A problem in the new iTunes 12.2 update — which including a substantial behind-the-scenes change to the database part of the program to accommodate the new Apple Music features, and which caused confusion in metadata and album art in song files — has allegedly been fixed in a new update, bringing the program to version 12.2.1. The update, now available through the Mac App Store, is also said to correct a problem where uploaded DRM-free music in users’ iCloud Music Libraries had been replaced with DRM-enabled Apple Music versions.
The company explains the problem as having affected users who were currently or had ever subscribed to iTunes Match, a $25-per-year cloud storage service that predates the feature in Apple Music where subscribers get their music uploaded to the cloud. The iTunes Match program normally matches music subscribers have with entries in the DRM-free iTunes Store, and makes it available for streaming or re-downloading.
By comparison, Apple Music’s version of the service uses DRM’d copies of the songs, since the matched library will no longer be available to users if they unsubscribe to the paid portion of the service. Users keep the songs they downloaded from Apple Music in their libraries, but can’t play them on other devices without renewing the subscription.
In addition to correcting the confused song statuses of matched song files, the update is also said to fix the mixup of album art and other metadata for song files in the local iTunes libraries of current or former iTunes Match users. The song files and their properties themselves were unaltered, but iTunes 12.2 would incorrectly report database characteristics such as album name or even title, among other issues.
The problems with a confused music database do not appear to be corrected in the update, per users tweets and posts.
The 12.2.1 update also includes “minor bug fixes and improvements for Beats 1,” likely to do with adjusting the cache size of the high-quality stream (which broadcasts at 256kbps AAC) or allowing the quality to be degraded somewhat when on cellular to save bandwidth.
