iTunes Match

32 'iTunes Match' stories August 2011 - December 2011

iTunes Match (mistakenly?) begins rolling out to Europe for 24,99€/year, Canada and Australia too?

Jordan Kahn Dec 14 2011 - 3:48 pm PT

We’re starting to get reports that Apple is sending out emails to users in Spain and elsewhere in Europe notifying them the iTunes Match service is officially available for 24,99 € per year (as shown above). One Twitter user also claims that he was able to subscribe to the service in Europe two days ago before iTunes told him it was a mistake and returned his money.

“I managed to buy iTunes Match in Europe two days ago. Now they told me it was mistake and returned the money.

The email he provides looks identical to the one above apart from the language. It’s of course possible this is a slip up on Apple’s part ahead of an official rollout in the near future. Let us know in the comments if you have access to the service, which you can try here.

We’ve got reports coming in from Canada where it is listed at C$27.99/year and Australia where it is A$39.99. In the UK, it is £21.99.

Last week Apple also opened up the cloud service to users in Brazil to accompany the launch of the iTunes Store in Latin America.
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What do these new items in iTunes mean about your Match Library?

Jordan Kahn Nov 14 2011 - 8:29 pm PT

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If you don’t know by now, Apple has officially opened up their iTunes Match service to the public, bringing with it 256-kbps AAC DRM-free copies of your non-iTunes purchased music for $25 a year. To help familiarize users with the service, Apple has posted the following chart walking us through some new iTunes Match related iCloud icons you’ll start to notice in iTunes.

In addition, they also dropped some helpful guides explaining the ins and outs of the service including Troubleshooting iTunes Match, How to subscribe to iTunes Match, How to add a computer or iOS device to iTunes Match, and How to delete songs from iCloud.

In the troubleshooting guide, we learn you can enable a column within iTunes to display the iTunes Match/iCloud status of any given song in your library. For example, whether it’s a “Matched” song or just “Uploaded”. To do this, click “View > View Options” or press “Command-J“, and click the “iCloud Status” checkbox (same place you also enable “iCloud download”).

A MacRumors forum poster also offers a few helpful hints, while noting iTunes Match keeps your meta-data (a nice touch if you tend to edit data associated with your songs), the post clears up some concerns regarding the intricacies of what happens with your local copies:
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Apple releases iTunes 10.5.1, Match is available now

Jake Smith Nov 14 2011 - 9:22 am PT

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Following the recent release of the iTunes 10.5.1 beta 3 to developers, Apple today started pushing out iTunes 10.5.1 to the public. You should see the update appearing in Software Update any second, otherwise it’s already available for download from Apple’s site here.

Apple also confirmed the availability of iTunes Match in the U.S., with the following announcement on their iTunes page. iTunes Match syncs users’ music to iCloud for $24.99 a year. Unlimited songs can be synced and doesn’t affect iCloud storage, but only songs that are available on iTunes can be synced.

Even though it is available to the public, Apple is still labeling iTunes Match as a beta product. Developers who tested Match will still receive a free three months with a year subscription.

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Apple releases iTunes 10.5.1 Beta 2 to developers, featuring iTunes Match for Apple TV

Jake Smith Nov 2 2011 - 5:47 pm PT

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Following the release of iOS 5.0.1 this afternoon to developers, Apple has released iTunes 10.5.1 Beta 2 to developers this evening. Along with being posted to the Developer Center, Apple has sent out the following email to developers. In the email Apple now reveals that iTunes Match has been made available for Apple TV. This update also includes a number of bug fixes. Sadly, iTunes Match still isn’t available to the public.

iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 is now available and includes a number of important stability and performance improvements. iTunes Match is also now available for testing on Apple TV.

On your Apple TV, choose Music > Turn on iTunes Match.

Please remember to backup regularly and do not delete the music you add to iCloud from your computer.

How’s it looking on your Apple TV? Let us know; tips@9to5mac.com. Full email after the break:

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Apple misses iTunes Match end of October deadline

9to5 Staff Nov 1 2011 - 6:01 am PT

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As noted by MacRumors, Apple’s self-imposed end of October deadline has come and gone without the promised public launch of iTunes Match. The service will scan your local iTunes library and fingerprint songs in order to make them available for download (or was it streaming?) via iCloud to all authorized devices – for $25 a year flat fee, no strings attached. It’s unknown what’s behind this unusual setback. Could be last-minute backend issues that needed sorting out. Be that as it may, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Tim Cook to keep a tight rein on his team now that the ultimate micro-manager is gone.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that Apple removed support for iTunes Match from the public release of iTunes 10.5 even though it’s been present in prior developer betas. iTunes Match resurfaced in iTunes 10.5.1 beta that was seeded to developers on October 11 and subsequently expired. Apple also last week sent notices informing developers their cloud libraries will get wiped out, another sign of an imminent launch.

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Apple seeds iTunes 10.5.1 beta to developers with iTunes Match beta

Jordan Kahn Oct 11 2011 - 11:36 am PT

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Right after releasing iTunes 10.5, Apple has begun seeding developers with the iTunes 10.5.1 beta, which also includes the latest iTunes Match beta. Like before, the release notes mention iCloud libraries will be deleted at the end of the beta. Of course it also comes with the usual bug fixes and enhancements, but we’ll let you know if we find anything interesting. Full release notes after the break.

The official Twitter iOS client has also been given an update today (via MacStories), bringing an “enhanced sign up experience”, the ability to upload photos to pic.twitter.com, and a redesigned direct message UI for iPad. The improved sign up experience comes courtesy of iOS 5’s ability to access Twitter account data from the Settings app, opposed to re-authenticating manually. You can grab version 3.5.0 from the App Store now.

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Apple says iTunes Match has re-opened for U.S. developers, but is it for you?

Jake Smith Sep 10 2011 - 3:41 pm PT

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Apple has just sent out an email this afternoon notifying developers that iTunes Match has re-opened for developers, after registration was shut-down shortly after it launched. Sadly, we’re hearing from several people around the web that they still aren’t able to get in, but some lucky few are. Frustrating, huh?

iTunes Match beta testing has now been expanded to additional developers in the United States.
iTunes Match stores your music library in iCloud and allows you to enjoy your collection from anywhere, any time, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or computer. Any of your songs, including music you’ve imported from CDs, that matches with the 18 million songs in the iTunes Store will become available in iCloud and will play back at iTunes Plus quality (256 Kbps DRM-free AAC) — even if your original was of a lower quality.

iTunes Match allows users to store their music library in iCloud, where it can then be downloaded to their iOS devices or other Macs. The service is currently available to developers for $24.99 a year, but it will see a public launch alongside iOS 5. Let us know in the comments section below if you’re able to get in. Full email below:

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Apple releases iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1 to developers, features iTunes Match beta

Jake Smith Aug 29 2011 - 5:20 pm PT

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Developers, get downloading! Apple has just begun seeding iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1 to developers, which features iTunes Match. This is the first time developers will be able to get their hands on the new cloud platform, announced by Apple at WWDC in June. The beta is available in the United States, and still has the $24.99 subscription cost with it. Apple sent the following email to developers seen after the break.

Apple warns that what is uploaded to iCloud will be deleted at the end of the beta period. Also, Apple wants to thank developers of their service with a free beta period and an additional free three months with their 12 months purchase.

For your perusal, we’ve included the release notes after the break:

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