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iTunes Europe Next Month?

JFreak said:
haven't i done the math a million times already? ok, once more. and this math ASSUMES that everyone will play fair, in other words, that both the record companies and our beloved apple are satisfied for having the same amount of money from europeans as they are satisfied for having from americans. that means simply that the taxfree us price can be converted into euros and add tax to it.

so here it goes. 0.99 dollars equals 0.825 euros. that should be the european taxfree price. let's say that ON AVERAGE we have a 20% sales tax (value added tax as they call it), that puts the final price at 0.99 euros.

to summarize and to repeat myself: everything above 0.99 euros per song is highway robbery. probably pure greed on behalf of the record companies.

or apple.
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word.

and Stella: you're saying that we europeans are bitching for nothing? You're saying that "Europe pays far more for music than the US does, and that isn't based on exchange rate."

yeah, true. but isn't 1.29e a bit too much? Using the calculations by JFreak, we can actually get to a point where 1.29e is pretty damn much more than say $1.15 (here both prices have tax included)..

we SHOULD be getting the same numbers but in euros (=99€). then i would be satisfied.
 
This is a good question given that the UK still (stupidly in my opinion) insists on using the pound. I bet they will just establish a second pricing structure for the UK.
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Yes. This will probably just be another case of 'rip off Britain' as is so commonly seen where the rest of the world (and even Europe which supposedly runs off the same sales taxes as we do of 17.5% VAT) has lower prices, leaving the British public feeling short changed. When the iPod mini comes out here it is likely to be at least as much (if not more) than the cost of buying one in the US, having it shipped over, paying VAT and and any customs duties upon arrival. I know I just sound like another moaning Brit, but it's true and I for one am fed up with paying a premium for living here in Blighty! :mad:
 
What about eastern ...

Macrumors said:
According to a Reuters report, Apple may be ready to launch their iTunes Music Store for Europe as early as next month.
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Yeah, and wattabout iTunes Music Store for Asia?!
About 3.9 bllion people live there! Just imagine that huge market, spreading from Asia Minor (Turkey), across Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afganistan, India, China, ex. Soviet Union, Korea and Japan!
Whoa!
I thing Indian market will rule! You just go out in the streets of Calcutta, and will see thousands of beggars with white earphones in their ears, listenning to good ol' folk songs and Bollywood musicals!
:D
 
i wonder if iTunes Canada will also become available...can those outside the US still download iTunes, but just not use the Music Store?
 
Wonder Boy said:
so what? it's like china going to the moon. woo hoo we're number 3!
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A great accomplishment nonetheless if they make it there with peacefull intentions. By the time they land on the moon, they could be the only power in the world with this capability. America doesn't have this capability at the moment but may very well have it back by the time China is on it's way.

But I digress... GO EUROPE!!! May you get the best bargain out of online music!
 
Price is normal

So many people are complaining about the price being too expensive. Remember that a typical CD is around 20 Euros and singles are at least 5 Euros, for what I have seen in France. With a 12 tracks CD, it's 1,66 Euros per track, which is quite more than the suggested 1,25 Euros.

Anyway, european people are used to pay a lot for everything, hard to figure out for americans who get everything free.

And for British people complaining about the price being in Euro, isn't it time you switch to the european money?
 
srobert said:
About Value:

Best selling track from iTMS this week: The Reason (Hoobastank)
Best selling some comes from this album: The Reason
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Is it just me, or has this damn Hoobastank song been #1 for like 6 months?? :rolleyes: :confused:
 
calm down

So...am I the only one who's noticed the following trend:

1) Rumor saying prices on ITMS are going up / going to be set very high.
2) Breathless forum posts cursing Apple for having the audacity to set a market price.
3) Apple saying that, no actually, prices aren't going up.

Admittedly, Apple hasn't said word one about ITMS Europe pricing. But why don't we all save our self-righteous indignation until AFTER they announce actual prices.
 
jesuscandle said:
Admittedly, Apple hasn't said word one about ITMS Europe pricing. But why don't we all save our self-righteous indignation until AFTER they announce actual prices.
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This is macrumors, not macfacts! ^_^ We're SUPPOSED to discuss rumors here before they become facts (or not). And we just love that. We also love to complain about unfounded rumors. Some posts are positive, some posts are negative. Forums are the right place to exchange opinions. :D

On another totally unrelated topic:

*srobert attacks slime
*srobert misses slime
*slime attacks srobert
*slime hits srobert for 3 points of dam
*srobert attacks the slime
*srobert scores a critical hit for 8 points of dam
*srobert defeat the slime
*srobert gains 2 GP
*srobert finds bamboo stick
*srobert gains 1 XP
*srobert is now level 3
*ATT goes up 1 point
*DEf goes up 2 points
*Max HP goes up 3 points
*Max MP goes up 2 points
 
the blame

Stella said:
Canada?!!

Are you telling me that Apple can't multitask?
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keep in mind the problem is not just apple.. its the crtc and canadian labels and possibly the GST (canadian goods and services tax).

However.. if napster can get it together, why can't apple?
 
