why is it per year?
once you upload/match you ripped library, wouldn't it become the same as a purchased library?
my library has about 5000 songs, all legal but mostly from my CD collection. once i transfer it to the cloud, and i don't get an new music on CD next year, would i still have to pay the 25$?
Because you are paying for the "service" of Apple doing all the work for you. Just like paying for any other kind of "service" that makes life easier/more fun than the old fashioned way.