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iTMS Canada Launch Tomorrow?
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No, just a rumor based on clues. Apple said "in November" and nothing further about the date.atraininc said:
atraininc said:
There was rumor a while back about Canadian iTMS advertisments being made for November 26th. That is where the 26th date came from. This rumor was before Apple officially said they were going to open the store in November. There was also a side note about the ads being delayed into December.
zoetropeuk said:
REALLY? when - i just watched the whole thing and probably missed it.
regardless - we ain't getting it today and i think saturday is a strange day for a release of any kind by apple. tuesday it is then.
I don't see it yet!
Tried to go to ITMS... said not available in my country (Canada) yet. Just a rumour then? Hmmmm.
Tried to go to ITMS... said not available in my country (Canada) yet. Just a rumour then? Hmmmm.
Just for clarity the CIRA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) has never interfered with the launch of iTMS Canada. In fact CRIA represents all the major and most of the indie labels - this group wants iTunes. The governing body that has created the most tension for any of the legal download services in Canada including iTMS is CMRRA - the music publishing arm, lead by David Basskin.
Well, it looks like iTMS canada is coming the same day that my iMac G5 is getting delivered (tuesday). Cool
I guess it really was a decision between the 26th and 30th - I guess apple wanted to play it safe and keep it on the 30th just in case something happened. I guess a tuesday launch would get more press coverage too - would last all week as opposed to a friday launch that would fizzle out over the weekend..
I guess it really was a decision between the 26th and 30th - I guess apple wanted to play it safe and keep it on the 30th just in case something happened. I guess a tuesday launch would get more press coverage too - would last all week as opposed to a friday launch that would fizzle out over the weekend..
sromurcam said:
funny you should say that - i have had some limited experience dealing with music publishing legalites in my work and have always found them to be extremely difficult and shall i say it, overly an*l people with a certain power-trippy attitude. just my 2 cents on this... so it wouldn't surprise me to know that CMRRA are just being s***s because they have the power to be. i could be wrong though and generalizing something i know so little about.
aestival said:
Fantastic detective work!
Further to your point, David Basskin, posted on this forum in OCTOBER of 2003, that he called Apple the day that iTMS opened in the USA.
That particular post is here .
While he doesn't say that negotiations started at that time, is does seem to fly in the face of the more recent comment that "his organization only recently initiated discussions with Apple regarding iTunes".
One thing I would like to add.
While shedding light on this contraditory comment from Mr. Basskin, I would like to remind you all, that while he does reperesent a good number of Music Publishers in Canada, he does not represent ALL members of the Canadian Music Industry.
Please do not confuse CRMMA with CRIA, SOCAN or any other industry groups.
Thanks.
Steve-o never said Nov 26th
I'm watching the stream now, and all SJ's ever said was 'in November'; he never said the 26th.
zoetropeuk said:
I'm watching the stream now, and all SJ's ever said was 'in November'; he never said the 26th.
zoetropeuk said:
Please tell me when, because I watched the whole keynote and did not hear him ever say this, all i heard was "November".
Apple to press play on iTunes in Canada
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041125.witunz1125/BNStory/Technology/
Apple to press play on iTunes in Canada
By*RICHARD BLACKWELL
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Apple Computer Inc.'s hugely successful iTunes music downloading system is about to launch in Canada, establishing a powerful competitor to the Internet-based music services already in place in this country.
Apple's iTunes on-line music store, already up and running for customers in the United States and Europe, is expected to be open for Canadian audiophiles in the next few days. In October, Apple said it would launch in Canada in November, and a company spokesman said this week the company intends to meet that deadline.
It's still November; we'll launch in November, Apple's Natalie Kerris said.
The expansion of iTunes into the Canadian market will mean stiff competition for the three existing music services and it could help make a dent in the free file-sharing now plaguing the music industry.
Currently, Canadians can download music tracks from Napster.ca (a reconstituted legal version of the old free file-sharing service), Archambault.ca (owned by Quebecor Media Inc., and heavy on French-language music), and Puretracks.com (the first Canadian on-line music store, started last year by Toronto's Moontaxi Media Inc.).
The prices are generally around $1 per track, or slightly higher, and Apple is expected to be in the same range. Apple charges 99 cents (U.S.) in the United States, and .99 in Europe for most tracks. It claims to have sold more than 150 million downloads since its U.S. launch in April, 2003.
Kaan Yigit, president of Toronto technology market research firm Solutions Research Group, said the launch of iTunes in Canada should be good for all the existing Canadian players, at least initially, because it will sharply raise the profile of paid music downloading.
The Apple and iTunes brands, linked with the iPod portable music player, is the hottest combination of brands in the entertainment space right now, Mr. Yigit said. You've got such an iconic pop culture thing going on that it'll probably be the best thing that happens to the legal music downloading business in Canada.
