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iTunes Music Store Adds Nine EU Countries (UPDATED)

TMO Reports - iTunes Music Store Adds Nine EU Countries (UPDATED)

by , 12:40 PM EDT, October 26th, 2004

Nine European Union countries now have access to buy and download music from Apple's iTunes Music Store, Apple announced Tuesday. iTunes users in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain can now buy digital cuts for €0.99 per song.

The nine EU countries join iTMS users in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

“We’re excited to bring the iTunes Music Store to even more music fans across Europe, and with this expansion we now reach customers in almost 70 percent of the global music market,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s Vice President of Applications.

The company also said it will launch the iTMS in Canada in November.

Apple announced August 10 that the iTMS now had over one million songs available for download in the US and music from all five major record labels and over 600 leading independent labels from around the world. The company has refused to say exactly how many downloads are available in the 12 other markets.

When Apple launched the ITMS in Europe back in June, 800,000 songs were purchased in the first week, the company said, with more than 450,000 sold in the UK alone.

iTunes Music Store Key Dates
April 28, 2003 Apple Launches iTunes Music Store
May 6, 2003 One million songs sold on iTMS
May 14, 2003 Two million songs sold on iTMS
June 23, 2003 Five million songs sold on iTMS
September 8, 2003 Ten million songs sold on iTMS
October 16, 2003 Apple & Pepsi launch giveaway of 100 million free songs
October 20, 2003 One million copies of iTunes for Windows downloaded in less than four days
November 6, 2003 1.5 million songs sold on iTMS in one week
December 15, 2003 25 million songs sold on iTMS
March 15, 2004 50 million songs sold on iTMS
April 28, 2004 Over 70 million songs sold on iTMS
May 5, 2004 3.3 million songs sold on iTMS in one week
June 15, 2004 Apple launches iTMS in UK, France & Germany
June 23, 2004 iTMS in Europe sells 800,000 songs in first week
July 12, 2004 100 million songs sold on iTMS
August 10, 2004 iTMS catalog tops one million songs
October 14, 2004 150 million songs sold on iTMS
October 26, 2004 Apple launches iTMS in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Guest
Subject: Canada still left out...

When are they ever going to wake up?!

Close Name:iGrouch Posts: 660 Joined: 18 Oct 2001
Subject:

The Irish Credit Cards are safe then

Close Name:jimothy Posts: 612 Joined: 04 Jun 2004
Subject:

Quote
Guest wrote:
When are they ever going to wake up?!


In November, according to MacNN.

Frankly, if I lived in Canada, November is when I'd go to sleep, to hibernate for the winter!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Where is the Irish Store?

Hello,

I'm very surprised and disappointed that their was no announcement of an Irish Music Store today, every other country in the old Europe (as Rumsfeld
calls it) now have access to the store, except Ireland. Why?

Considering that Irish consumers spent between Â110 and Â130 million Euro on music albums and singles in 2003 alone, for a population of 4 million people that's a lot of revenue that Apple could tap into.

Also U2 were co-hosting the event I would have imagined that an Irish store would be launched too. Especially since Apple's European Manufacturing and Distribution Centre is based here in County Cork.

Well who only knows when Apple will get around to establishing an Irish, Japanese or Australian store, among many other countries that are still lacking a music store. Hopefully it will be sooner than later.

On the plus side the new iPod Photo looks very cool.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: EU iTMS... Ireland not part of EU according to Apple

iTMS for Luxembourg which has a Population of 462,690

Yet there no iTMS in Ireland??? which has a Population of 4,002,558

Ireland has more Mac/Pc Users them Luxembourg has people...
let's hope they hurry up with a Irish version of iTMS…

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Scandinavia has been left out as well...

...even though we do have credit cards and iPods in abundance....

Close Name:Guest
Subject: re. Irish ITMS...

I'll believe it when I see it but I was listening to Newstalk 106 ( a Dublin talk radio station) the other day and the guest (whose title I missed) was talking about how the industry is going after people who file share, and during the course of the discussion mentioned that he was happy to say that ITunes was coming to Ireland at the end of the month. I thought it was nice of him to make the announcement for Apple like that Strictly hearsay at this point.

Meanwhile, I've been using my Paris bank account to buy from the French store

Close Name:davidneale Posts: 987 Joined: 26 Aug 2001
Subject:

Nice to have an iTMS in Belgium, but the site seems to be accessible in only two languages, English and French, whereas the large majority of Belgians are Dutch-speaking (approx. 59% as first language). Poor public relations, there, I'm afraid.

Oh, and Eddy Wally isn't available....

Close Name:Intruder -   TMO Mac Specialist Posts: 3149 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Subject:

Actually, in November, according to Apple.

See the last sentence in the first paragraph.

Quote
Guest wrote:
When are they ever going to wake up?!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Australian iTMS? Ever??

Once again, Apple has left out one of the largest music buying markets (per capita) in the world - Australia (and New Zealand, for that matter).

You would think that Australia's 20 million odd population would contribute to Apple's profits in some way?? Obviously we are too small for them to even consider worthy of iTMS.

Get your act together Apple. Show us Australians and Kiwis that you are actually interested....

Close Name:jacrav Posts: 268 Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Subject: I don’t understand some people …

Don’t they realize that Apple can’t open a music store until it has music to sell ? Talk to your country’s RIA and bitch to THEM !!!!!!!!

Close Name:Intruder -   TMO Mac Specialist Posts: 3149 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Subject:

I'm curious where the Microsoft store is available. And RealNetworks. Is it available everywhere?

Not intended to start a flamewar. I really don't know the answer. And if it is what I suspect, it sheds light on why Apple isn't everywhere yet.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: umm... hello....

jacrav, iTMS now has over 1 million songs to sell. Am i missing something??? Yes, yes, licensing issues, etc aside, what's the hold up?? Certainly not a lack of customers!

Close Name:davidneale Posts: 987 Joined: 26 Aug 2001
Subject: Re: EU iTMS... Ireland not part of EU according to Apple

Quote
Anonymous wrote:
iTMS for Luxembourg which has a Population of 462,690

Yet there no iTMS in Ireland??? which has a Population of 4,002,558

Ireland has more Mac/Pc Users them Luxembourg has people...
let's hope they hurry up with a Irish version of iTMS…


I suspect that Luxembourg's music distribution rights are the same as Belgium's, so adding a Luxembourg store was peanuts, even if it only meant adding less than half a million customers.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Japanese iTMS

Seems like the Japanese iTMS will never open.
Even if Apple did, it would mean no CD burning, and the ability to listen only on one computer and iPod...

Reason: the Japanese record/media companies are extremely strict about copying things. I've heard that even free over-the-air television broadcasts have Copy Protection in them. Japan is a screwed country.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Re: Scandinavia left out as well...

Well, we may have credit cards and iPods, but we have no euros!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Ireland

If you look at any of the european urls for the itunes download (say, http://www.apple.com/ie/itunes/download/), and look at the botton left of the page, you'll see the following: "Purchases from the iTunes Music Store are available only in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, <b>Ireland</b>, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK and the United States."
It's the same in every other european site but not on the US one.

Looks like they intended for Ireland to be included and there's some legal snafu that's holding it up - probably cos the music industry here doesn't want the 99c per song prices to completely undercut the wonderfully high prices they charge CDs for here...

Fingers crossed they'll solve it sooner than later...

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Ireland

Not only that, but if you have an Irish credit card and you live in a country which has the iTMS, you still can't use it. My billing address is in Austria, where I live, but my Irish credit card is useless.

I'm so depressed.

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