As part of its new iCloud service suite, Apple today unveiled iTunes in the Cloud, a service which allows users to download previously purchased iTunes music to all devices at no additional cost. For music that wasn’t purchased from iTunes, users can gain the same benefits by signing up for a service called iTunes Match.
iTunes Match scans a user’s existing music library and replaces existing tracks with 256 kbps AAC DRM-free files if they can be matched to the over 18 million songs on the iTunes Store and will upload any tracks that it can’t match to Apple’s servers. Apple indicated during its keynote address that there will not be any limit to the number of tracks that can be used with the service.
iTunes Match will be available this fall for a $24.99 annual fee.
Update: Apple has updated its website to indicate that iTunes Match will be limited 25,000 songs, but that any purchases made from the iTunes Store don’t count against the limit.
