iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match not coming to UK any time soon

Apple has revealed iCloud, but there's no silver lining for music-lovers here in the UK. Our cousins in the US are happily using new online services in iTunes from today, so we asked Apple when -- or if -- we'll see iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match here in Britain.

The online storage and syncing service iCloud will launch to the public this autumn. Once you've updated your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to iOS 5, you can sign up to iCloud and start backing up your data and photos. The music-related bits of the service are more complicated, unfortunately, and are only currently available in the US.

Presumably that's down to licensing deals with the record labels, which can always be relied upon to get in the way of a service going global. We asked Apple when -- or indeed if -- iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match will come to the UK, but its UK representatives say, as things stand, there's no information on either service in Britain.

Hey UK -- get offa my cloud

iTunes in the Cloud, which adds new music to all your Apple devices in one go, is available today in the US. iTunes in the Cloud sounds relatively straightforward to us, so hopefully it'll be available in the UK soon.

iTunes Match may be more problematic, because it involves paying Apple money and because it involves music from different sources. Match iTunifies music from outside iTunes, whether it's ripped from a CD, bought from a different store, or -- as far we can tell -- pirated.

Yes, it appears iTunes Match launders your pirated MP3s, which means record labels could well have a few things to say about it. We don't have full details, however, because Match isn't available until iCloud arrives this autumn. It will also arrive in autumn in the US for $25 (£15), but we've yet to receive confirmation on whether we'll be matched with Match here in Blighty.

Take me to the clouds above

Between record-label recalcitrance and Apple secrecy, British iTunes users look set to be under a cloud for the foreseeable future. Keep it Crave for all the latest news and we'll let you know as soon as Apple reveals the silver lining to iTunes in the Cloud.

For all the details on Apple's new cloudy offerings, check our our iCloud complete guide. On the meantime, tell us your thoughts on iTunes in the Cloud and the pain of being British, in the comments or on our Facebook page.