How to get iTunes Music Store Videos outside U.S.?

[shorty116]

I don't know if this topic is considered a "No No", because of law issues, if so please delete:

I'm in Austria, and although we have the iTunes Music Store, we do not have movies, music videos or tv shows, just Music and iPod Games. Is there anyway to get access to the U.S. Music Store with a foreign address? are there any workarounds? i DO want to pay for the stuff, but right now, i don't even have access to it.

share your thoughts

Lukas

 

[WinterMute]

I'm pretty sure the licensing agreement precludes all territories but the US because of Copyright and royalty collection mechanisms, certainly the reason the iTMS was held up so long in other territories was the negotiation of royalty licenses.

So technically what you are asking is illegal under copyright law.

Please note that discussion of ways to circumvent the territorial roll-out will certainly get this thread deleted.

 

[mad jew]

Feel free to delete this if I'm wrong WinterMute, but I'm pretty sure the gift certificate method of getting tracks from international stores is legal. I could be wrong and I'm not sure whether it'd even work with videos, but I remember being told it was iKosher.

 

[shorty116]

is this a "give it a shot" method, or is it confirmed working?

 

[Veldek]

Well, my guess is, if you still need an american account, you can't do it because you legally must reside in the US to have one, I think.

 

[WinterMute]

Feel free to delete this if I'm wrong WinterMute, but I'm pretty sure the gift certificate method of getting tracks from international stores is legal. I could be wrong and I'm not sure whether it'd even work with videos, but I remember being told it was iKosher.

The certificates are subject to a license too, and I'm pretty sure this means no.

Originally Posted by iTunes Store - Terms of Service (USA)
10. Territory. The Service is currently available only in the United States, and is not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside of the available territory, and that Apple may use technologies to verify your compliance.

 

[mad jew]

I think you're right. The argument my friend gave me (she's a lawyer, so I dunno if we can trust her) is that because it's a gift, the normal rules don't apply. A similar loophole happens for packages sent from overseas - we don't pay tax on them if they're gifts. I dunno the technicalities or how it's decided what a gift is but I'll follow it up with her later.

 

[thestaton]

why not just log into a vpn while over seas that connects through the states? check out publicvpn.com

its what I do if I'm in spain, germany, etc etc.

 

[mad jew]

For regular sales, I think you still need the appropriate billing address on your credit card. It'd be awesome if this thing was set up with Paypal.

 

[macboy62]

I think the check is made on where your credit card is issued.
I moved to Japan but was using my Credit Card from a UK bank.
My address is in Japan but Japanese iTunes Store still said no to my UK bank Credit Card even though my UK bank had my Japanese address as the legal address of the card holder.

I have sent a gift from the UK iTunes Store which was collected from the Japanese iTunes Store but I think the music video was/is available on both stores.

 

[thestaton]

For regular sales, I think you still need the appropriate billing address on your credit card. It'd be awesome if this thing was set up with Paypal.

I use paypal for all my transactions with itunes...

 

[mad jew]

Serious? Awesomeness. I didn't know we could do that. Meh, I'll keep using my credit card anyway now that it's all set up.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Astromarine]

Just tried, and it failed to set up the US account because the country of residence in Paypal was outside the US.

 

[mufflon]

Just tried, and it failed to set up the US account because the country of residence in Paypal was outside the US.

yeah I tried that too, seems itunes integrates nicely with paypal (nice for aple atleast).

Well i was sent a gift certificate from some oversea relatives - no real issues, but I would still advice on not getting gift certificates from sources in the states - if apple becomes harsher they might actually enforce the rules more - possibly stopping any ongoing transaction to a higher degree.