Quote:
Originally Posted by
sunilraman 
Let's not even talk about Asia, including and excluding Japan. If y'all are interested, we've had some interesting discussion at
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=71507 ...
Yeah it cuts both ways. On one hand, you've got growth potential. I like
andrewpmk's analogy in the sense that, imagine you're a US company operating in the US. Now, suddenly, there's like this whole other California [Canada] or New York State [Australia] [in terms of population] with similar or close to similar levels of GDP, and OMFG, they speak English too..!!
On the other hand though, they
are *different* countries. Apple has achieved some phenomenal stuff with music licensing with iTunes Store. Cracking Europe+UK, and getting Australia and NewZealand in the mix.
Maybe in terms of music there's always been a flow around (dare I mention Kylie Minogue?? **ducks from Aussies hurling stuff at me**) of Australian, NZ, UK, US artists. For example, Wolfmother is from Sydney and they won a US Grammy for "Best Hard Rock"...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...2/s1845609.htm
It is frustrating for users and clearly the bucket has big leaks in it, ie. P2P. I'm not sure what Apple needs to do but there is space for innovation here on how to approach and license media on a global scale, in the *most efficient* way. On top of this, remember all the telco negotiation with iPhone Apple has to do.
Hard to say how they're gonna do it, but the Pixar-Disney-Steve Jobs tie up is one way. Just say, hell, we'll be a media distributor ourselves.
Maybe Apple is hoarding a sh1tload of cash to prepare to --- wait for it --- start buying out media distribution and mobile operator companies.
You read it here first.
Could this be something behind the new Apple, Inc. rebranding? And guess what, there's a lot of circumventing of monopoly laws available, since Apple will be buying different companies in different locales. Outside the EU and US trading blocs, individual countries are fair game.
Hoard up that cash, raise a bit more equity if needed, then start carpet bombing the acquisition market by buying up tv/film distributors and mobile phone operators.
I bet Steve would love to give all these "old media" owners and distributors a swift kick up the arse this way...!!!!11!!
Apple Computer was your friendly neighbourhood fruit company. Apple, Inc. might make Microsoft look like a bunch of hippies in the next decade or two.
I've said this a number of times before, but it bears repeating for those who don't seem to understand it (I don't mean you).
If Jobs could snap his fingers, and all around the world, simultaneously, Apple was able to sell every bit of content ever produced, on the terms that Apple would find to be appealing to its potential customers, he would do it.
People who complain that Apple is dragging its feet simply have no understanding of just how difficult, and expensive, it all is.
In the US, the home territory, it's tough enough. That's why Apple doesn't yet have thousands of music video's, thousands of tv shows, and thousands of movies.
If they were to give in to the content owners, and the royalty distributors, then those complaining about not enough programming being available, would instead be complaining about the price, and excessively restrictive DRM.
For Apple to open an internet store in another country, they first have to hire a local law firm, experienced in such entertainment matters. They then have to assign Apple personnel to work with that firm. They have to learn the relevant laws. They then have to contact the local music companies, as well as the multinationals they already deal with. They then have to contact the local royalty distributors.
Then they have to enter into negotiations with all of these groups, not all of whom agree on what, why, how, or when, not to mention "how much".
After months, (if they are lucky!) an agreement will be finalized. Then they have to do the actual work of getting the content digitalized for the iTunes store, the artwork digitalized and formatted, etc. Then the pricing of the individual albums, which are not standardized as the song prices are.
During all of this, they have to write the required localized software for the site, and set up the legal notices, etc. In order to do this, they will have had to hire the required programmers, those in countries with languages other than American English will have to be hired locally, so that the site can be done in the appropriate language, correctly.
There are other machinations as well, but this gives the idea of just how difficult it all is.
When the markets are small, those costs could represent such a large part of the costs of running the site, that profits might be impossible to come by. It may even result in a multi-year loss.
It also seems as though the smallest venues are the most difficult ones to deal with, and so take the longest.
Unless one has dealt with this, as I have, one just don't understand.
