Apple Releases iTunes Match To Developers - With Streaming! [Video]
August 30, 2011
Apple has just released the first beta version of its upcoming iTunes Match program to developers, with a surprising unannounced feature. First announced in June, the service lets users sync their iTunes library to iCloud for $24.99 per year for up to 25'000 songs. For all users, iTunes Match is expected to become available once iOS 5 comes out sometime this fall. The service lets you store you entire music collection, including music you've ripped from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes. It works by determining which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to your iCloud music library for you to listen to anytime, on any device, while the rest is automatically uploaded. Then, all songs that match play back at 256-kbps iTunes Plus quality - even if your original copy was of lower copy.
The surprise of the day however comes from the fact that iTunes match is bringing a feature that Apple hadn't announced; streaming. Indeed, once your music has been uploaded, you can listen to it directly from Apple's servers, without saving a local copy whether you're on a Mac or iOS device. In a nutshell, iTunes match has finally pushed iTunes in the cloud. To give you a better idea, the f0lks at IGM have put together a great walkthrough of the feature, check it out: