iTunes Match Released in Australia, However Problems Reported

No less than 2 days after Apple have released the iTunes 10.5.2 Update, reports from multiple tech blogs including Gizmodo have reported that Apple has rolled out iTunes Match to Australian users.

The link posted by Gizmodo, takes users to a page allowing them to sign up to the long-awaited iTunes Match within Australia for $34.99 Per Year, providing access to the Millions of Songs via the Apple iCloud service. 

Unfortunately, the service may have been launched too early, or in error, as after you subscribe to the service, there are errors within iTunes preventing the service from operating as designed.

Error Reported: When users register within Australia for the iTunes Match services, the following error appears prompting that “iTunes Match has encountered an error. Please choose Sign Out and the Sign In from the iTunes Store menu and try again.

Mac blog site iClarified, have advised that Apple have confirmed via correspondence that “Apple has accidentally launched iTunes Match internationally“, and that “Apple has since begun refunding customers who were billed for service”.

This comes as a blow to Australian users, that are left waiting in the wings of the US and Brazil iTunes Match users that have had access to the service since it’s release in mid November within the US, and more recently in Brazil.

iTunes Australian users have been able to register for iTunes Match, after the link was published via Tech Blog Gizmodo, however it is uncertain how Apple will handle the influx of interest from the UK, European, NZ and Australian markets, and if the issues reported, and related to a technical glitch, or just that ”Apple has accidentally launched iTunes Match internationally“, as reported by iClarified.

[MacRumours via Gizmodo]