Backing Up Purchased Music

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On the Apple Account Information screen, you will see the Computer Authorizations section that shows how many computers are currently authorized to play music from the account you are logged in under.

Because you don't have music that you purchase from the iTunes Music Store "backed up" on a disc (like you do for the music you have on audio CD), you should make sure you back up the music you buy. The easiest way to do this is to burn a disc from the Purchased Music playlist. Of course, if you have purchased more than can fit on a single CD or DVD, you will need to use multiple discs to back up the entire collection.

Consider creating a smart playlist whose criteria is based on the date you added music to your Library and for which live updating is enabled. When you purchase new music, update the criteria so that the added date is just before you made your most recent purchase. Then, all the music you purchased since that date will be added to the playlist. Burn that playlist to disc, and you will have backed up the new music you purchased since the last time you did this.

The Absolute Minimum

The iTunes Music Store is well designed and makes finding and buying music from individual songs from your favorite one-hit wonder to complete collections of classic artists easy. As you work with the tunes you buy, remember the following musical morsels:

• When you purchase music from the iTunes Music Store, it is downloaded into your Library.

• By default, all the music you purchased from the iTunes Music Store is stored in the Purchased Music playlist.

• To play purchased music on a computer, that computer must be authorized. You can have up to five computers authorized at the same time. You can deauthorize a computer by selecting the Deauthorize Computer command.

• To play purchased music on a computer that is different from the one on which you purchased it, you can move the purchased music to another computer. There are several ways to do this.

• There are a couple of ways to see the music you have purchased. One is to use the Purchased Music playlist. You can also use the Purchase History information for your iTunes account to see a list of all the music you have purchased from the iTunes Music Store.

• You should back up the music you purchase from the iTunes Music Store. The easiest way is to do this is to burn a CD or DVD of the Purchased Music playlist.