iTunes Music Store coming to Australia?

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iTunes Music Store coming to Australia?

“Apple declined to comment on when its service might be available in Australia, but sources indicate that the company has been in local negotiations with record companies, music publishers and rights bodies. Those negotiations should bear fruit in the first quarter of next year, when Apple will extend the iTunes Music Store to a number of markets beyond the US, sources said.”

Comments

1

damn, why not england?

Posted by ti on August 30, 2003 at 10:26 PM (PST)

2

i thought there was something being worked out for Europe anyway - i’m just glad that they recognise that Australia exists and that they’re willing to work something out. Not sure why Telstra is being involved though

Posted by yinyang on August 31, 2003 at 2:18 AM (PST)

3

i don’t think they are. My understanding of the article is that Telstra are working on setting up a rival service

Posted by Nathan Adams on August 31, 2003 at 1:55 PM (PST)

4

I agree with Nathan. Nothing solid at all there, seems quite wishful. Telstra’s ‘service’ will undoubtedly be a flop like all of its phone lines, dialup and broadband and other services, and we will sit here waiting for iTMS for at least a year, perhaps more.

Posted by Get Bent on August 31, 2003 at 9:53 PM (PST)

5

I donno about not happening for a while as reckoned (Aussie for “believed”) by previous posters… Ausitralia may look big on map, but it’s esstially a very small country (population wise), and apple has quiet a scene here - esp. the recent PowerBook, G5 (First Apple Computer TV ad I think I’ve seen in Oz) and iPod ads all over the street scapes… plus we’re very “Americanised” - in another word, if it can be approved in the “motherland” then it’d have little problems down here… think about it, it’d be a hell lot easier than Europe.

Very often, Australia has been used as testing grounds for many things globally, eg. Smart Card embedded Key-Cards for MasterCard a few years back; and the recent EMI watermarked CDs, I’m supprise iTMS wasn’t released here first ;o) - though we do get all the hollywood films last (or it seems, eventhough a lot of them are filmed here in Sydney)...

Posted by thinktwice on August 31, 2003 at 10:48 PM (PST)

6

I know the mac numbers may not be huge in australia, but i can’t imagine that there are going to be much set up costs for iTMS given that most of the work has already be done in US, so the extra revenue will be welcome for Apple. If it raises the Apple brand any more then it can’t be bad for Apple - it’ll make it harder for us users though if they don’t increase supply - i remember having to wait 3 months for my LCD iMac last year. I’m dreading to see what abhomination Telstra comes up with!

Posted by yinyang on September 1, 2003 at 1:14 AM (PST)

7

Y don’t Apple create a music store in Canada???

Posted by 20GB iPod in Canada on September 5, 2003 at 8:41 PM (PST)

8

I read in the Globe & Mail, that a company called puretracks.com is launching in Canada in October. It is however, WMA only. I live in Canada, and am very close to buying an MP3 player. I’m thinking either the Creative Nomad Zen NX, but I really want to buy the iPod. Besides price, the only other major concern I have is audio format. Does anybody here know if I’ll be able to take advatge of this Canadian service with an iPod (ie is it a problem to convert WMA to MP3 or ACC?)

Posted by drdestiny on September 5, 2003 at 9:15 PM (PST)

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