razormaid

I knew the analysts that predicted the name would be iPhone 5 (fill in anything) were wrong. That was stupid and idiotic to think Apple employees would have to explain on an hourly basis "well I know it says 5 but it's our newest iPhone offering"...

why does AI even qualify these people by releasing such stupid predictions?

I'm not buying into this for one minute!  How stupid would it be to take everything inside a iPhone 6 and give it a name that's now 2 years old. Talk about confusing people who want the latest edition in a smaller form factor. So each Apple employee has to stop and explain the number "5" has nothing to do with it?  This is in fact an iPhone 6 mini but we used a number from 2 years ago which next year will probably be retired anyway?  Nope. Even Apple wouldn't be that stupid. I believe there will be a 4" model but there's no way they're going to slap a "5" anywhere near it. To the lay person they would just buy the 4" Samsung because at least it has a 6 in the name. Who comes up with the crap?

We skipped Christmas this year and after I submitted my purchases to that poll I could see why. We bought (2) iPhone 6S+, iPad mini 4, iPad Pro with the pencil + keyboard Smart Cover and regular Smart Cover and even purchased the Watch sport model.

I would have bought a new laptop but when I took my 17" laptop in for Apple's $270 "tune-up" program when I got it back there was a laundry list f replacements. Holy crap!  It was working perfectly. I just wanted them to see if anything looked in need of repair before it turned 5.

They replace the LCD screen, put in a new logic board, replaced my 5 year battery, replaced the track mouse (because the battery swelled a little pushing against it slightly, damaging the edges) and even replaced my brand new 16GB ram upgrade saying "what you bought wasn't optimized for your unit."  But more shocking than everything they replaced, they didn't charge me the $270 "tune-up" fee because evidently my LCD screen was part of a recall I chose to not take part in. The handed me an invoice shoeing $0.00 owed. I refused to sign it. When I tried to pay them they said "anytime a recall is performed everything else replaced during the recall repair is then free".  WTF?   I tired to make them take the money saying "that's not fair. I didn't know there was a recall I want to pay for what you replaced". They finally got a manager involved who also wouldn't take my money. Geez I just wanted to do the right thing here!

Anyway, with all of the above, I decided to forfeit Christmas and give what I would have spent (tree, presents, etc...) to the Humane Society as a large donation, along with a big bag of toys. I already had Christmas all year long. 

Hey where's the poll results?  
I was just curious what others bought. 
Happy Holidays guys!!

slprescott said:

But the question was not about Apple Music (for which you gave a good explanation). The question was about the difference between:
  1. iTunes Match
  2. iCloud Music Library

Ok here's the official answer - the ONLY reason I know is because for weeks now I've been working with upper management trying to resolve an issue with iTunes Match. But the question should be what's the difference between iTunes Match and Apple Music, because iCloud Music Library is used for both services. 

So let's start with the difference between iTunes Match, Apple Music and why you need both (very frustrating I know)

iTunes Match = Stuff you own 
Apple Music = Stuff you don't own
iCloud Music Library = needed for both 

iTUNES MATCH:
When turned on, allows apple to "scan" your music library on your computer with iTunes open and store the music in iCloud Music Library. By doing that you can uninstall ALL music on your device freeing up space (in my case almost 20GB). iTunes Match chooses three options automatically for recreating your library and THIS is the biggest difference between Apple Music and iTunes Match. 

Stage 1: iTunes Match matches music on your computer with music available on iTunes store. This allows you more room for uploading music, because if 10,000 of your songs are available on iTunes Store then Apple makes an "alias" to that group of songs and doesn't require that you upload those 10,000 songs as part of your 25,000 song limit. 

Stage 2: "Match" then takes the music (or versions) not found in iTunes Store and manually uploads them to iCloud Music Library. In our case since we are a record company that does custom dance mixes only available to our members exclusively, even though we've remixed 27 different Depeche Mode songs who's titles are in the iTunes Store, none of ours will be found in the iTunes Store because we can't sell to the public. So iTunes Match uploads ours because Razormaid remixes are uniquely different.

