Tidal, Deezer

Correct. You aren't getting a high fidelity output file.

Though, I have to say having the ability to cue up just about any album I want makes streaming so delightful. 
If you really want to have the music saved to your catalog, then just buy it. -Like we used to do.
B

easola - 
re your first paragraph - YES.  If the service loses rights to an artistist's album, it is no longer available - whether previously downloaded and whether currently connected or not.

re your second paragraph: DOWNLOADED Spotify music files ARE stored on your local device.  They just can't be played back independent of using the service's app located on your device.  

I have large music libraries in both Spotify and Tidal.  Not all the albums in these libraries are downloaded.  To access all content in these libraries, I must have a live, real time, streaming connection to the service (in my case, either Spotify or Tidal) via their app.

ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) is not lossy (though compressed).  The AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format used for Apple iTunes Music service files is lossy and compressed.

Agree 100% w/gdnrbob - we are living in a Golden Age of music accessibility.  Spotify (preferred for it's larger library and - to me - cleaner interface design) & Tidal (preferred for superior sound quality) are treasures and fantastic avenues for discovering new music.  Still, if I find a gem that rewards repeated listening, I will purchase the CD and then rip to hard drive for playback through an Auralic Aries Mini.  To my ear, this format is better than Spotify, Tidal or the CD.
    

Ghosthouse....a few questions as you are very thorough in your knowledge and answers:

1) Why do you have tidal and spotify? Do you find very many tracks on one and not the other...therefore between the two a more complete selection?

2) Do you come across dropped licenses very often in these two services?

3) If I use itunes to develop a library, as I said it can download songs into your storage, what would be a really good metadata for AAC?

Thanks a bunch

easola1 -
Don’t be impressed. I try to be thorough (and accurate) but my technical competency with these things is pretty limited. I had Spotify first. I got used to it. Liked the layout and really like the Browse/Discover function. That introduced me to a lot of new music. I’m sure Tidal has something similar. Spotify also has a high success rate for containing the music I’m looking for. Tidal’s SQ is definitely better (even apart from the MQA files) - I prefer it to that of Spotify but I’m regularly unable to find albums on Tidal that are found on Spotify. I also encounter buffering delays (in the middle of songs, sometimes) with Tidal - especially at night - but never with Spotify. When listening on the main system, Tidal is the "go to" but I use Spotify as backup if an album can’t be found on Tidal to if buffering problems strike.

I do think Spotify’s SQ has improved in the years since I first started subscribing thought I’m sure the experts will tell me that is not the case. Anyway, at $10 a month for the Spotify subscription ($0.33 a day?) it was worth keeping Spotify even after I finally got the Tidal HiFi subscription. With either subscription, a dropped artist license is fairly rare...but it does occasionally happen. Go to play something from the library and find it grayed out, "That track is no longer available" (or words to that effect). Rare and nothing I get too concerned about. Like I said, if a recording is that important to me, I’ll just buy it.

Apart from using the iTunes player, I have nothing to offer on alternatives for managing AAC metadata. Don’t know if Roon does AAC (don’t have it). That should be something easy to learn, however. Good luck in your explorations.

Thank you, this is brand new for me and quite exciting I must say