Apple seeds developers new iTunes 6.1 beta with iCloud iTunes Match

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple has released a new version of iTunes for developer testing of the functionality of iCloud's new iTunes Match feature for storing songs "in the cloud" for flexible access from mobile devices.



Apple has already publicly introduced some new iCloud features in iTunes, including the ability to browse and download any previously purchased songs at no additional charge.



The new iTunes 6.1 beta release is the first to support the "scan and match" cloud access feature that Apple first announced at this summer's Worldwide Developer Conference.



This new feature allows users to pay for an annual iTunes Match subscription that will make their entire existing music collection (including songs not purchased through iTunes) available from Apple's cloud servers as well.



The service will support music collections up to 25,000 songs and costs $24.99 per year. That library limit does not count any songs purchased from iTunes, which are already cloud accessible. The service is also limited to music, and does not support the uploading of apps, audiobooks, books, movies, TV shows, ringtones or interactive content such as iTunes LP liner notes or iTunes Extras for movies.



Users can upload any music they want (up to the 25,000 title limit) onto Apple's cloud servers, but the biggest feature of iTunes Match is its upload-free, automated file matching service.



Rather than forcing users to upload the many gigabytes of data that thousands of songs would involve, Apple's iTunes Match will simply scan the user's library and then make those same songs available from iTunes' vast catalog of songs, effectively allowing users to upgrade their CD collections into cloud-accessible, high quality iTunes downloads without having to repurchase their music as digital downloads.



The beta program is for developer testing only, and Apple warns that any content copied up to its cloud servers during the test period may be erased. For this reason, developer notes tell users testing the service to back up their original songs, and not to delete any music they've uploaded into the service.



Developers participating in the program pay the standard subscription fee, but are given three free months for participating. The iTunes Match feature is currently limited to the Mac version of iTunes only, but once songs are added to the iCloud library, they can be accessed from any computer running the iTunes 10.5 beta as well as any iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running the latest iOS 5 beta.



The iTunes Match service works with up to 10 iTunes PCs and iOS devices connected to the same Apple ID, although only five of those devices can be computers. Apple also notes that a computer or iOS device can only be associated with a new Apple ID once every 90 days.



Apple notes that iTunes Match is currently limited to certain supported song formats "at this time," and that some songs may be matched incorrectly. Matched songs may also be a different version of the same song.



Apple also tells developers to watch out for performance issues on iOS devices, and notes that under the existing iOS 5 beta, music will continue to download from the cloud over cellular connections even if that option has been restricted to WiFi only in the Settings app.





Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    Didn't iTunes 6.1 come out like 2006?
  • Reply 2 of 18
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by roktheworld27 View Post


    Didn't iTunes 6.1 come out like 2006?



    Lol @ that.



    So why would i pay 25 when i can wifi sync the crap out of my collection onto my mobile device? I guess if i am separated from my mac for a while maybe it makes sense, but if i can Get home and sync to my hearts desire, why pay?
  • Reply 3 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by roktheworld27 View Post


    Didn't iTunes 6.1 come out like 2006?



    Well it is actually called iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    Lol @ that.



    So why would i pay 25 when i can wifi sync the crap out of my collection onto my mobile device? I guess if i am separated from my mac for a while maybe it makes sense, but if i can Get home and sync to my hearts desire, why pay?



    Because you can stream the music, you don't have to sync!
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple has released a new version of iTunes for developer testing of the functionality of iCloud's new iTunes Match feature for storing songs "in the cloud" for flexible access from mobile devices. ...

    The new iTunes 6.1 beta release ...





    iTunes 6? We are on iTunes 10!



    If this is about an iOS build of iTunes, then:
    1. Frakking say so, and

    2. Explain how iOS devices can scan and match music when the only music on an iOS device got their through (some definition of) iTunes.

  • Reply 5 of 18
    Ah for christ's sake. When I signed up to reply to this article there were 0 comments but by the time mine was allowed through, the issue had been worked over. Well done AppleInsider.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    Lol @ that.



    So why would i pay 25 when i can wifi sync the crap out of my collection onto my mobile device? I guess if i am separated from my mac for a while maybe it makes sense, but if i can Get home and sync to my hearts desire, why pay?



    Well, I've got a heck of a lot more music than would fit on my iPad, let alone my iPhone. And I'd rather not spend the time shuffling stuff around, when I can spend $2/month and get access to most of my music with no effort whatsoever.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    This would brilliant, albeit impractial, for a 3G iPod Shuffle or Nano.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by alan_e9eK8 View Post


    iTunes 6? We are on iTunes 10!



