iTUNES stores import option please!!!!

[k2k koos]

Hi All: Most of you will probably agree that the iTunes music store is an excellent thing (?).
However, there is so much good music in the world worth listening to, but not available in iTunes, depending on the country your in. I know this is all due to licencing, but if a record company agrees to offer for example, the Dave Matthews Band on the USA store, then why the heck not on the UK store? I can get them (and others) at a local music store as import disks, at a premium price, why not do the same on the music store?i for one am willing to pay a(reasonable) extra fee for an import artist. I'm sure the artists themselves benefit from that?

I am sure there are plenty european artists that are normally import artists in the US, and vice versa, yet we can't get their music via iTunes.

It's time to sort this out, so the more we complain about this on this forum, and other sites (and Apple will read this for sure!) the more chances we have, otherwise I'll have to resort to illegal copies....

 

[Switzermac]

I also think its a licencing thing

 

[puckhead193]

i wouldn't mind paying a dollar or two for an "import" cd on itunes

 

[mcarvin]

i wouldn't mind paying a dollar or two for an "import" cd on itunes

I can see going into Tower or whatever and paying a premium for a physical import CD (did it with Miles' "In A Silent Way") because there's additional fees involved in getting the CD from Japan to the US. But paying a premium for imports on iTMS? What needs to be "imported", other than a few megs of data?

As far as licensing fees, it'd probably cost more to negotiate them than would actually be returned in revenue provided they didn't already have some kind of worldwide licensing mechanism in place.

 

[mkrishnan]

As far as licensing fees, it'd probably cost more to negotiate them than would actually be returned in revenue provided they didn't already have some kind of worldwide licensing mechanism in place.

I think that's why they would have to charge more for such a thing, as a cost offset. Which really wouldn't be that bad. It'd still be a huge improvement over the way we do things now.

But it really depends on the way you look at it. If Apple pitches international dist rights for artists that are never going to get re-released abroad (for instance, there's no way Utada Hikaru's Japanese albums are going to get official, white-market US releases, sadly), then giving up that right to Apple essentially becomes a pure source of additional profit to the label, because more people are likely to buy it this way (where it is consistently available) than through current gray market channels.

You're right, though, in that Apple, or someone, would need to set the standard in this kind of licensing, because it's a pretty new issue. And that standard probably would *not* cover artists who really do get released in multiple countries...just the ones that have niche fanbases abroad, whose albums only get domestic (or certain market) release.

 

[mcarvin]

I think that's why they would have to charge more for such a thing, as a cost offset. Which really wouldn't be that bad. It'd still be a huge improvement over the way we do things now.

But it really depends on the way you look at it. If Apple pitches international dist rights for artists that are never going to get re-released abroad (for instance, there's no way Utada Hikaru's Japanese albums are going to get official, white-market US releases, sadly), then giving up that right to Apple essentially becomes a pure source of additional profit to the label, because more people are likely to buy it this way (where it is consistently available) than through current gray market channels.

You're right, though, in that Apple, or someone, would need to set the standard in this kind of licensing, because it's a pretty new issue. And that standard probably would *not* cover artists who really do get released in multiple countries...just the ones that have niche fanbases abroad, whose albums only get domestic (or certain market) release.

So long as it didn't head down the path of MPAA-type region control over music, I could probably get behind that. But never ever ever underestimate the greediness of the RIAA.

 

[dotdotdot]

OK, before anyone continues this thread:

What the **** is imported DATA? It doesn't cost money for Apple to magically PUT ONE FILE ON ANOTHER COMPUTER, does it? AND you still pay $9.99 + for it! I mean, thats a reasonable price, but an import price? Why?

 

[mcarvin]

OK, before anyone continues this thread:

What the **** is imported DATA? It doesn't cost money for Apple to magically PUT ONE FILE ON ANOTHER COMPUTER, does it? AND you still pay $9.99 + for it! I mean, thats a reasonable price, but an import price? Why?

You're right. I threw the same question out there myself because we're only talking about a few megs per album. The real issue with that is licensing, which our international friends are all too familiar with (iTMS Austrailia?)

Is it reasonable to expect that the releasing label in whatever country will expect a license fee to release that music to another country? Absolutely, money is money and it's not like the labels are hard up or anything.

 

[k2k koos]

Licensing

Yep, that is it I think. Eventhough technically the issue is not expensive at all for Apple to do, it is the 'international distribution rights' or whatever fancy name the record company execs have dreamed up, that is the killer.
Now if we could have this within reason, I'd still be able to OWN a legal copy of the albums I am after, wherever they may be from. in the UK we pay on average £0.79 per song, if for "imports" this would be £1,- , then that is fine by me. So Apple, what on earth are you waiting for, shake up the music world again, I am a musician myself, and the above construction would be great if it means my (yet to be released) albums get sold more, and over time, they might become regular albums in that country, instead of imports. That in turn means there are more people who like my music, thus I will sell more, will earn more, and so does everyone else involved.

I can then save up for one of those top of the range Powermacs ;-)