“It’s the marketing phenomenon that has revolutionised how the world buys its music. Now Australians are expected to get their chance to try iTunes Music Store – Apple Computer’s internet music download system – in the next two months,” Daniel Dasey reports for The Sun-Herald.
“Music industry sources predict the US company will launch its online music store here by mid-June,” Dasey reports. “Apple has refused to confirm iTunes Music Store is coming to Australia, but the company is understood to be booking advertising for it in music magazines.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This story has had more than its fair share of false reports, so we’ll believe it when we see it.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
RUMOR: Apple to launch Australian iTunes Music Store by ‘end of April’ – March 29, 2005
Report: Apple to debut Australian iTunes Music Store tomorrow – January 10, 2005
Apple Computer to launch Australian iTunes Music Store on January 12? – December 27, 2004
Call me cynical if you will but I will believe it when I see it. There have been variations of this rumour every six months.
WHO CARES.. JAPAN FIRST!
“WHO CARES.. “
ME !!!!!! I want it badly
mike – “WHO CARES.. JAPAN FIRST!” (his “yelling” not mine)
I care!
Also Japan iTunes Music Store is unlikely for a while due to the MASSIVE difference in prices for music in Japan compared to the rest of the world (i.e. Japan prices are ridiculously high), and so Apple will need to really work out some fantastic deals to maintain comparible (I doubt ever equal) pricing to their other markets.
Also Australia has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. If Apple Australia don’t launch a local site soon, I’m guessing that Australian consumers could invoke the FTA to INSIST they are given access to the US iTunes store. It would be an interesting test case. How can you have “free trade” that is restricted? (I have no idea of the legal ins and outs of the FTA, so this may be impossible, but it would seem logical!)
my 2 cents
Luke in Oz (i.e. Australia)
admittedly i dont live in either japan or aus.. so that comment was just lame and idiotic.. sorry..
i’m being a little bit of a prick here.. pulling for the JP store just cuz it has 200 million people..
the aus guys should get their store soon.. i take back my ‘who cares’ comment..
the reason, despite popn, the JP store isn’t even being talked about is their insane pricing.. so yeah.. we won’t be hearing about it for a while
again.. i feel like a turd.. sorry.. you AUS guys are gonna get your store.. sit tight..
Cool! I’ve been waiting to buy some didgeridoo music…
(*ducks*)
Hey, Australia deserves iTMS. We’ve been buying iPods in record numbers. And the more people that buy their music through Apple, the more are likely to make the jump to Macs.
I’ve suspended all music purchases until iTMS starts.
And I can’t wait.
The iTunes store is what helps makes the iPod stand out from the crowd of other MP3 players. And for those people who are prepared to put up with a lousy 128kps near cd quality then good luck to them. I got burned by ripping my whole cd collection at 128 kps (and by following Apple’s advice to do so at this level) and had to do the whole thing over again.
Why does Apple persist with this bit rate…because that was the deal the record companies put on Messers Jobs and co. to launch the original iTunes music store.
I spent 15 years in the Australian music scene as a muso, promoter and eventually as an legal advocate and this fits with all my dealings with the industry.
So you may be asking why the music industry insisted on near cd quality…to protect their fat margins on cd sales of course.
The difference between an Australian music exec. and their American counterpart is the accent.
They’ll still screw everyone from the muso down to the punter and everyone in between.
That’s entertainment!!!
Take the bit rate up the up to next setting and I’ll even sip from the devil’s cup. Hell I’d even gig with the horny devil.
Walter Chillum
i was listenin’ to some vinal records
damn they snd good
cd quality is too low…let alone 128kbps
I can’t wait till June.
But hopefully it will happen and we won’t have to wait any longer.
It would great if Japan got iTMS on the same day that Australia did.