iTunes - downloading from another country's site?

[kevinswalsh]

Hi,

Anybody know if it's possible for me to download tracks on the French iTunes site, even though I'm in the UK?

I tried to buy a couple, but got a message saying my account is for the UK only. But the tracks aren't available on the UK site. And I obviously can't set up a French account as I'd need a credit/debit card at a French address to do so.

Is there any way round that?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Macaddicttt]

Hi,

Anybody know if it's possible for me to download tracks on the French iTunes site, even though I'm in the UK?

I tried to buy a couple, but got a message saying my account is for the UK only. But the tracks aren't available on the UK site. And I obviously can't set up a French account as I'd need a credit/debit card at a French address to do so.

Is there any way round that?

Thanks,
Kevin

Nope, I'm sorry to say it's not possible. The reason why there are different country stores is because of different copyright and licensing laws between countries. They set it up like this on purpose specifically so that you can't buy songs from other countries' stores.

 

[kevinswalsh]

That's a pity. Thanks, Macaddicttt.

Best wishes,
Kevin

 

[shidoshi]

Actually, I've read that people have been successful by purchasing a gift card in the country you want to buy music from, and then using said gift card in another country.

As I'm interested in the upcoming iTMS Japan, I'm going to have my girlfriend try out a US gift card over there. If it works, then I'll have her send me over some Japanese gift cards, when/if they exist.

 

[eva01]

so i would have to take a vacation to japan then. interesting gives me even more reasons to go their if they have gift cards for iTMS japan

 

[0098386]

aw, thats a bit of a shame. i'll be bouncing to and from england, spain and poland over the next few years so just using the UK music store would have been nice. ho hum!

 

[Cybernanga]

Apparently you gan obtain tracks from other countries stores by using a gift certificate.

The only problem is finding someone in that country to send you a gift certificate. You could try using this site that I created, it's usefull for stuff like that.

 

[jimsowden]

If you proxied yourself through a secure server, then couldn't you in theory bypass the country check? I mean, all it is is placing an ip with a country.

 

[FelixDerKater]

The whole country check is based not on your current location, but your billing information. To purchase, for example, from the German iTMS you need a German address and a credit card with a billing address in Germany. It is likewise throughout.

 

[garybUK]

It's a bit supid, specially when i've bought cd's from fnac.fr and fnac.es and had them sent over with a uk debit card no problems.

It's a bit backwards and might i add against EU rules.