Slashdot Mirror
Canadian iTunes Music Store Opens
Trillan writes "After appearing on December 1st, iTunes music store Canada is now officially open. Price is only $0.99 CDN (about $0.83 US) per song, so it's less expensive than the US store. This is probably fair since our CDs are usually cheaper here, too, at least on the west coast."
Is it possible for Americans (USA) to buy songs from Canada's iTunes?
"The Best of Bob and Doug Mackenzie."
Take off!
No. The lawyers for record companies won't allow it; music sales are balkanized into seperate markets by country.
This is why it takes Apple so long to roll out in each country -- they must negotiate rights for each market, one by one.
To purchase from the Canadian iTMS, you must have a credit card with a Canadian address.
Please Apple. Please.
Australia/NZ now are the last English-speaking countries not to get iTunes so I hope we get it soon (as in the next 6 months).
Bored? Visit my exciting counter page!
Any Canadian out there who wants to be my best friend?
Moderate this comment
Negative: Offtopic Flamebait Troll Redundant
Positive: Insightful Interesting Informative Funny
Nothing to see here
The reason for the different stores is the different laguage we use here up north. Instead of oh, say, "Pay Now!" It will say "Pay Now Eh?!"
You are confusing me with someone who cares.
Cheaper CDs, cheaper pharmaceuticals, affordable health care ... sounds like paradise! Would you Canadians just invade us, please?
Soylent Green is peoplicious!
Keep in mind that the taxes in Canada are higher on average. In Ontario, we pay a total of 15% tax.
Also, keep in mind, if a can of coke goes for $1 US, the same can will sell in Canada for $1 CAD.
they were snowed in.
** "It's not my job to stand between the people talking to me, and the ones listening to me." -- Pego the Jerk
I find it interesting that Canadians right now enjoy more 'freedom' wrt music sharing/copying etc. We are allowed to 'share' our music with friends in exchange for a small tax on CDRs and MP3 players.
Also, our AACs from Apple are cheaper ($0.84 today).
The most interesting part? IP is not part of NAFTA, if it was, you could buy music in Canada and re-import it to the US. (Actually if IP was part of NAFTA, Apple CANADA could sue the RIAA to force lower prices as the present situation is anti-competitive) {interesting asside, Apple CANADA would have to do it, Apple USA would have no standing, goofy NAFTA dispute resolution}.
INSTEAD, what I think will happen is that the US will force Canada to sign the WIPO and the world gets DMCA like treatment, as opposed to making the US laws more sane.
So, for all those who asked, no you will not be able to re-import the music back into the US... even if you could get Apple to sell it to you at the lower price you would have to declare the purchase and remit duty on the purchase. Ever buy one of the "imported' CDs from the record store... part of the reason they cost more is excise duty.
Bah, somewhat useless however, with the USD sucking lately, we could be back to 1.05Canadian soon, and we would want to buy your cheap music.... better get that trade deficit fixed soon!
Bad spellers of the world untie!
In other country Apple had problem getting indies onboard, one would have thought they would be prepared this time. This ain't gonna work if they have no music from here to sell us, The rest of Canada might appreciate but the national fiber is too strong here for a majority of people to adhere to a service that doesn't sell them their own music...
Since we Canadians still use 486's, apple's been hard pressed to get iTunes to work on our pc's. We still use 486's because its so damn cold, and that somehow makes sense.
"Don't expect the store to be up for long."
Yes, I will chalk that bit of insight up there with the infamous, "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."
If you think the fact that iTunes is one of the few "legal" places to download music is the reason for its success in the United States, you might be right. Fortunately for them, it isn't.
Some things to ponder...
Via your Canadian "free" channels, how hard is it to find a COMPLETE album, with all of the correct song and album information, converted consistently well to digital file format, complete with album cover art embedded? Because on iTunes it is easy-as-fucking-pie.*
There is something to be said for being able to fire up iTunes, type in "Old Hundredth," sample the recordings available, find one I like, and buy it AND have it on my hard drive in a matter of 60 seconds.
* Not to be confused with pie-fucking.
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
Because partitioning the market makes the market less efficient. The less efficient a market is, the more it can be exploited for profit. And they can do this because the music copyright holders don't compete based on price. They can maximize profits by charging Canadians one price and Americans a higher price, but only if Americans are barred from shopping in the same store as Canadians.
A bit of a side rant: Is anyone else out there really annoyed that corporations militantly defend their right to source work and materials from wherever's cheapest, but fight tooth and nail to prevent consumers from buying goods from wherever's cheapest? When I try to sell my labor, I have to compete in a global market, but they get to price their music on a country by country basis.
It's actually called "TunesA".
Sweet, what a deal for Americans! Only $0.83 a download, no wait, $0.85, oop, make that $0.92, don't worry guys it'll stop any day now, shit! $1.05 ...
Ooh... I bet you're really Canadian, eh. All the Canadians I know put an "eh" at the end of everything they say, eh. Even when they're writing, eh. That's the truth, eh. I know it, eh. I've been there, eh. They do it all the time, eh. See ya later, eh.
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
as an indie musician with stuff on iTunes, they don't have it together internally. I've had sales from 6 months ago that I haven't been paid for yet.
it's great that they're opening these new outlets and all but they're lacking in some basics.
Can you spot the subtle differences?
~jeff
There are many, many differences between Canada and the United States -- including, in this specific case, entirely different organizations for Apple to negotiate with.
And just like the US store, I'm sure it'll feature:
A lot of pop artists;
A good selection of works by earlier groups in various genres;
Not a whole lot of imports; and
A lot of partial albums for major singers, because some corporate asshat out there thinks that's good marketing.
I used to download lots of music from Napster in college. Burned it CD, played the hell out of it. But I didn't keep most of those mp3s, and today with a steady job and a little different viewpoint, I'm willing to pay money for good copies and to support artists I like. So I checked out iTunes and loved it. I've spent about $80 there in the first month.
But when I run across artists like Enigma (whose albums have been chopped to hell) and Genesis (none of the most notable songs from the Peter Gabriel era are available), what do I do? I load up my p2p and start searching.
I don't blame iTunes. I commend them for doing the best they can to bring fire to the music industry cavemen. I admire what they're doing, but if the music makers want me as a consumer, they're going to have to deal with me on my level.
We may let Americans browse the Canadian store, but when Canadians log in, here's what *we* actually see...