Apple Music Users: How to Disable iTunes Match Subscription Auto-renew

Apple is taking some of the confusion out of its subscription services by bringing iTunes Match’s song matching system to Apple Music. That means Apple Music users will get a much better matching algorithm, they get DRM-free versions of matched songs, and they don’t need their iTunes Match subscriptions any more. If that sounds like a winning combo to you, it’s time to disable auto-renew for your iTunes Match account. Read on to learn how.

No need to pay for iTunes Match thanks to Apple Music improvements

When Apple Music launched a year ago, it used track metadata to match songs in your library to Apple’s own collection. That wasn’t as accurate as users would’ve liked because it sometimes replaced songs in user’s collections with the wrong versions. A live recording, for example, could’ve been replaced with a studio recording.

iTunes Match, on the other hand, uses acoustic fingerprinting, which is far more accurate. That’s what Apple is rolling out to Apple Music users now. That’s good news for users subscribing to both because now you’ll need just your Apple Music account.

Since you won’t need iTunes Match any more, it’s OK to turn off auto-renewal so you don’t pay for another year. Here’s what to do:

Disabling iTunes Match Auto-renew On Your Mac

• Launch iTunes and select the iTunes Store


• Click Account

 

Access your subscription settings from Accounts in iTunes

• Enter your iTunes account password to continue


• Scroll down to iTunes in the Cloud


• Click Turn Off Automatic Renewal

Disable iTunes Match auto renewal from your iTunes in the Cloud settings

Disabling iTunes Match Auto-renew On Your iPhone or iPad

Tap Settings

• Tap iTunes & App Stores


• Tap your Apple ID

Tap your Apple ID to see your account settings

• Select View Apple ID


• Deselect iTunes Match Renewal

Turning off iTunes Match Renewal on the iPhone

You’ll switch to Apple Music’s song matching once your annual iTunes Match subscription expires. If you matched songs through Apple Music already, you’ll need to delete them from your iTunes library, then redownload them to get the DRM-free versions. That adds some extra work, but it keeps Apple from accidentally overwriting songs it shouldn’t.

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