Get rid of cloud symbol that shows in top left corner itunes?

I don't want icloud on my laptop or iphone but alot of the time i have this cloud popping up with animated stripes moving along its inside.

I've spent 1 hour reading up what that particular cloud symbol means and nobody seems to know the answer. Apple's site gives a lame explaination.

I have itunes on a macbook pro and i also keep music on a iphone 5. I used icloud in the past but now want to remove any reference to it on my systems.

Do i need to delete any tracks that have cloud symbols on them?

System Preferences > iCloud