Even Alistair Mitchell, co-chief executive officer of Puretracks' owner Moontaxi Media, said he thinks iTunes' arrival in Canada will be good news for the whole industry.
If you put three grocery stores on the same corner, everyone benefits, he said. It's going to drive a lot of excitement around the whole space.
Mr. Mitchell said Puretracks has some advantages over iTunes and that will help his firm stay competitive.
Puretracks files are compressed less than those of iTunes, he said, so they have better fidelity. And Puretracks has a huge roster of independent Canadian artists on its system that Apple can't rival.
While Apple's presence may give a boost to all players initially, eventually it may be bad for the smaller players, Mr. Yigit said. Ultimately, once [Apple] is established they will be the dominant player, like they are in every market they're in.
The big question, he said, is whether the expansion of the pay-for-play market will make a dent in free file sharing the bane of the music industry in Canada and around the world.
In the U.S., the music industry has filed lawsuits against music pirates, but similar legal efforts in Canada have been stymied by court decisions that have made it difficult for the industry to proceed. On Wednesday, Canadian musicians went to Ottawa to lobby for changes to the Copyright Act to control downloading.
While Apple's presence may help to make legal downloading hot for kids, Mr. Yigit said, it's unlikely to shift many young people away from free file-sharing. That's because a 17 year old has more time than money ... and I don't think they'll be filling up [their iPods] through the 99 cent download system, he said.
Mr. Mitchell disagreed, saying that people are already shifting away from illegal file sharing because it has become a very murky experience. With rampant viruses and spyware attached to the files, it's just a mess, he said.
David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, which negotiated with Apple and the other on-line music players on behalf of copyright owners, said his organization stands ready to sign a deal with any company that wants to legally sell downloads. The overall goal in licensing pay-for-play systems is to reduce the amount of piracy, he said.
Mr. Basskin said his organization only recently initiated discussions with Apple regarding iTunes, and as of Thursday they were close to an agreement.
He said Apple likely waited until now to come into the Canadian market because it wanted to get established first in the United States and Europe, where the population base is greater.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041125.witunz1125/BNStory/Technology/
Apple to press play on iTunes in Canada
By*RICHARD BLACKWELL
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Apple Computer Inc.'s hugely successful iTunes music downloading system is about to launch in Canada, establishing a powerful competitor to the Internet-based music services already in place in this country.
Apple's iTunes on-line music store, already up and running for customers in the United States and Europe, is expected to be open for Canadian audiophiles in the next few days. In October, Apple said it would launch in Canada in November, and a company spokesman said this week the company intends to meet that deadline.
It's still November; we'll launch in November, Apple's Natalie Kerris said.
The expansion of iTunes into the Canadian market will mean stiff competition for the three existing music services and it could help make a dent in the free file-sharing now plaguing the music industry.
Currently, Canadians can download music tracks from Napster.ca (a reconstituted legal version of the old free file-sharing service), Archambault.ca (owned by Quebecor Media Inc., and heavy on French-language music), and Puretracks.com (the first Canadian on-line music store, started last year by Toronto's Moontaxi Media Inc.).
The prices are generally around $1 per track, or slightly higher, and Apple is expected to be in the same range. Apple charges 99 cents (U.S.) in the United States, and .99 in Europe for most tracks. It claims to have sold more than 150 million downloads since its U.S. launch in April, 2003.
Kaan Yigit, president of Toronto technology market research firm Solutions Research Group, said the launch of iTunes in Canada should be good for all the existing Canadian players, at least initially, because it will sharply raise the profile of paid music downloading.
The Apple and iTunes brands, linked with the iPod portable music player, is the hottest combination of brands in the entertainment space right now, Mr. Yigit said. You've got such an iconic pop culture thing going on that it'll probably be the best thing that happens to the legal music downloading business in Canada.
Even Alistair Mitchell, co-chief executive officer of Puretracks' owner Moontaxi Media, said he thinks iTunes' arrival in Canada will be good news for the whole industry.
If you put three grocery stores on the same corner, everyone benefits, he said. It's going to drive a lot of excitement around the whole space.
Mr. Mitchell said Puretracks has some advantages over iTunes and that will help his firm stay competitive.
Puretracks files are compressed less than those of iTunes, he said, so they have better fidelity. And Puretracks has a huge roster of independent Canadian artists on its system that Apple can't rival.
While Apple's presence may give a boost to all players initially, eventually it may be bad for the smaller players, Mr. Yigit said. Ultimately, once [Apple] is established they will be the dominant player, like they are in every market they're in.
