Apple expands iTunes Match support in Europe, Latin America

[Jos]

Apple has completed its second major international rollout for iTunes Match since its U.S. launch in November. The service is now available in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Lithuania, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Apple has been moving fast considering most of these countries only gained access to the iTunes Music Store back in December.

The launch means Apple's music locker is now available in 37 countries around the world, after an initial expansion that included only Brazil followed by mostly European countries. The $25-a-year subscription service scans your entire music library and compares it against some 20 million songs in Apple's database so that any matches -- even if ripped from CDs or acquired illegally -- will become available for download onto your Apple devices as high quality 256kbps AAC files. Songs not found in Apple's catalog will be uploaded to your digital locker.

Apple's iTunes Match is integrated with the iCloud platform, which taps into the cloud to synchronize files, content, and apps between Apple devices. Although iCloud doesn't technically "stream" music to you on demand, it uses a simultaneous listen and download approach to create the same effect.

You can clear music you've downloaded at any time if you want to free up space and re-download later. The service includes a 25,000 song limit, although iTunes Store purchases don't count towards the total.

A full list detailing iTunes Match and other Apple services availability by country can be found here.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/47073-apple-expands-itunes-match-support-in-europe-latin-america.html

 

[Burty117]

So wait it is only $25 a year? I may purchase it for one year if anything to get some of my older MP3's to higher quality!

 

[slh28]

burty117 said:
So wait it is only $25 a year? I may purchase it for one year if anything to get some of my older MP3's to higher quality!

That's what I was thinking. But do you still get to keep the higher quality files once you cancel the subscription? Something tells me that would be too good to be true...

 

[Burty117]

slh28 said:
That's what I was thinking. But do you still get to keep the higher quality files once you cancel the subscription? Something tells me that would be too good to be true...

That, is a very good question? I would assume you can keep them as the file itself is actually downloaded not streamed, but It is definately worth an answer. I will go and have a google.

 

[Burty117]

Found it:

http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/itunes-match/

Quote:

What happens if I don?t resubscribe after the first year? Will I lose any upgraded songs?
No. Any songs you?ve upgraded or downloaded again are completely safe. The only thing you lose is the central storage ? iCloud will no longer stream or download matched or uploaded songs to your devices.

 

[slh28]

Nice, I'm sold!