    If this is about an iOS build of iTunes, then:
    1. Frakking say so, and

    2. Explain how iOS devices can scan and match music when the only music on an iOS device got their through (some definition of) iTunes.




    The devices match through the music settings in the settings app. There is a switch to activate iTunes match if you are a developer who has signed up for it (I'm not signing up for match unless it includes TV shows and movies, but I am a legit apple developer).
  • Reply 9 of 18
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by crisss1205 View Post


    Well it is actually called iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1







    Because you can stream the music, you don't have to sync!



    You can stream? I think Apple's definition of "available" doesn't match.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    You can stream? I think Apple's definition of "available" doesn't match.



    Yes, other sites already have pics up of both streaming and downloading options.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    So far I'm liking it... This will come in handy on my morning jogs. Pandora is good, but I can now control the content I listen to - It's nice having access to my entire library without having to worry about space. iCloud and iTunes Match is much cheaper than what I was paying for MobileMe - Win!!
  • Reply 12 of 18
    now only if the iTunes Match service actually worked cause for me and many more developers in the dev forums gets to Step 2 Matching your music with songs in the iTunes store copy some songs and go back to Step 1... then gets to step 2 and does all over again and goes back to Step 1 mine has so far reset to step 1 from step 2 15 times now...
  • Reply 13 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post




    Users can upload any music they want (up to the 25,000 title limit) onto Apple's cloud servers, but the biggest feature of iTunes Match is its upload-free, automated file matching service.







    What happens with libraries over 25,000 songs?

    Can I choose which songs go to the service?

    Does iTunes just stop after the first 25,000 songs?

    Can I purchase additional capacity on the same account?



    I doubt that this service is geared towards people with huge collections.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SteveLV702 View Post


    now only if the iTunes Match service actually worked cause for me and many more developers in the dev forums gets to Step 2 Matching your music with songs in the iTunes store copy some songs and go back to Step 1... then gets to step 2 and does all over again and goes back to Step 1 mine has so far reset to step 1 from step 2 15 times now...



    Yeah, Me too. Sucks! Fix this shiz Apple!
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SteveLV702 View Post


    now only if the iTunes Match service actually worked cause for me and many more developers in the dev forums gets to Step 2 Matching your music with songs in the iTunes store copy some songs and go back to Step 1... then gets to step 2 and does all over again and goes back to Step 1 mine has so far reset to step 1 from step 2 15 times now...



    Now if only they had some form of showing that it wasn't ready yet.. perhaps a new versioning system could be made up for that. Like say alpha would be internal use and then we could have beta be what a broader audience of testers would see.

    Now if only there was such a versioning system in place.
  • Reply 16 of 18
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kenmadsen View Post


    Now if only they had some form of showing that it wasn't ready yet.. perhaps a new versioning system could be made up for that. Like say alpha would be internal use and then we could have beta be what a broader audience of testers would see.

    Now if only there was such a versioning system in place.



    LOL. And the "beta-testers" still have no idea what you are talking about.



    Perhaps we need a Public Service Announcement to flash every few minutes on Google.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    urthourtho Posts: 17member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drewfreemanrph View Post


    What happens with libraries over 25,000 songs?

    Can I choose which songs go to the service?

    Does iTunes just stop after the first 25,000 songs?

    Can I purchase additional capacity on the same account?



    I doubt that this service is geared towards people with huge collections.



    I may be wrong, but I think that the Match part of the service is unlimited songs, as you are just referencing a master file they send out to all customers. The 25000 other songs are limited to those that iTunes does not carry. So if you have 50k songs that you got from small bands with no iTunes presence, then yes you are out of luck. However if most of your library is part of the 18 million+ songs that iTunes sells, then those don't count against your total. At least that is what I recall from the keynote.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by urtho View Post


    I may be wrong, but I think that the Match part of the service is unlimited songs, as you are just referencing a master file they send out to all customers. The 25000 other songs are limited to those that iTunes does not carry. So if you have 50k songs that you got from small bands with no iTunes presence, then yes you are out of luck. However if most of your library is part of the 18 million+ songs that iTunes sells, then those don't count against your total. At least that is what I recall from the keynote.



    Nope. The unlimited part is iTunes purchases. 25k is the limit to songs matched not including iTunes purchases. And I believe that the limit for unmatched songs which are uploaded is 5 gigs.
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