iTunes has launched its much-anticipated ‘Match’ service in the UK, letting users store and stream their music collection online by matching owned songs with those already existing in Apple’s music library.
iTunes Match scans a users’ iTunes library, including songs acquired from other MP3 download sites or ripped from CDs. Users can register up to 25,000 songs.
Users can then stream their music collection to a host of devices, including Macs, PCs and Apple’s iOS kit on iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, as well as Apple TV.
Tracks are played back at 256kbps, even if the original file was of a lower quality.
The service has come under fire from some, because it lets users upload tracks they could have acquired through illegal file-sharing services.
Apple will charge £22 per year for using the service.