Some Apple Music Users Report iCloud Music Library Deleted iTunes Content

Apple Music rollout seems to have been hit by glitches that are causing the deletion of songs and playlists from the iTunes library of several users. The problems seem to occur only when users turn on iCloud Music Library (a feature introduced in iTunes 12.2 and iOS 8.4) with Apple Music, an option that is meant to provide features like offline caching. Other users report problems like the substitution of bad artwork and metadata, apart from the replacement of files with DRM-protected ones.

Multiple threads on Apple's support forum with complaints related to Apple Music list problems such as "iCloud Music Library just destroyed my Mac's iTunes Library." The issue is said to begin only when Apple Music users enable iCloud Music Library to add songs, albums, and playlists to My Music. After enabling the option, some users noticed deleted songs apart from deleted local playlists. Other users pointed out that their iTunes library now has duplicate album covers and other artwork, as well as duplicated files.

(Also see: Everything You Need to Know About Apple Music)

One of the users reported the issue on Apple's forum page and said, "I'm having the same issue and am incredibly frustrated. Literally years' worth of work - collecting music, creating playlists, tweaking metadata, downloading album art and more. After 'upgrading' to iTunes 12.2 my library is now showing 2 or 3 copies of some songs/albums, my playlists have been gutted, some track metadata has been changed to be incorrect, and old albums that I deleted from iTunes Match have suddenly reappeared in my library as 'in the Cloud.' What a disaster."

Alex Hern from The Guardian also faced similar situation as he tweeted, "So iTunes 12.2 managed to remove 6500 songs from my iCloud Music Library which is fun and not at all infuriating."

Another problem pointed out by blogger Kirk McElhearn was that if users matched and downloaded music files from iCloud Music Library, the file was converted into to a DRM-protected file that only works with an Apple Music subscription.

McElhearn noted on his blog, "When you match and download files from iCloud Music Library (without having an iTunes Match subscription), however, you get files with DRM; the same kind of files you get when you download files from Apple Music for offline listening. This means that if you've matched your library with Apple Music and iCloud Music Library, you need to keep backups of your original files. If not, you'll end up with files that you can't play without an Apple Music subscription."

Apple is yet to officially acknowledge the problem or provide a fix.

To recall, Apple released iOS 8.4 for the iPhone, iPad, and the iPod touch on Tuesday, which also brought an updated Music app that included the Apple Music streaming service as well as a 24/7 free radio service called Beats 1. iTunes 12.2 for Mac and Windows with Apple Music and iCloud Music Library was also released on Tuesday.