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iTunes Europe - Starting in June?
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MacFan25 said:I think that many people will be very happy about this. This will only help Apple sell even more iPods.
Hopefully it will be received well over there.
Apple's problem is NOT SELLING iPods it is in getting enough of them made to meet the current demand. There is still a big waiting list in a lot of countries when you order an iPod from an appliance/computer/or Apple Reseller store because they have either sold out of their stock and the next shipment hasnt arrived in the country yet.
iPods sold outside of the US sell because their form, function and ease of use and because they are the best product on the market, not because they can download music from the internet
The interesting thing is that out side of the US some of the people who have iPods dont realise you can PLAY music on them ( they use them as a portable storage device). Most people dont realise that you can use iTunes to get music from the iTMS, and the people who do have music on their iPods (like the rest of us) have ripped it from their CD collection.
God, there's a whole sh*tload of stuff I'm itching to download! I'm going to have to seriously ration myself. 
That would be cool
That's right, buy Apple Records and make them produce something besides lawsuits. Too bad it wouldn't come with the entire Beatles' catalog.
hayesk said:
That's right, buy Apple Records and make them produce something besides lawsuits. Too bad it wouldn't come with the entire Beatles' catalog.
stoid said:Apple will use revenue from the iTMS and BUY the record companies
Won't happen. Don't forget that Apple pays more in license fees than they earn from the store themselves. That is, if they are earning money already. So the more the ITMS grows, the more the record companies grow.
dbasskin said:
Somehow, I find it hard to believe that a Canadian music executive would find his way to these boards. If it is true, however, it would be interesting to hear more about your stand on digital downloads. I'm very confused by all the price raising rumours I'm hearing -- seems that with $0.99 per track (and I think $0.35 of that is license fees), it should be attractive to support digital downloads.
As for me, I think ITMS in Europe will generate a lot of good press for Apple, which is good. I might buy a couple of hard-to-get tracks, but otherwise I think it's just not worth it. My bet is the German price will be at least 1,09 per track (16% GST here, US$ catching up) and for that I get no CD, liner notes, album art. Plus I'm very skeptical about the interoperability of AAC (or even worse WMA) withe the computing platform I'm going to use ten years down the road.
I'll continue to do what I do now: Refrain from buying copy-protected CDs (which includes most new mainstream productions), buy cheap or used CDs or buy from independent labels. I already bought about 6 albums this year, by the way.
I wouldnt be surprised if it was the real David Basskin as he posted a number of comments on one the threads earlier on this year regarding pricing disparities between the US and Canada and when Canada would get the iTMS, so welcome to Mac Bytes Mr Basskin.crenz said:
After I bought about two albums worth of songs I realized that for just a little more I could by a CD that I can listen to in 20 years instead of some files that I may not be able to play in 5 years. I have only recently been tempted to buy more songs since there are a few albums now on the iTMS that are out of print and difficult or impossible to find otherwise. I think that is where the benefits of online music benefits. It's cheap to offer a CD that has a small audience without producing a lot of CD's that will sit around collecting dust.
The artists still get screwed: http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/
As long as Apple just license the music, the record companies are still in control over the artists royalties, and now they can pay even less, since iTunes takes its cut too.
As long as Apple just license the music, the record companies are still in control over the artists royalties, and now they can pay even less, since iTunes takes its cut too.
dbasskin said:
If you are the person quoted here you are, indeed, a dingbat, to put it politely. Appalling to think that Apple would have to deal with THAT person, who claims to represents Canada's interests.
"We are as frustrated as you with the fact that iTunes Music Store isn't yet available in Canada," the CMRRA recently told an AppleInsider correspondent who was researching the subject. "We would be delighted to see them here."
"As well as completing their agreement with us, they must also make licensing arrangements for the use of the recordings they will distribute, establish their infrastructure and billing system for Canada and develop a marketing plans for Canada," said David Basskin, President of CMRRA Ltd. Basskin said he has no doubt that Apple is capable of completing all of these tasks, but noted that they are all prerequisites to launching the iTunes Music Store in Canada."
This idiot, whoever he is, might as well ask Apple to dodge bullets, catch fish and perform circus tricks on a high-wire. It'd be fun to actually debate someone so capable of gobbldeygook as this.Talk about circuitous triple speak.
If this was not you, don't sweat it.
If it was, I would be more than happy to help subsidise the CA health system to extricate your head from your you-know-what. It could end up (pun not intended) helping Apple actually get Canadians a fair crack at the iTMS!
Apple may be anticipating the EU bill which is due to be passed in the next couple of months allowing the pan european downloading of legal digital music files. This is one of the things that has been holding them back till now.
Flowbee said:
Yeah and at a reduced quality compared to the original CD. Also those CD's you burn yourself do not have a long shelf life. There was an article recently where those 100 year CD-R's only lasting about 5 years. I have had CD-R's I've burned much more recently than 5 years ago that I can no longer read even though they were of good quality and verified after the burn.
hanssolo said:
Um, really?
That's the situation NOW...but what's stopping artists from negotiating separately for CD and online for the next contracts? Or for new groups to negotiate the two separately?
High demand for iTunes Store PLUS high demand for independent stores will, I predict, loosen the RIAA's grip on artists....and you got to have BOTH to do that....
Yes, I'm who I say I am. Please see our web site (http://www.cmrra.ca) for more information. I'm afraid I don't see what your problem is, rjwill. Want to call me names? Go crazy, big guy. Mind you, I'm a bit confused at the concern of somebody living (simultaneously?) in Nevada and Australia, but let it pass.
