Apple Launches iTunes Match Service Alongside iTunes 10.5.1
After a significant delay, Apple has officially released their iTunes Match service alongside iTunes 10.5.1. iTunes Match, is a $25 annual subscription service which enables Apple users to maintain an iTunes music library mirrored on Apple servers. Users can upload songs that are not available through the iTunes Store, and once synced, tracks are accessible from any iOS device, including the Mac, Windows PC, or Apple TV. Here’s Apple’s official description of the service,
Here’s how it works: iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, most of your music is probably already in iCloud. All you have to upload is what iTunes can’t match. Which is much faster than starting from scratch. Once your music is in iCloud, you can stream and store it on any of your devices. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.
As you may recall, iTunes Match was originally slated to launch by the end of October, but was inevitably delayed. Apple never explained why the service was delayed, but we’re glad to see it up and running now. We’re interested to hear how iOS users will take to the Match service, so let us know if you decide to sign up for it.
iOS users can download iTunes 10.5.1 here.
