iTunes Match finally arrives in the US

Apple’s long promised cloud music service iTunes Match has finally been rolled out in the US, albeit two weeks late.

iTunes Match is a key strand in Apple’s cloud strategy, letting music lovers scan their libraries and then replicate them on the cloud.

The idea is that they can all be replaced by better quality ( 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free) versions or re-downloaded when the user has a device stolen or replaced.

It works for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and PC, and costs $24.99 a year.

The launch heats up a music space that already supports streaming services like Spotify and Wimp, and could have more cloud-based participants from Google and Amazon shortly.

No news on any launches outside the US.

Story originally published on ME