Apple launching iTunes Match internationally in UK, Europe, Australia

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
On the heels of the arrival of iTunes Match in Brazil, Apple on Wednesday began rolling out its new music service to a number of other countries, including France, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, though some users report having trouble activating it.



Apple launched iTunes Match in the U.S. in mid-November, a couple weeks later than originally planned. Announced in June, the $24.99-per-year service allows users to match up to 25,000 songs from their iTunes music collection with songs on the iTunes Music Store, thereby making matched songs available in iCloud.



Reports emerged around the world Wednesday evening that the service was gradually going live in a range of countries. According to TheNextWeb, iTunes Match prices range from £21.99 in the U.K., ?24.99 in France and AUD$39.99. The service also appears to have arrived in Canada for CAD$27.99.



However, there appear to be some early problems with the launch, as a number of users report being unable to sign up for or access the service yet. The issues are likely just kinks in the system as the service goes live, as customers in Brazil reported a similar experience when iTunes Match arrived there earlier this week, but it's also possible that the launch was accidental.



In September, it was reported that Apple was negotiating international licenses for cloud-based music similar to agreements it had reached in the U.S.







Analysts don't expect Apple to make much profit off the service, but they do see it as an important opportunity for the company to further develop its iTunes ecosystem. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster recently called projected revenue from iTunes Match "immaterial," likening it to the iTunes Music Store and App Store, which are meant to drive hardware sales while earning modest profits.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Australia, being ripped off by publishers since 1788.



    Forty bucks is a pretty big ask, f*&k you ARIA.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    this was deploy by mistake, its not working in Canada. Just like when they activated Apple TV TV shows in canada by mistake.



    But obviously they are getting ready to release something soon.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    I'm in New Zealand and have no 'Turn On iTunes Match' in my iTunes...
  • Reply 4 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigbadrobbo View Post


    I'm in New Zealand and have no 'Turn On iTunes Match' in my iTunes...



    Oh, I see, you can from this link: https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObje...workflowID=260



    It's $40 in New Zealand.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    On the heels of the arrival of iTunes Match in Brazil, Apple on Wednesday began rolling out its new music service to a number of other countries, including France, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, though some users report having trouble activating it.



    Apple launched iTunes Match in the U.S. in mid-November, a couple weeks later than originally planned. Announced in June, the $24.99-per-year service allows users to match up to 25,000 songs from their iTunes music collection with songs on the iTunes Music Store, thereby making matched songs available in iCloud.

    [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ][/c]



    I just tried to sign up for it, but I have more than 25,000 songs not purchased from iTunes. Time to move all the royalty free tracks I have to a different account. :-(



  • Reply 6 of 16
    We must not be part of 'Europe' anymore
  • Reply 7 of 16
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Apple's server-side people really are the pits. Rolling stuff out prematurely! How little attention do you have to be paying to what you are doing to do that. Probably theirs is the unappreciated role, while all the fun stuff is in the devices area.
  • Reply 8 of 16
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gctwnl View Post


    We must not be part of 'Europe' anymore



    According to AppleInsider, Europe consists of France. UK isn't an European country either, apparently.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    Yeah, they should have written "parts of Europe".

    Another point: I have read somewhere that in some cases (for some US-customers) added lyrics got deleted with iTunes Match. And also some manually added artwork.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gon View Post


    According to AppleInsider, Europe consists of France. UK isn't an European country either, apparently.



    There aren't that many people in the UK that want us to be part of the EU anyway.



    Don't know why the UK has to pay £22, £19.60 (which includes our VAT/Taxes) would be about the same as the USA.



    Either way I'm signing up for the service, glad it came out so soon after the states.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    No option on store menu to join match, but the URL above allowed me to sign up, then iTunes reported a 'problem' and made me log out and back in, after which the match menu option was gone.

    Seems like they have charged me for a service i cannot use yet...
  • Reply 12 of 16
    No update to the article that this was a false alarm and they are giving people refunds? Way to stay on top of things.



    Better this way, Match isn't ready for prime time so they should fix it before rolling out buggy software to more regions.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    No update to the article that this was a false alarm and they are giving people refunds? Way to stay on top of things.



    Better this way, Match isn't ready for prime time so they should fix it before rolling out buggy software to more regions.





    Absolutely agree with this. AI needs to follow-up on this fuckup.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    You wont see any negative remarks by AI on Apple if they update this story.



    On a different note what's with the $27.99 charge instead of $24.99...ya it's only a couple of bucks but the dollar is at par now...but I am happy this (or will be) offered in Canada.



    Sucks for people in other countries getting gouged, like NZ and Australia.





    Hope this works soon so I can reclaim my lost music (original NAS crashed, lost a ton of music, but they still have a placeholder in my iTunes Library).
  • Reply 15 of 16
    What's price in London ??
  • Reply 16 of 16
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by olivia432 View Post


    What's price in London ??



    Try reading the story.
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