ITunes Match - 5 reasons to subscribe, and how to do so without a US credit card

I've finally managed to get subscribed to ITunes Match and have it set up on the multiple iOS devices at home. For $24.99 per year, I think it's a bargain, here are 5 reasons why:

1. All songs are uploaded (not just ITunes-purchased ones) and upgraded to 256kbps quality: This has to be one of the biggest plus points, all the music is auto-magically recognized by Apple and the high-quality AAC 256kbps version from ITunes is stored in your ITunes Match 'locker'. So low-quality rips now get upgraded and the fresh, high-def version are loaded on the devices.

2. Quick syncing : Since Apple has most of the songs already in their library, there's no need to upload the full library of songs - it identifies ITunes songs that should be accessible, and only uploads songs that aren't on the ITunes music collection.

3. All my music, on all my devices: All music I have is now in the 'cloud' and can be downloaded or streamed to all my devices. That means that I can now reach my full music library from my laptop, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. In my case, that's ~2,000 songs but ITunes lets you go up to 25,000, excluding the ones you purchase from ITunes directly. Even if there's not quite enough space on some devices, you just need a fast-enough internet access to stream the music.This, in practice, unfortunately means wifi - performance on SingTel 3G in Singapore was erratic when I tried it over the weekend.   

4. Storage peace of mind: While I won't be formatting my external storage drive that holds all my music, it is reassuring to know that all the music I have is now backed-up to Apple's servers, presumably with industry-strength security and disaster recovery procedures. In a while, I can also imagine chucking away all the physical music CDs.

5. Album covers: This isn't a big point, but I like the auto assignment of album covers on all the devices. Some songs/albums still need manual intervention, but you get a slick looking digital collection - not just a text list ala Winamp of the 90s.

For folks that are outside US at this point, there really isn't too much of a choice right now - Grooveshark, Spotify, Google Music and Amazon Music are mostly inaccessible from here and they can't meet one or more of the 5 features above.

Still, to get ITunes Match up and running without a US credit card, you'll need to jump a few hoops. Loading the account with ITunes prepaid gift cards isn't enough. 


There are two ways to resolve this:  
(a) You can get a prepaid debit US card - e.g. from Greendot   
(b) or you can try to make your local credit card pass off as one issued from the US. This procedure is more complex (and I'm not clear about it's legality) but it is fully explained at this link. 

Increasing costs of online anonymity

You've met them before - the folks who declare proudly that they're not on Facebook. The ones who say "I share photos through email, and I send monthly updates to my family". LinkedIn? "No thanks, my headhunter has got my pdf resume already" . Twitter? "Nah, I already forward SMSes and joke emails"

While a completely legitimate choice, I argue that online anonymity and being disconnected from the major online social networks comes at a cost, and this will increase over time. More companies now use your online social graph, to verify your identity and to determine your value as a customer.

There are already signs today that those who aren't connected are disadvantaged in real-life. Many examples out there, here are some selected ones:

1. Party somewhere else - no entry into clubs without FB verification

That's right, without a Facebook account, you can forget about partying it up at some clubs. In the UK, some clubs have started to verify patrons' age through their Facebook accounts and tally it against their ID.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/club-bouncers-are-now-checking-your-facebook-to-confirm-identity/


2. Get in queue at the cafe, while those with Klout check in at the first-class lounge

At SFO and a number of other airports, a Klout score of over 40, measured by your social network size and influence, gets you into Cathay Pacific's first-class lounge, regardless of the airline you fly on.

http://thepointsguy.com/2012/05/klout-offers-some-free-cathay-pacific-lounge-access-at-sfo/


3. Stay in hotel-chains, unique homestays only for those proper online personas

Opening up your home to a stranger can be quite terrifying, but knowing if you have a common friend or if the person has sizable online social network helps verify that you've got a legit guest. AirBNB reflects the social network of potential hosts and renters to allow both parties to validate each other before confirming transactions. Without this, your chances of getting accepted by a host declines - and it's back to booking from the good old hotel chains.  

http://www.airbnb.com/social

But wait, even at hotel-chains, social media users get extra perks - anything from extra loyalty points to F&B discounts. Starwood is a pioneer in this area, linking up with Foursquare and Facebook.

http://www.spgpromos.com/socialcheckins/


Where does it go from here? By and large, staying disconnected today implies more of 'perks lost' rather than being 'denied services'. But you can imagine more companies getting onto this act: banks offering personalised interest rates , insurance agencies offering differentiated insurance premiums, telecom operators providing special price plans  - all based off your online social network.