Apple's iTunes Match makes premature UK debut
iTunes Match has gone live prematurely across Europe, hitting users’ iTunes programs before all its functionality was ready.
iTunes users in the UK, France and further afield in Australia were given the option to sign up for the cloud-based song matching service, before it was hastily pulled.
Those that did manage to sign up before the option disappeared again complained of a problematic sign-up process, with the Match options in the iTunes browser merely re-directing to Genius playlist options.
It’s not all bad news though, as it means an official iTunes Match launch around the globe is edging closer. It will cost £21.99 when it goes fully live, and those who signed up for the hamstrung service are now being offered a refund.
iTunes Match checks your existing music library and gives you access to high quality versions of the songs stored on Apple’s servers, effectively giving you access to your entire catalogue of music, ready for download wherever you may be.
However, the service has come under fire for also matching songs downloaded from less legit stores than Apple’s own, meaning pirates can also use iTunes Match without too many hitches.
