iTunes Match international rollout was premature, Apple issuing refunds

We were skeptical yesterday about the apparent rollout of iTunes Match internationally, and now it looks like our suspicions are being confirmed with GigaOM and others reporting that users across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada (everywhere except the U.S. and Brazil) are being told by Apple that the service “will not function”. As you can see from the email posted by a Twitter user who contacted iTunes support, refunds are being issued within 5-7 days, and many other Twitter users are reporting the same (here and here). It’s unclear whether users will first have to contact Apple to initiate the refund.

We’ve also received a tip that Apple has updated the iTunes Terms and Conditions to clarify legal issues related to iTunes Match. The changes in the updated terms can be seen below (via MacRumors). Apple is certainly prepping the international launch of the service, and today appears to have added prominent links in the sidebar of many international iTunes stores. You can see the iTunes Match and blue “New” tag in the image below from the Canadian store. However, it as of yet doesn’t appear to be fully functional for the majority of international users experiencing errors when trying to sign in or actually use the service. We’ll keep you updated.

Update: We’re receiving tips from Canada, Australia, Germany, and more with screenshots (below) that appear to show iTunes Match up and running. Let us know in the comments the status of the service in your country.

The changes we have made to the terms and conditions include the following: 

– Notification of an additional type of previously-purchased content that may be subsequently downloaded to certain computers and devices as an accommodation to you, subject to existing association rules; and that such content may be played back on certain devices that are not subject to existing association rules, with limitations; 

– New terms have been added that govern your use of iTunes Match, whereby you may pay a subscription fee to access certain content remotely, subject to existing association rules and usage rules, and explain that such content may be accessed on certain devices that are not subject to existing association rules, with limitations; and 

– New terms have been added that explain that use of iTunes Match requires collection of certain information from your iTunes library which shall be associated with your Account.