During Apple’s second quarter conference call with analysts and press Wednesday, company executives said that Apple is actively going after the international digital music market, revealing that the iPod could be selling better in several European and Asian countries. Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook said that while the iPod is the top portable audio player in the U.S. with a staggering 78% share—and also leads in the U.K. (40%), Japan (54%), Canada (45%) and Australia (58%)—countries such as Italy, China, Korea, and those in Eastern Europe are seen as market opportunities for increasing iPod sales.
Cook said that Apple plans to use local advertising and more distribution points to help increase sales. The Apple executive said that using this strategy, the iPod’s market share in Germany has improved by 10% to 21% since December 2005, and in France by 4% to 11%.
Also during the conference call, an analyst asked about the proposed French law that could sever the exclusive tie between the iPod and iTunes Music Store. Cook stated: “We believe that the French implementation of the EU Copyright Directive will result in state-sponsored piracy… We don’t think the proposed French legislation will be good for anyone.”
Cook also noted that there are now over 35,000 storefronts across the world selling the iPod. He said that Apple is now at around maximum capacity for resellers in the United States, so Japan, Asia, Latin America and Canada are now targets for new channel partners to distribute the iPod.
