iTunes Match - Legalizing your dodgy music collection has never been easier...

(ZD Net.com)  Yesterday Apple finally released the iTunes Match service, and legalizing your dodgy music collection has never been easier.

Note: While I’m going to be talking about ‘pirated’ music here, don’t take that to mean that I’m OKing the practice or in any way condoning it. I don’t.

iTunes Match is a new $24.99 a year cloud music service from Apple that makes your iTunes library available to you everywhere you go (as long as that everywhere has an internet connection). It works by scanning your entire iTunes library and duplicating this up in the cloud server. Duplicating your tracks is handled in three ways:

• All your iTunes purchases are already in the cloud waiting for you
• Any songs that you’ve ripped from CD or acquired via other means (naughty-naughty … but Apple forgives you!) are scanned and matched against Apple’s catalog, and if a match is found, Apple gives you a free, DRM-free copy to do with as you please, no questions asked
• Any tracks that iTunes doesn’t recognize (such as those from your Tuvan throat singing collection) will be uploaded to the cloud - (the whole enchilada)