Because sound recordings are protected by copyright, Apple needs to obtain permission to distribute copies of those recordings from their respective owners. But that's not all they have to do. Each recording contains a musical composition - a song, in plain English. The record companies don't own the songs. When they manufacture CD's, they obtain licenses from the song owners (we call them "music publishers" in the business). On behalf of our music publisher clients, we've issued millions of these licenses to the record companies. However, these licenses aren't transferable. The record companies can't pass along our rights when they license their recordings to online companies. In order to complete the picture, the online companies must obtain licenses from CMRRA for their distribution of copies of our clients' songs.
We're well down the road in licensing the two music distribution services presently operating in Canada - namely, Puretracks and Archambault. As bigtime Apple fans ourselves, we're disappointed that neither service supports the Mac or the iPod, but that's a matter in the hands of those companies. We're happy to license our clients' songs for distribution on any platform - music publishers don't make money saying "no" to licensing opportunities.
Ever since Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, we've been in discussions with them, and we've offered them the same deal as every other online music distribution company. We've also licensed MusicNet and Napster, although neither company has yet started up its Canadian operations.
Like it or not, Apple has the sole right to make the decisions on when it will launch IMS in Canada or any other territory outside the United States. We'd have been overjoyed to see them start up in Canada by now, and we stand ready to do business with them the moment they're ready. But we can't force them to do so. The best way to get the message across is for Mac and iPod enthusiasts to let Apple's Canadian office know, loud and clear, how anxious you are to become their customer. I have no explanation to offer for their reluctance to move ahead - personally, I look forward to being an IMS customer myself!
Now, rjwill, if you have the guts to explain your views on these matters, why don't you post them here or email me at dbasskin@cmrra.ca or call me at (416) 926-1966, ext. 222. You can even snail-mail me a letter at 56 Wellesley St. W. Suite 320, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2S3. If all you want to do is snipe and call names from a safe distance, well, have a nice day.
David A. Basskin
President
CMRRA Ltd.
Toronto, Canada
Because sound recordings are protected by copyright, Apple needs to obtain permission to distribute copies of those recordings from their respective owners. But that's not all they have to do. Each recording contains a musical composition - a song, in plain English. The record companies don't own the songs. When they manufacture CD's, they obtain licenses from the song owners (we call them "music publishers" in the business). On behalf of our music publisher clients, we've issued millions of these licenses to the record companies. However, these licenses aren't transferable. The record companies can't pass along our rights when they license their recordings to online companies. In order to complete the picture, the online companies must obtain licenses from CMRRA for their distribution of copies of our clients' songs.
We're well down the road in licensing the two music distribution services presently operating in Canada - namely, Puretracks and Archambault. As bigtime Apple fans ourselves, we're disappointed that neither service supports the Mac or the iPod, but that's a matter in the hands of those companies. We're happy to license our clients' songs for distribution on any platform - music publishers don't make money saying "no" to licensing opportunities.
Ever since Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, we've been in discussions with them, and we've offered them the same deal as every other online music distribution company. We've also licensed MusicNet and Napster, although neither company has yet started up its Canadian operations.
Like it or not, Apple has the sole right to make the decisions on when it will launch IMS in Canada or any other territory outside the United States. We'd have been overjoyed to see them start up in Canada by now, and we stand ready to do business with them the moment they're ready. But we can't force them to do so. The best way to get the message across is for Mac and iPod enthusiasts to let Apple's Canadian office know, loud and clear, how anxious you are to become their customer. I have no explanation to offer for their reluctance to move ahead - personally, I look forward to being an IMS customer myself!
Now, rjwill, if you have the guts to explain your views on these matters, why don't you post them here or email me at dbasskin@cmrra.ca or call me at (416) 926-1966, ext. 222. You can even snail-mail me a letter at 56 Wellesley St. W. Suite 320, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2S3. If all you want to do is snipe and call names from a safe distance, well, have a nice day.
David A. Basskin
President
CMRRA Ltd.
Toronto, Canada
winmacguy said:
Thanks for the kind welcome.
As to crenz's question on retail pricing levels for the sale of online music, it's obviously a matter of general concern to us, but pricing decisions are entirely in the hands of the operators of online services, Apple included. What we sell is the right to reproduce the songs which are owned and administered by our music publisher clients. In effect, we're a supplier of a necessary component of what an online music service sells, just as the record companies supply the recordings, the service's ISP supplies the line facilities and so on. Retail pricing decisions are entirely in the hands of the online service operator.
Strictly on a personal basis, I think it's unwise for per-track costs to increase beyond the corresponding level of a track on a manufactured CD, but, again, pricing isn't my issue. I'm here to ensure that my music publisher clients and the songwriters they represent get a fair royalty rate, and accurate and timely royalty reporting and payment.
David A. Basskin
President
CMRRA Ltd.
Toronto, Canada
swissmann said:
It can get really messy. There are often different labels carrying the rights to a set of songs in each country, and what is released varies too. Track selections, artwork, even small variations in song lyrics turn up in different markets -- and of course there are the differences in release dates that studios and labels seem reluctant to give up. People have always been able to work around this by purchasing imported recordings, but are labels going to go for that with something like iTMS where more direct control can be exercised?
edenwaith said:
I'm with you man - poeple need to be able to wirelessly connect to the iTMS from the slopes of Mount Titano and load up some tunes to their iPod!