I just decided to subscribe to iTunes Match, and I have to say, I am really glad I did. It was kind of intuitive to figure out the best way to upgrade my low quality music to the higher quality (256 kbps) music.
- Once you purchase iTunes Match, iTunes will begin matching your songs and uploading the ones it could not match.
- Next to the Search bar, there are four buttons, I recommend clicking the first button for the best listing view.
- You then want to right click under list view. Check iCloud Status and Bit Rate to show those columns.
- Now just sort your music based on the songs that were matched.
- Find the songs that you have in your computer with a quality lower than 256kbps. Delete those songs. Don't worry since they are stored on the cloud. Make sure Delete from iCloud choice is unchecked.
- You will be able to select all of the songs that you deleted and download a higher Bit Rate (256 kbps) quality versions of those songs.
Warning: Any songs you have higher than 256 kbps should not be deleted since iTunes will only match 256 kbps quality songs. I decided to keep the songs I have in my collection that have 320 kbps already. This $25 per year investment seems completely worth it. I highly recommend the iTunes Match service to anyone who owns Apple products. Also, use the process I described at your risk. Happy iTunes Matching!
