After missing its end of October deadline, Apple has finally launched iTunes Match in the new iTunes 10.5.1 update. You can now download iTunes Match which comes bundled with the latest iTunes 10.5.1 for Windows and Mac.
iTunes Match is pure bloody genius. That's the only way to describe it. After you download iTunes Match and subscribe to this service, your whole music library will be scanned and those tracks will automatically be available in the cloud. If for some reason your song fails to get matched, you can manually upload it using iTunes Match. This music collection, which resides in the cloud, can be accessed using iTunes on any PC or Mac as well as Apple TV and all iOS based devices.
There's also a very big advantage that you get after you download iTunes Match and start using it. If the songs in your collection match with those in the main iTunes Store library, a 256kbps AAC file of that very song will be added to your library in the cloud allowing you to listen to that song in high quality even if it was added as a pirated song in your local iTunes library. This is one feature that gives iTunes Match a competitive edge over other cloud music services in the market as all of them require you to upload your own music which would always only be played back in the same quality as the original uploaded file. With iTunes Match, you only have to upload songs that are not present in the main iTunes Store library that contains well over 20 million songs.
This amazing service isn't for free though. You can download iTunes Match with iTunes 10.5.1 for Windows and Mac absolutely free however you need to pay $24.99 per annum in order to subscribe to iTunes Match. It is a very reasonable deal considering the fact that even your low quality songs are replaced with high quality 256kbps AAC files.
Regardless of the fact that iTunes Match has been released almost a month after its promised date, it is still labelled as a beta service and is currently exclusive to USA only. Apple will make iTunes Match available worldwide over the coming months. If you reside in the USA, go ahead and download iTunes 10.5.1 for Windows and Mac right now and start using iTunes Match.
Download iTunes Match with iTunes 10.5.1 for Windows and Mac [Official Link]