iTunes Music Store in Europe

--- begin forwarded text

From: K/H Start

When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada,
for Heaven's sake?!? Are we continually being bypassed for some
particular reason?
Hube

--- end forwarded text

> From: K/H Start
>
> When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada, for
> Heaven's sake?!? Are we continually being bypassed for some particular
> reason?
> Hube

$$$$$

When your country has about the population of the state of California and
has extra requirements about languages (French AND English EVERYWHERE and I
mean EVERYWHERE), it costs more to do business there.

So less revenue potential + higher expenses = you get it later if at all.

Been there, done that. (In another life.)

> When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada, for
> Heaven's sake?!? Are we continually being bypassed for some particular
> reason?

Hear, hear!

Twice since last September, I've seen news announcements that something
was happening, but nothing has. Earlier this year, I contacted two
Canadian music industry associations and the Apple PR department by
e-mail to ask about the status of negotiations for a Canadian iTunes
Music Store. The answer from all three was virtually the same. To
paraphrase: Don't know; it's not up to us; it's complicated.

The only thing I can see here is a distinct lack of interest on the
part of all parties. We're a small market compared to the U.S. and
Europe, but surely it won't take much of an effort to reach a point
where Canadian Mac users who want access to "legitimate" on-line music
can add some more of those six-figure stats that Apple loves to throw
around.

Mark

On 25-Jun-04, at 11:46 AM, David Ross wrote:

> $$$$$
>
> When your country has about the population of the state of California
> and has extra requirements about languages (French AND English
> EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE), it costs more to do business there.
>
> So less revenue potential + higher expenses = you get it later if at
> all.

Yep, we have a small population, which is a financial drawback. But I'm
not sure the English/French argument makes sense: Apple seems to have
figured out Europe where, as I recall, there are more than a couple of
languages to cope with.

Mark

When your country has about the population of the state of California and has extra requirements about languages (French AND English EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE), it costs more to do business there.

So less revenue potential + higher expenses = you get it later if at all.

This is not true. In Canada only Government and crown corporations are required to provide services in English and French. There are no laws requiring businesses to be bilingual.

Canada offers Apple a new challenge to its "iTunes vs. Illegal downloads" motto. In Canada it's legal to download and upload mp3's.

-manuel

> When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada, for
> Heaven's sake?!?

Pretty soon, apparently:

<http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=63c43dda-27b0-4d20-b4b7-c7584cb954f4>

Jochen.

>When your country has about the population of the state of California and
>has extra requirements about languages (French AND English EVERYWHERE and I
>mean EVERYWHERE), it costs more to do business there.

This seems highly unlikely to me. You are suggesting that there is no
iTunes Canada store because the cost of translating the store into
French is too great compared to the potential revenue (our
population, roughly 30 million, being half that of France).
Ridiculous. The store already exists in English AND in French (for
the France store).

Far more likely is that Apple is having problems, at some level,
negotiating with the Canadian record labels.

Of course there is another possibility: Apple may not think it is
worth the effort because Canadian courts have more-or-less declared
downloading music legal. This is a direct result of the recording
industry trying to have their cake and eat it too. They lobbied the
government to put a levy (currently $.21 on a CD-R) on blank audio
recording media to cover the damages from piracy. Eventually the
copyright board said: okay, people are paying to cover the costs of
downloading music, so it is legal. I don't know how likely this plays
into Apple's thinking, though, because as I understand it, France
also has this levy.

Dave Garrison

On 28-Jun-04, at 12:01 PM, Jochen Wolters wrote:

>> When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada,
>> for Heaven's sake?!?
>
> Pretty soon, apparently:
>
> <http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=63c43dda-27b0-4d20-b4b7-c7584cb954f4>

I saw the article and it reminded me of one that appeared almost a year
ago to the day, in the Globe and Mail, reporting that everything would
be in place (re: figuring out rights and royalties) by fall 2003 to
allow iTunes to launch in Canada.

Didn't happen. Consider me skeptical.

Mark

On 28 Jun, 2004, at 12:01, David Garrison wrote:
> Of course there is another possibility: Apple may not think it is
> worth the effort because Canadian courts have more-or-less declared
> downloading music legal. This is a direct result of the recording
> industry trying to have their cake and eat it too. They lobbied the
> government to put a levy (currently $.21 on a CD-R) on blank audio
> recording media to cover the damages from piracy. Eventually the
> copyright board said: okay, people are paying to cover the costs of
> downloading music, so it is legal. I don't know how likely this plays
> into Apple's thinking, though, because as I understand it, France also
> has this levy.

What is thoroughly immoral is that the recording industry gets their
levy from recordable CDs that are used for any purpose whatsoever AND
proceed in court against people who download (and record onto those
CD's)

Have your cake; get the government & law courts to put several layers
of icing on -- and then eat it too.

It's getting boring being honest...

George

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 12:01:04 -0700, Jochen Wolters
<jochenpolytropia.com> wrote:
> > When the heck are we going to get an iTunes Music Store in Canada, for
> > Heaven's sake?!?
>
> Pretty soon, apparently:
>
> <http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=63c43dda-27b0-4d20-b4b7-c7584cb954f4>

"NATIONAL POST
Latest News

This story is no longer available"

--
gkreme at gmail or kreme at kreme or syth at mac

> "NATIONAL POST
> Latest News
>
> This story is no longer available"

Apparently, the National Post only has a two-week archive, or so. The
article's title was "Canada, iTunes' next online target." You may find
a cached copy on Google. Then again, maybe this quote'll do:

"David Munns, EMI Music vice-chairman and North American chief
executive, told the Financial Post he expects Apple will launch a
Canadian version of iTunes, the most successful legal digital music
service to date, in the near future.

'I saw Steve Jobs [last week] and he is acutely aware the Canadian
consumer is knocking on his door,' Mr. Munns says. 'I'd say it is very
much on his radar now.'"

Jochen.