Artistic content (films, music, etc.) is still typically licensed on a geographically discrete basis. This is because the content distribution business remains by and large a local one. Thus, in France, it is a French film distributor who is going to deliver the American movie to the theater, just as the Afropop song is going to be distributed in the U.S. by an American label. This makes commercial sense inasmuch as these local distributors know their markets, and have a good idea of what will sell locally, and are thus willing to pay relatively more for the local rights based on their superior insight into the worth of the rights, and from the producer's perspective, selling discrete distribution rights helps the producer spread some of his/her/its risk to the distributors. Worldwide distribution conglomerates are coming, and it may be digital media that helps usher them in, but they are not here yet on the scale that would make this all happen easily. And so Amazon is not going to be able to sell you tracks in the UK or Argentina, or whatever, because most of the producers/record labels/etc. have sold the rights to distribute music in those countries to local distributors. What this means is that in order to sell the tracks outside the U.S., Amazon would, in addition to negotiating with Subpop or whoever for the U.S. rights to that Nirvana song, negotiate with each of whoever has the rights in the other countries. This starts to be a lot of work. It will come, eventually.
Slashdot Mirror
Artistic content (films, music, etc.) is still typically licensed on a geographically discrete basis. This is because the content distribution business remains by and large a local one. Thus, in France, it is a French film distributor who is going to deliver the American movie to the theater, just as the Afropop song is going to be distributed in the U.S. by an American label. This makes commercial sense inasmuch as these local distributors know their markets, and have a good idea of what will sell locally, and are thus willing to pay relatively more for the local rights based on their superior insight into the worth of the rights, and from the producer's perspective, selling discrete distribution rights helps the producer spread some of his/her/its risk to the distributors. Worldwide distribution conglomerates are coming, and it may be digital media that helps usher them in, but they are not here yet on the scale that would make this all happen easily. And so Amazon is not going to be able to sell you tracks in the UK or Argentina, or whatever, because most of the producers/record labels/etc. have sold the rights to distribute music in those countries to local distributors. What this means is that in order to sell the tracks outside the U.S., Amazon would, in addition to negotiating with Subpop or whoever for the U.S. rights to that Nirvana song, negotiate with each of whoever has the rights in the other countries. This starts to be a lot of work. It will come, eventually.