Apple Begins International Launch Of iTunes Match [Updated]

This morning in Europe and Australia, Apple is rolling out iTunes Match a month after its US debut. Canadian, Australian, English, and our European friends are starting to see iTunes Match come online this evening, although customers trying to subscribe to the service early are currently getting an error as shown off by one Twitter user. While iTunes Match is not currently being promoted in the iTunes Store, users are able to subscribe to iTunes Match through Account Management.

Currently, the pricing for iTunes Match is as follows:

Australia: AU $34.99

Canada: CAD $27.99

Europe: €24.99

United Kingdom: £21.99

Today’s launch follows Apple’s iTunes Store and iTunes Match rollout out in Brazil on December 13th.

iTunes Match is an annual subscription service that matches an unlimited number of songs purchased from iTunes, and up to 25,000 of your own songs for immediate download on all of your iOS 5 devices. Songs that are scanned and not matched by iTunes are also uploaded to the cloud from your iTunes library. Apple’s matched tracks are downloaded as 256 Kbps AAC files, possibly offering a free DRM-free upgrade for existing, lower bit-rate tracks in your library.

For more information about how to get iTunes Match running on all of your Apple devices, be sure to check out our iTunes Match Hands On.

Update: It appears Apple’s international launch was premature. Apple is refunding customers who managed to subscribe in countries outside of the U.S. and Brazil, according to Darrell Etherington of GigaOM.

Update 2: It’s officially live!