Replying to my own thread here, but to give some context of why a user might want to switch to a local FLAC copy of a track, after initially adding it via Qobuz/Tidal.
Firstly, Roon Radio seems to default to adding tracks from Qobuz/Tidal, even if you already have a local FLAC copy of that album or track in your library.
Often you’ll hear a track picked by Roon Radio and want to quickly add it to a playlist, you might quickly search for a track you’ve just head on a traditional radio show, or have recently Shazamed and want to add it to a playlist to keep track of it. Because Roon defaults to adding the Qobuz/Tidal version, you end up with a playlist made up of the Qobuz/Tidal versions.
There is also the case where you don’t already have a local copy, but after adding a track to a playlist and listening to it a few times, you decide to purchase a local copy — see below for why.
Secondly, in terms of why a user might want to convert or prioritise the tracks in a playlist to local copies.
- Roon ARC will only allow you to create a ‘downloaded playlist’ made up of tracks that exist in your local library. If your playlist points to the Qobuz/Tidal versions, your playlist will be empty when downloaded via ARC.
- Exporting a playlist as a folder of FLAC files for playing in other software. For example using Roon to create a rough order/setlist for a radio show or DJ set, which can then be exported as as a folder of local FLAC files, so that they can then be imported into some external production software, or a pair of CDJs in order to produce a radio show or mix a DJ set.
- Independence from either Qobuz or Tidal. For some playlists you might want to ensure they are entirely made up of local files, so that should Qobuz or Tidal disappear those playlists will continue to point to the files you own. This is particularly pertinent in the case of playlists with vinyl rips and rare singles that don’t exist on a streaming service as there is no easy way to migrate these kinds of ‘hybrid’ playlists using Soundiz or similar. If you migrate away from Qobuz or Tidal you have to manually convert each Qobuz/Tidal version to a local copy via a convoluted and manual process. You can’t use Soundiz for these kinds of ‘hybrid’ playlists, as it will not identify those vinyl rips and rare singles that only exist in your local library.