outlets latched onto a blog post from freelance composer James Pinkstone, who claimed iTunes deleted some 122GB of music from his laptop, including original works. After speaking with Apple support representatives, Pinkstone came to the conclusion that the mishap had roots in the way Apple Music and iTunes handles music files.
Specifically, Pinkstone believes Apple Music scanned his iTunes library, matched those tracks with streaming copies -- or uploaded originals -- then automatically removed the local files. If true, this technique poses an obvious problem for users who later unsubscribe from Apple Music.
As some have pointed out, however, iTunes' song matching mechanism does not remove local files without user authorization.
Apple provided comment on the matter to The Loop.
"In an extremely small number of cases users have reported that music files saved on their computer were removed without their permission," Apple said. "We're taking these reports seriously as we know how important music is to our customers and our teams are focused on identifying the cause. We have not been able to reproduce this issue, however, we're releasing an update to iTunes early next week which includes additional safeguards. If a user experiences this issue they should contact AppleCare."
It is unclear why Pinkstone's library was erroneously removed from his computer (luckily he had a backup), though members of Apple's Support Communities forums suggest the culprit could be a database bug in the latest version of iTunes.
Earlier this month media outlets latched onto a blog post from freelance composer James Pinkstone, who claimed iTunes deleted some 122GB of music from his laptop, including original works. After speaking with Apple support representatives, Pinkstone came to the conclusion that the mishap had roots in the way Apple Music and iTunes handles music files.
Specifically, Pinkstone believes Apple Music scanned his iTunes library, matched those tracks with streaming copies -- or uploaded originals -- then automatically removed the local files. If true, this technique poses an obvious problem for users who later unsubscribe from Apple Music.
As some have pointed out, however, iTunes' song matching mechanism does not remove local files without user authorization.
Apple provided comment on the matter to The Loop.
"In an extremely small number of cases users have reported that music files saved on their computer were removed without their permission," Apple said. "We're taking these reports seriously as we know how important music is to our customers and our teams are focused on identifying the cause. We have not been able to reproduce this issue, however, we're releasing an update to iTunes early next week which includes additional safeguards. If a user experiences this issue they should contact AppleCare."
It is unclear why Pinkstone's library was erroneously removed from his computer (luckily he had a backup), though members of Apple's Support Communities forums suggest the culprit could be a database bug in the latest version of iTunes.
Comments
Who would un-subscribe without first downloading (i.e. 're-downloading') their entire library back onto their computer?
Their music sync service violates one of the first tenets of software: “user input/data is sacred.” Of course that was written long before a good number of Apple Employees were born (~1984). So I can see why something like that is overlooked.
Anyway, if there’s a class action lawsuit over this, I will probably opt-in since I did lose irreplaceable audio files of my friends’ performances that can never be recreated.
if you don't have a backup of your priceless CD rips, you're an idiot. music is no different than photos or docs -- your hard drive WILL fail one day. you should have a second copy and preferably an off-site. Backblaze is dollars a month for all your stuff...with a great remote access app to boot. what are you waiting for?!
Hence its no surprise IMO that some people consider having their photos, music and other media in the cloud a valid replacement for a backup.
Now there are watches, iPads, MacBooks, MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, Mac Pros (no update in almost 3 years), Mac Minis, Spaceship campus, electric cars, iPhones, Apple TV, OS X, iTunes, Beats... Just look back to 1995 to see what's wrong with this picture.
Are you seriously counting the Spaceship Campus as a product line?
How much do you think they'll sell them for? If I buy a Spaceship Campus online, will I be able to collect it from my local Apple Store?
While you're at it, why not count Ive's Bentley and Jobs's yacht?
Yes, when people say things like 'Apple strongly suggest' that usually means is 'this is what I've decided Apple means inside my own head'.
What Apple says is that if you put things on iCloud then it will show up on all your devices. What Apple also says is that if you delete an item it will be removed from all your devices.
Now I'm not the sharpest tool in the box, but even I wasnt surprised to find that deleting something from iCloud also deleted it from every device connected to iCloud. That's kind of how the Cloud works. iCloud is not a backup tape drive, it's a syncing engine.
And even if Apple did say it was a replacement for local storage then I don't see the problem: local storage still needs to be backed up.
For someone to protect their most precious stuff for free, I suspect.
says a lot, and so does,
"In an extremely small number of cases users have reported that music files saved on their computer were removed without their permission,"
'Reported' but they're unable to repeat the problem or find the cause. It could be a bug, or it could be caused by something else the user is doing (like giving their permission) or something else that is interacting with their iTunes setup, possibly even bugs in OSX.
So it's time for some defensive programming: stop iTunes from deleting files at all. Nuke the delete instructions from orbit; it's the only way to be sure.
Think databases: never delete anything. Just move files to an archive folder.
Yes, things were so much better then. Clearly, the iPhone was one product too many…