Interesting news for iTunes users

[Corabar Steve]

The EU has launched an inquiry into what Apple's online music store iTunes charges users across Europe, accusing it of restricting customer choice.
Brussels believes agreements between Apple and record companies violate EU laws by preventing users in one country buying music from a site elsewhere.

The move follows a complaint by UK body Which? that British users have to pay more to download songs than others.

Apple said it wanted to offer a single European service but faced obstacles.


The Commission's move is unrelated to an agreement, announced on Monday, between iTunes and EMI to make the latter's music available online without piracy protection.

Brussels has written to Apple and a number of unnamed record companies to notify them of their objections to the way music is sold, the first step in formal proceedings.

We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us

Apple

Media reports speculated that it had contacted each of the "big four" record companies - EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music.

The Commission said Apple established customers' country of residence through their credit card details and only allowed people to buy tracks from the website for that country.

"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music," said EU competition spokesman Jonathan Todd.

ITUNES PRICING PER DOWNLOAD
UK: 79p
Denmark: 72p
Germany: 66p
France: 66p
Belgium: 66p

Research by Which? in 2005 found that UK users paid 79p (1.16 euros) to download a song, compared with 66p (99 euro cents) in France and Germany.

Apple said it had always wanted to offer a fully pan-European service, but was restricted by the demands of its music partners.

"We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us," it said in a statement.

'Restricting competition'

The companies targeted by Brussels have two months in which to respond to the charges.

Which? welcomed the investigation, saying the benefits of the European single market should be available to music lovers in all member states.

"This investigation proves that iTunes is overcharging its UK customers, who are paying substantially more for their music," said Alena Kozakova, its principal economist.

"The announcement means that companies can no longer hide behind intellectual property rights to restrict competition for consumers." Let's wait & see what the outcome is.

[Harrison's Discos]

Funny that.. Callum (CB Entertainments) was trying to purchase some Disney movies to put on his new i pod the other night.. trouble was that they were not available 'in your area'.

I think they should make all i tunes songs and movies available to us.. it just isnt fair.:bang:

[Jiggles]

Funny that.. Callum (CB Entertainments) was trying to purchase some Disney movies to put on his new i pod the other night.. trouble was that they were not available 'in your area'.

I think they should make all i tunes songs and movies available to us.. it just isnt fair.:bang:

I was just going to say that!!! :)

As usual punished for being British!!

[sleah]

It is rather bizarre. You can legally buy imported CD's!
So why not DL'd music?
I think it is all to do with licensing. A CD is a physical tangable thing whereas a download is making an electronic copy. Bit like the way radio stations have a limit to how far they can transmit.
It's about time they treated downloads like a CD. After all, a download is the first part to making a CD, a CD is only a copy anyway!
With a download, the customer takes care of the manufacturing process.
By 'pretending' that buying music by download is like broadcasting, it's a good way for the record companies to make more money, because they can set different prices in each country.

[PropellerHeadCase]

It all comes down to who holds the distribution rights. If a company holds the distribution rights for a particular artist and has an agreement with iTunes then you can download that track, but if your territory is distributed to via a different company then you may not be able to purchase that track. If you look at a lot of UK-pressed CDs you'll see that distribution in Belgium and Luxembourg is by a different company (not sure why it is so often the small countries that have separate distribution deals).

Just because the medium of delivery is via the internet doesn't mean that they can obviate the contracted distribution licences as it would mean that the monies from that sale would go to the wrong company. iTunes is analogous to your local CD store, sure, but they don't have the digital equivalent of 'import orders'.


I see these proceedings as a good thing as it means that the record companies and their anachronistic and dubious business practices will finally be held up to the light. iTunes's ability to supply is curtailed by the Record Companies' contracts which are a reflection of their very Johnny-come-lately approach to Internet marketing and digital distribution as a whole and their restrictive (and in any other sphere of business, illegal) contracts with their performers and end-users (the latter being contracted under the terms of local copyright laws... that the music companies ultimately had a hand in writing).

[Harrison's Discos]

Few! When ive finally finished reading those :5star: essays .. i agree!:D

If someone doesnt do something about illegal downloads soon the artists will loose money! Not good!

[Corabar Steve]

Just because the medium of delivery is via the internet doesn't mean that they can obviate the contracted distribution licences as it would mean that the monies from that sale would go to the wrong company.

I would have thought the exact opposite. Distribution is just that, physical distribution of the product. Record companies would have to be bloody silly to pay a distribution company to do nothing, as in effect iTunes is the distribution company & retailer in one.