Our complete library consists of 5,737 remixes of over 3,800 artists so that fees up 80GB on our devices. And it gets even better. Because our catalogue is setup with each individual release, as a playlist, because we  have 437 releases over the past 30+ years iTunes Match (via iCloud Mudic Library) uploads the playlists AND all the art work for each track including colored swirl vinyl and custom colored CD's as well as front and back jacket. All of this and I don't have to store a single song on my devices. I click iCloud music library "on" and instantly on all devices everything instantly magically appears. Totally cool!!!

Stage 3:  Here's the best part. As Apple allows 5 computers to use one Apple ID, if you have 5 different music libraries - one on each of the 5 computers... turning iTunes Match "on" on each computer iCloud music library expands to include ALL the music on all 5 computers, even when the computers are not turned on. 

*****
APPLE MUSIC (stuff you don't own)
Heres the problem with using Apple Music only and to explain this lets first look at iTunes Store itself first.

If the record labels do not have a licensing agreement for ALL the music in their catalogue to be sold on the iTunes Store (for instance EMI allowed apple to sell lots of stuff but held back the Beatles library because Yoko wouldn't sign off - I know her personally and that was why!) then those albums will not be available.

Ok so if that can happen on iTunes Store, to a record label's entire catalogue of record labels like CBS, Warner Bros, Polydor, etc... for music you can actually purchase, imagine record companies needing each signed recording to then be signed off on, by each artist for "streaming" and you see the up hill battle of "purchased (iTunes Store) vs "streaming" (Apple Music). Enter Adele. "You can sell my new album, but you can't stream it".  Oh you thought everything in the iTunes Store was available in Apple Music?  Not even.

In fact have you ever even tried to BUY something you heard in Apple Musi? To say "it's a challenge." would be an understatement.  Eventually if you're persistent enough it will toss you out and over into the iTunes Store app, but it's not easy to get there from here. That's because they don't want you to buy - they want you to stream. 

To make this easier to understand let's use classical music as the example. If you go to iTunes Store and type in Mozart Requiem you'll see 100's of different recordings available to PURCHASE, but enter that into Apple Music and maybe you'll see 6 different recordings. "What?  You mean not all music in iTunes Store is available to hear in Apple Music??"  No it's not!  And there in lies the problem. Again I'm using classical music to explain this because it suffers the most in the Appple Music conundrum. 

Because of this "mismatch" that's why you have to have both services. Apple Music for things you don't own (but limited to what the labels make available for streaming) and iTunes Match for all the things you own and have purchased from Apple too. 

Now... On to the answer to your question what's the difference between iCloud music library and iTunes Match?  See how that's not a question?  iCloud music library exists BECAUSE of iTunes Match but it also is needed for Apple Music too 

The confusion with iCloud Music Library is that although you must install it to run both services , it works two different ways depending which service you choose. If you choose both match and Apple Music best of both worlds. If you turn it off you loose it all.

This is because iCloud Music Library is an "either/or" service.

If you turn it OFF you can install your music and playlists found on your computer.

If you turn iCloud music library ON it wipes out your device!!!  (Don't worry you didn't loose your stuff forever only on your device. Turn iCloud music library back off and plug your device into the computer and VOILA it's all back.)

Apple Music doesn't install anything. It uses iCloud Music Library to store your "virtual stuff".  That would include custom radio stations you make. Playlists you make, etc. as soon as you stop Apple Music it all disappears. If you start Apple Music back up within 30 days it's all still there but on both Apple Music and iTunes Match after 30 days the HD is erased. 

I I hope this clears it up for you. If not write me directly. 
razrmaid@aol.com 

PS. The reason you can't find iCloud music library: in Itunes its an option to click on because it's a device settings option in music on your device
iPhone-> Settings-> Music -> iCloud music library

to get to it on your computer click 
Accounts-> iTunes Match-> "renew my membership"
thats where and how you activate and deactivate iCloud music library on the computer