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Apple Rolling Out iTunes Store Music and Movies in Twelve New Asian Countries [Updated]

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Apr 12, 2001
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Last week, e27 reported that Apple had invited Asian music label representatives to a "launch event" scheduled for tomorrow in Hong Kong, with speculation centering around a launch for iTunes Store music offerings in a number of countries in the region. Rumors have also indicated Jason Mraz will be performing at the launch event as part of the celebration.
We received a tip off from a trusted source in the industry that Apple is planning a secret launch event on 27th June in Hong Kong. The location has not been confirmed, but rumors suggested that the location of the event is close to the airport.

Based on our observations, we noticed a strong showing of Apple executives at the recent Music Matters event in Singapore. Our source has also mentioned that a good number of Asian music labels are already in talks with Apple. If that is not enough of an indication that something big is coming to Asia, the tip also indicates that representatives of these labels will be flying over to Hong Kong next week for the supposed Apple launch event.
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e27 now follows up with a specific claim that the launch will include not only music but also movies and TV shows and will be going live in seven countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

A review of the localized iTunes Stores for the various countries reveals that movie listings have already gone live, and the navigation bars also contain listings for music, although they are not yet functional. TV shows are not listed as an option in the navigation bar, so it appears that they may not be included in the launch.

Music and movies have been available in roughly 50 countries around the world prior to today's launch, with the most recent expansion coming last December with the addition of 16 Latin American countries.

The App Store has the broadest distribution among Apple's iTunes Store content types, with 155 countries offering apps after last week's expansion. All seven of the Asian markets receiving music and movie access today previously offered apps, podcasts, iTunes U, and free books, but the new content marks substantial additions for customers in those countries.

Update: Apple has issued a press release confirming the launch. The company is launching the iTunes Store in 12 new countries, not 7: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Article Link: Apple Rolling Out iTunes Store Music and Movies in Twelve New Asian Countries [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/06/26/apple-rolling-out-itunes-store-music-and-movies-in-seven-new-asian-countries/
K

kyjaotkb

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
937
883
London, UK
can't believe the iTunes Store didn't exist in HK and Singapore before ! Where the biggest malls full of iPods and iPhones can be found !
 
ThunderSkunk

ThunderSkunk

macrumors 68040
Dec 31, 2007
3,823
4,052
Milwaukee Area
Just once I'd like to see them do something really ballsy and invite Dan Deacon to play, with his little iPod-setup and turn the event into a loosely orchestrated circus.
 
M

Mic'sBook

macrumors regular
Feb 20, 2010
130
180
Hong Kong
Yay! Finally! :)

Having said that:
(1) The number of songs seems limited at the moment (Not a problem at all as I'm sure it will continue to grow)
(2) Most Cantonese song names aren't written in (Traditional) Chinese, they are just Cantonese romanisation which is really hard to comprehend.
 
M

mayktoie

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2008
10
0
sort of working

its sort of working now!!! great!!! tried it on my iphone....if you go to itunes and do a search it actually shows you albums and videos of the artist you search and currency is shown as local currency....nice...cant wait for itunes match!!!!:D
 
M

mayktoie

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2008
10
0
it does show foreign movies and foreign artists available for download. try to search the artist you're looking for, it might be available.
 
D

DisMyMac

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2009
1,087
11
mayktoie said:
it does show foreign movies and foreign artists available for download. try to search the artist you're looking for, it might be available.
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That may only be "foreign" as a category (like world music). I searched for Leslie Cheung and it's mostly just soundtracks and compilation albums.
 
M

mayktoie

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2008
10
0
Im not too familiar with Leslie Cheung but i did a search for that artist and came up with a few albums like I am what I am, among others. I am in singapore by the way. What I meant by foreign was US artists.:D
 
kirky29

kirky29

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,614
794
Lincolnshire, England
DisMyMac said:
Can anyone buy from foreign iTunes stores, or do we have to live there?
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I buy a lot from the American iTunes store (much better content..), I just buy iTunes Vouchers from eBay and enter the code into my separate iTunes US account. - as long as you put in an address for that Country, it should work.
 
