Apple Computer admitted Wednesday it did not meet its self-imposed deadline of opening the Canadian iTunes Music Store by the end of November, but that it will launch the service "very soon."

In a company statement given to The Mac Observer, an Apple spokesperson said, "We said that we would launch the iTunes Music Store in Canada by the end of November, but weire going to miss this deadline by a bit. Youill hear from us very soon."

Apple did not indicate why the launch had been delayed and would not give a more specific timeframe as to when it would debut.

David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), which negotiated with Apple and the other on-line music players on behalf of copyright owners, told TMO Tuesday that his agency has completed an agreement with Apple over reproduction sales in Canada, but would not discuss financial details or the tone of the negotiations.

Mr. Basskin said Tuesday a statement from his agency would soon be released on an agreement with Apple, but no announcement from CMRRA has yet been made.

Apple announced October 26 it planned on opening an iTMS in Canada by the end of November, at the same time it launched the iTMS for Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. At present, the iTMS operates in 13 countries, including the United States.