Apple Music includes a subscription to iTunes Match, so if you're paying for Apple Music, you can cancel your iTunes Match subscription. You don't need a separate subscription. Whether you subscribe to iTunes Match or use Apple Music, you should still back up your personal music collection.
You don't need to pay for iTunes Match if you have Apple Music
With Apple Music, you have access to more than 50 million songs, ad-free and you can even download them on any supported device for offline listening. You also get full support for iTunes Match, which lets you upload up to 100,000 songs from your personal CD or digital library. Songs you've purchased through iTunes don't count toward your 100,000 song limit.
When you use iTunes Match, Apple uses the iTunes Store's DRM-free catalog to "match" the tracks you've uploaded. So you can quickly and easily add them to your iCloud Music library and listen to high-quality songs on all your devices. If a song doesn't exist in Apple's iTunes catalog, your file will be uploaded instead.
If you're just signing up for Apple Music, or if you've been paying for both services, you don't need to pay for them both. You can cancel your iTunes Match subscription and just pay for your Apple Music plan. You'll still get the same excellent cloud storage you've had all along.
Before you cancel back up your music
iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library is not a backup service, and Apple notes that in its support document. To be sure that your personal music collection is safe, you should always back it up before you make any changes.
How to back up your iTunes Music Library
Cancel iTunes Match like you would any subscription
Your subscription to iTunes Match can be found where all of your Apple subscriptions are found. You can cancel at any time, and your subscription will last until the end of your current year runs out.
Master your iPhone in minutes
iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!
How to cancel an iTunes Match subscription
What if I don't want Apple Music?
Of course, if you don't subscribe to Apple Music or if you want to cancel your Apple Music subscription, but still want to use iTunes Match, you can sign up for (or renew your subscription to) iTunes Match at any time. Remember to back up your music collection before you get started!
How to sign up for iTunes Match
Stream everywhere
50 million songs at your fingertips.
You have access to Apple's entire library of music to stream songs, albums, and playlists on Wi-Fi or download music for offline listening on any device.
Sans Apple Music
Store high-quality versions of your music in iCloud.
iTunes Match will match your personal music collection with high-quality DRM-free versions so you can listen to them from iCloud Music Library.
Music backup
Always back up your music collection.
Even if all of your music is stored in iCloud, you should never assume that it's safe. Back it up before canceling or signing up for iTunes Match.
Lory is a renaissance woman, writing news, reviews, and how-to guides for iMore. She also fancies herself a bit of a rock star in her town and spends too much time reading comic books. If she's not typing away at her keyboard, you can probably find her at Disneyland or watching Star Wars (or both).