Q: Any idea when Apple will lift the 25k song limit for iTunes Match?

Apple has not stated they will change the limit.

Likely it is part of the agreement between Apple and record companies.

robcar wrote:

 

I don't know why record companies would have any interest in this.

Because it seems Apple had to appease the record companies in some way in order to get them agree to iTunes Match. Looks like they get a big chunk of the $25 for iTunes Match.

The record companies have some interest because the way things are set up.  iTunes basically matches anything you have, even lower quality files, with anything Apple has on its servers (which all comes from the record companies).  If you bought a 128k mp3 copy from somebody else, Apple/the record companies with match it with a 256k AAC (supposedly better) version.  You're getting a better quality file without paying anything for it, and it is an above board, legal copy.  There is also concern about people "legitimitizing" their pirate collections by laundering it through the service since Apple doesn't check where the fles originate, and only does some basic verification of the files authenticity (e.g., you can't submit 2,inutes 32 seconds of white noise and claim it is something by Michael Jackson).  I guess the record companies are willing to risk that, but not to an unrestricted count.

The bottom line is, if there is something the record companies don't like they can pull the plug on iTunes Music Store, Match, etc., so Apple has to do what they say in this regard.

Perhaps the solution would be for Apple to only match tracks that were purchased from the iTunes Store (only upgrading the old 128k DRM files to the current 256k AAC standard) and then just upload everything else in each member's iTunes library to their servers, without performing the match function.

...

Seems like the solution is for iTunes Match to simply reflect back to each user the same file quality they currently have in their libraries by copying the file to the Apple servers just as each of us copy them to external backup drives, etc.

Again, we don't work for Apple and we're also not supposed to speculate on policy or procedure on the forum.  That said, I would think they probably save server space, and you data transfer, by not having 20 million copies (maybe half of them originally from iTunes Store) of a track on their server if they can make those 20 million equate to a single file already on their server.

There's no way to tell a "pirated" file from a "non-pirated" file anyhow, so I'm not sure the "laundering" aspect of the setup is even a real concern (although improving the quality of the file for free would be, I can see). 

Not being able to tell the difference would be precisely a reason not to offer the service to anything other than ITMS purchases.  Still, by doing it they do incur some risk of abuse and by slapping a limit on it they may have reached a concensus with media distributors as to a point where they were willing to turn a blind eye. Couple this with what may also be a limit to what Apple is willing to offer for $25.  Don't forget that the limit does not include purchases from Apple, so this really is just for those non-iTunes files you own on top of purchases you may have made.  At say 5 MB per track, 25,000 tracks is 125GB which even these days is a fair chunk of space.  Then too, at a nominal $1 per track, 25,000 tracks is $25,000 dollars worth, and almost 2 months of 24 hours per day listening, and maybe they think it is enough for most people and within their music collection limits. Then too, I don't think the service is intended to be a backup service.  It is intended more as a convenience feature for people with mobile devices with limited data storage.

Apple is not known for discussing policies. General terms of service for software is on: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ca/terms.html  The one policy that is well-defined in this case is the one in the Terms of Use of this discussion forum (see link at bottom of page) which clearly states we are not supposed to talk about their policies here.    Fair? Well, it is their web site and there are many other Mac web sites without the restrictions.  Just gotta play by their rules here.

http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/

From the link, "With iCloud, the music you purchase in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices. You can also download your past iTunes purchases. Where you want, when you want."  iTunes Match states, "If you want the benefits of iTunes in the Cloud for music you haven't purchased from iTunes, iTunes Match is the perfect solution."  I.e., it simply extends the music accessibility to non-iTunes purchases, in the first instance using what is available in the iTunes Store collection, and then from your own copies should they not already have it.  Note all the footnotes for the various services.

iCloud itself even without Match isn't really a backup service even for music you purchased.  An artist could decide next week they want to pull their music from the iTunes Store.  You lose your copy and try to get it 2 weeks from now and it is unavailable.

Apple doesn't say that iTunes Match is intended to be a back up service. On the legal web site link I provided it says, "You should back up all data and information on your computer or device and any peripherals prior to using iTunes Match,"  implying the real backup needs to be done by you.  In fact some people have been complaining that their mono Beatles original was substituted with a different stereofied version because if Apple gets a match it will be their version you get in return.