P

pika2000

Suspended
Jun 22, 2007
5,587
4,902
Great for those countries, but still doesn't change the backwardness of the labels in terms of licensing. Internet means global distribution, yet with this digital online stores, contents are still locked into each countries'/region's stores, where users from outside the market have to jump through hoops to purchase the contents. :rolleyes: It's like they don't want sales. God forbid more people from around the world buying their stuff legally. Ridiculous. And they wonder why people are utilizing the alternative routes.
 
kirky29

kirky29

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,614
794
Lincolnshire, England
pika2000 said:
Great for those countries, but still doesn't change the backwardness of the labels in terms of licensing. Internet means global distribution, yet with this digital online stores, contents are still locked into each countries'/region's stores, where users from outside the market have to jump through hoops to purchase the contents. :rolleyes: It's like they don't want sales. God forbid more people from around the world buying their stuff legally. Ridiculous. And they wonder why people are utilizing the alternative routes.
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You are exactly right! We're in this connected world, yet...some places just can't get content.. example, The Simpsons, in the US I could watch them on Hulu or buy them all on iTunes....yet here in the UK they only have a couple of overpriced seasons on iTunes.... or DVD...but who wants DVDs ;)

Wonder why I *sometimes* watch them on streaming sites. If they were on iTunes (maybe for a better price too!) I'd buy them.

I believe people are willing to pay for things, if it's available and not insanely overpriced, certainly when you compare prices to the US.
 
8

808?

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2011
583
24
Hong Kong
I am lucky I did not hold my breath waiting for this to come to Hong Kong. It is almost 10 years since it was first launched.
 
P

pika2000

Suspended
Jun 22, 2007
5,587
4,902
kirky29 said:
I believe people are willing to pay for things, if it's available and not insanely overpriced, certainly when you compare prices to the US.
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True. Unlike the propaganda the industry is trying to portray, that everybody are thieves, people are willing to pay for things. I'm in the US, and the situation is not so rosy here either, especially if you want to consume foreign content. Eg. J-Pop. US iTunes actually used to have quite a good selection of J-Pop, and at 99c/$1.29 a track, they are a bargain (vs the cost of import CDs). But few years ago, most of them were all yanked out. It's mind boggling. Basically these labels are telling the fans to go ahead and pirate their content instead. :rolleyes:
 
T

TimeArrow

macrumors member
Mar 2, 2011
39
0
That's great!

Correction, Hongkong is not a 'country'.

plz use the phrase 'country and region' :cool:
 
8

808?

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2011
583
24
Hong Kong
TimeArrow said:
Correction, Hongkong is not a 'country'.
Click to expand...

We have our own olympic team, are individual members of the WTO, WHO, our own currency, legal system and independent border controls.

Yes we might share a physical border and some political connections with mainland China, but saying the two are one is like saying night and day are the one.
 
haruhiko

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,875
One of the greatest news for me today. You know we've been waiting for this for nearly a decade. This is one big nice change under Tim Cook. He is much more concerned with the Asian market than Jobs.

----------
TimeArrow said:
That's great!

Correction, Hongkong is not a 'country'.

plz use the phrase 'country and region' :cool:
Click to expand...

Hong Kong is not a state. But it can be a "country", according to the following definition:

A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction.
Sometimes the word country is used to refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities,[1][2][3] while other times it refers only to states.[4] For example, the CIA World Factbook uses the word in its "Country name" field to refer to "a wide variety of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent states".[5]
 
T

Twenty5

macrumors regular
Mar 6, 2008
157
1
well.. I know where the event take place.

Location to be closed to the airport? Well.. considering that Hong Kong does not have many places to host concerts or events like these. Im going to bet that they will be hosting this secret launch part at the AsiaWorld-Expo located in Lantau Island. Concerts happen here like 85% of the time and the venue is right next to the airport.

Moreover, when you go to AsiaWorld-Expo's upcoming events page, it states that on the 27th they will be hosting a private event.

So go figure :D
 
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