iTunes Match has suddenly stopped syncing

Have now tested deleting a defective album and re-uploading it - it plays fine. So the files are fine.

All of which suggests that there is a new-ish bug here that affects older uploads. Maybe tracks that once matched are now deemed to be unrecognised.

It would be nice if Apple fixed it, as identifying the many thousand defective files and re-uploading them is going to be a massive job.

I'm having this issue on macOS (probably iOS too). I've tried de-authorizing all computers and reauthorizing my main computer. Library is set to sync. I've tried restarting my computer. No dice.

This is a recent issue (last day or so). Been an iTunes Match user since just about day 1.

Reddit is reporting similar issues:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleMusic/comments/1lqn0xr/itunes_match_this_item_cannot_be_downloaded_ios/

Well now I feel a lot better. I noticed it this morning when I tried to play a particular song (that I hadn't played in a while) and kept getting the error. I've signed in and out, unsynced and synced, uninstalled and reinstalled...I've been fighting with it all day.

Thought it was me if it's multiple people, it sounds like a PICNIC.

Hi,

When you stream from iCloud using iTunes Match, you are relying on the music to be available at the time you want to play it. Copyright owners often decide to remove their music from iTunes.

iTunes match is not a backup service and you should have made a backup before deciding to only stream from iCloud. If you still have the original track, you can add it back to you library so that the track can be uploaded.

Jim

I'm having the exact same issue. Some songs play fine but about 20% give me the 'This item cannot be downloaded message'. I use Apple Music and iTunes Match so I can have one library with all my purchased and ripped-from-cd songs in one library. It seems to be the older ones I uploaded years ago which now don't play. I have checked that the albums are still available in iTunes and they are. Because they are old uploads I haven't tried to play any of them recently, so I can't say when this problem started. Mostly it's whole albums, but sometimes it is just a track or two on an otherwise ok album.

My problem songs won't play on any device (iPhone, iPad, several Macs and a PC), so it's not a permissions issue with my main laptop. I think Apple have introduced a bug into Match.

One thing I'm going to try is re-uploading one problem album and see if the new upload works. Fortunately I have it all save on my old PC. However, working out which songs won't play will be such a long process that I'd much rather Apple fixed this!

Thanks @Jimzgoldfinch for the good info. In this case, there is a widespread Apple server issue.