The big question, he said, is whether the expansion of the pay-for-play market will make a dent in free file sharing the bane of the music industry in Canada and around the world.
In the U.S., the music industry has filed lawsuits against music pirates, but similar legal efforts in Canada have been stymied by court decisions that have made it difficult for the industry to proceed. On Wednesday, Canadian musicians went to Ottawa to lobby for changes to the Copyright Act to control downloading.
While Apple's presence may help to make legal downloading hot for kids, Mr. Yigit said, it's unlikely to shift many young people away from free file-sharing. That's because a 17 year old has more time than money ... and I don't think they'll be filling up [their iPods] through the 99 cent download system, he said.
Mr. Mitchell disagreed, saying that people are already shifting away from illegal file sharing because it has become a very murky experience. With rampant viruses and spyware attached to the files, it's just a mess, he said.
David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, which negotiated with Apple and the other on-line music players on behalf of copyright owners, said his organization stands ready to sign a deal with any company that wants to legally sell downloads. The overall goal in licensing pay-for-play systems is to reduce the amount of piracy, he said.
Mr. Basskin said his organization only recently initiated discussions with Apple regarding iTunes, and as of Thursday they were close to an agreement.
He said Apple likely waited until now to come into the Canadian market because it wanted to get established first in the United States and Europe, where the population base is greater.
I'm glad to hear that Apple is the "dominant player" in the personal computer business, the application server business, the corporate workstation business, the word processing and spreadsheet business, and all the other areas were I somehow thought they were underdogs.appleguy said:
Of course, what he really meant was that the iTunes Music Store is dominant in every market it is in, not that Apple is dominant in every market it is in.
I don't give a lot of credit to MOSR these days... but here's their 'dirt' on the iTMS Canada.
Globe reports Apple saying November is good, but MOSR says January. Wow. Or it could be a combination. Certain labels / music will not be available until January?
As for 'technology is already in place' It can't be that much technology to get in place can it?
Globe reports Apple saying November is good, but MOSR says January. Wow. Or it could be a combination. Certain labels / music will not be available until January?
As for 'technology is already in place' It can't be that much technology to get in place can it?
adamberti said:
january would be shocking given the current loop behavior everyone in canada has been getting. agree with you adamberti re. the different labels and that some labels will be added later.
definitely tomorrow or even today. and i say this not because i know but because i just WANT it to be true
lukasgardiner said:january would be shocking given the current loop behavior everyone in canada has been getting. agree with you adamberti re. the different labels and that some labels will be added later.
definitely tomorrow or even today. and i say this not because i know but because i just WANT it to be true
Exactly, If it wasnt coming until Jan then Apple wouldn't have said 'Yep, it's coming in Nov', and they wouldn't have an apple rep confirming this like 2 days ago.
Well all know steve doesnt like to look like a fool. If iTunes misses it's november launch, that's exactly what he'll look like. He's not gonna let it happen. iTunes is coming. Tomorrow. Period. I think..
/asif
I have no doubts that technologically, iTMS Canada is ready to go right now, it's just that damn legal aspect which I hope Apple has dealt with accordingly - that appears like the only thing holding things back right now.
In the french canadian newspaper "La Presse" today (in Montreal), there's an article that confirms the store will open "anyday now" but that it might be crippled because of Sony/BMG that wants to control the royalties themselves
According to the article, the negociation went on all the way to friday and will continue today. I guess it will launch tomorrow with a bunch of missing artists and those will be added in the coming weeks and months.
Why does this always happen in Canada ?? At least ,we'll have something.
According to the article, the negociation went on all the way to friday and will continue today. I guess it will launch tomorrow with a bunch of missing artists and those will be added in the coming weeks and months.
Why does this always happen in Canada ?? At least ,we'll have something.
ferratus said:In the french canadian newspaper "La Presse" today (in Montreal), there's an article that confirms the store will open "anyday now" but that it might be crippled because of Sony/BMG that wants to control the royalties themselves
According to the article, the negociation went on all the way to friday and will continue today. I guess it will launch tomorrow with a bunch of missing artists and those will be added in the coming weeks and months.
Why does this always happen in Canada ?? At least ,we'll have something.
Well, the same sorta thing happened in the UK - We didnt get indies until a few months after - even now, Apple's still playing catchup trying to get all the indie music on.
Just to add fuel to the fire...
I notice today that I can't guest past the "The iTunes Music store is not available in your country yet" page. Every time I click the arrow to browse anyway, I just get the same message.
This is a behaviour I haven't seen yet, and different from what happened before the European launch.
I notice today that I can't guest past the "The iTunes Music store is not available in your country yet" page. Every time I click the arrow to browse anyway, I just get the same message.
This is a behaviour I haven't seen yet, and different from what happened before the European launch.