Why just limit this upcoming "release" to Europe? Couldn't the big iTMS announcement that Steve has in store at WWDC would be iTMS Worldwide? :D We could dream, can't we? ;)

As far as Apple trying to profit from the "high" prices, I don't think so. The only "greed" they're guilty of here is trying to sell more iPods. I can live with that. :)
 
vincentb said:
And for British people complaining about the price being in Euro, isn't it time you switch to the european money?
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For what benefit? The last attempt at something similar failed miserable (ERM). The Euro might be a common currency, but the pricing still varys for each country. For example, The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free:

Amazon.de - €13.99
Amazon.fr - €14.94
Amazon.co.uk - £8.49

An article which explains it a bit better, is this http://www.finfacts.com/euro.htm - scroll down to the price comparison. If each track is €1.29, some countries are getting a better deal than others. If the UK is charged the Euro, all the better, as each track will cost about 86p. If not, I'd be hoping for 99p.

This might be a obvious question, but will the catalogue be the same as the US iTMS?
 
The 3rd biggest music market in the world is the UK, where 1.29 euros equals 85/86p, which I suggest, to a Brit would sound very reasonable - even if it is expensive relative to prices paid by our colonial cousins across the Atlantic. And I am sure the average German, Scandanavian or Frenchman earns a shed load more than a Brit, so in those more lucrative part of Euro land, 1.29 Euros is probably just a bad-sounding number rather than bad value.
 
This might be a ridiculous question, but I don't see how you can't use iTMS US even if you live in Europe. This is the internet after all. So what if they require a US credit card... cant you just load up an internet "iwallet" or some such non-sense and buy from the US store like anyone else?

You'd think that geographical boundaries on electronic data wouldn't be quite so insurmountable (legally and illegally)
 
Beck446 said:
This might be a ridiculous question, but I don't see how you can't use iTMS US even if you live in Europe. This is the internet after all. So what if they require a US credit card... cant you just load up an internet "iwallet" or some such non-sense and buy from the US store like anyone else?

You'd think that geographical boundaries on electronic data wouldn't be quite so insurmountable (legally and illegally)
Click to expand...
You need a proper credit card with a valid US address. You can't just make up an address when registering for the credit card, and the credit card address (which has to be in the US) must match what you tell Apple in your user account as they verify this to stop against fraud.

So the only way to get around it is to know and trust someone in the US, who can set up a credit card in their name, using their US address, and then let you use it for iTMS purchases.
 
Beck446 said:
This might be a ridiculous question, but I don't see how you can't use iTMS US even if you live in Europe. This is the internet after all. So what if they require a US credit card... cant you just load up an internet "iwallet" or some such non-sense and buy from the US store like anyone else?
Click to expand...

Because they insist when you set up the account that you enter a credit card with a US billing address. even if you have another credit card set up on .mac, it transfers all the info over but requires a 5 digit zipcode, a state and a phone number associated with card
 
johnnyjibbs said:
You need a proper credit card with a valid US address. You can't just make up an address when registering for the credit card, and the credit card address (which has to be in the US) must match what you tell Apple in your user account as they verify this to stop against fraud.

So the only way to get around it is to know and trust someone in the US, who can set up a credit card in their name, using their US address, and then let you use it for iTMS purchases.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just thought there would be a way around that, but I guess it's harder than it sounds. Perhaps I'll be a clearinghouse for all of you and charge a nominal fee for the services??? :D :D If only I could 100x my credit card limit.
 
claughery said:
Does this raise the possibility of the 4g ipod intro???
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Wouldn't surprize me if Apple have a huge bonanza planned for the launch, and consider the iPod mini part of that. While everybody with a back garden shed and a 56k modem seems to be setting up music download services here in Europe, they're just don't have style (especially when I have to use Windows to access/play the music), and most have opened with about as much fanfare as a tone-deaf beggar playing the gazoo.
 
Vanilla said:
Frankly in my opinion EURO 1.29 per track is very reasonable ... this is NOT expensive.
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When you consider some of the harder to obtain albums can cost up to 32€, no it's not expensive. But for that price I'd expect a higher quality encoding, or some 'upgrade' option later. I'll be tempted when I want the instant gratification of having a pop-song (where I don't really care about the fidelity, I just wanna shake to it), or for songs that are out of print/not available here, but I still have my doubts about paying €1.29 and never being able to 're-rip' the song into a higher quality. When I first ripped CDs, I did it at 128Kbs to MP3s (ugh!), and now I do it at 192Kbs to AAC. But there are some songs that I wouldn't buy unless I got a lossless version, e.g. Lauren's Walking or other songs where the fidelity is essential to the enjoyment of the song.
 
JFreak said:
but since (compared to a physical cd) the drm'ed aac file:
- is worse than cd quality
- as drm'ed file has less freedom of use
- has less (none!) cover art
- has less (none!) resell value
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Actually, songs purchased from iTMS *do* include cover art--it displays in iTunes when you play the song.

They also (theoretically) have more resell value than CD's, as they do not become "used" in the same way that physical media does. Of course, the seller must deauthorize his computer(s) and relinquish all rights to the music, but otherwise you wouldn't be legally selling it anyway.

I'm also somewhat skeptical of your claim that a DRM'ed file has less freedom of use, at least in the sense that anyone would (legally) use the music. Five computers and unlimited CD burns and iPod usage seems not particularly restrictive to me.

elo
 
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