Apple Exec Says iTMS For Europe Is On Track For This Year
I would believe this interview was approved by SJ.
Quote:
Apple still aims to launch Europe iTunes this year_
By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Apple Computer said on Friday it was sticking to a plan to launch a European version of its iTunes Music Store on the Internet this year, saying it would not rush it out until it is perfect.
In The United States iTunes Music Store has been up and running for a year, and has helped boost sales of Apple's portable music player iPod.
Apple sold 807,000 iPods in the January-to-March quarter, over nine times more than the same period a year earlier and more than the total number of computers it sold.
"When we launch in Europe, we want to do it well. There can be no compromise on the ease of use, the depth of the catalogue or the responsiveness (of the Web site)," Apple's European chief Pascal Cagni told Reuters in a telephone interview.
He added that a delay of a few months was acceptable because the store was going to be an important outlet for many years.
"This is going to be so important for the future that a few months' delay is not essential," he said.
"But it will come. Absolutely," he added, when asked if he was sticking to the launch target year of 2004.
With over 50 million songs purchased on its site, the iTunes store has become the top music site in the United States. It sells music mostly at a standard price of $0.99 per song and gives consumers the right to copy their songs to several devices and burn them on compact discs.
NOT FIRST IN EUROPE
In Europe Apple has been beaten to the market by Microsoft's MSN Music Club and others, while Sony Corp has announced a June launch for its Connect music store in Europe. OD2, which licenses its download service to many European music sites, said one million songs were sold in the first quarter.
Unlike iTunes, most rival sites do not have a uniform pricing structure and often require the purchase of vouchers.
Cagni said it was more complicated to align music publishers in Europe than in the United States.
"There are massive differences in price -- it can vary with a factor of two, and the taxes in countries are different," he said, criticising the major publishing houses which have done a lot of work to digitise their music portfolios but very little to negotiate rights with artists, producers and editors.
Despite the absence of a music store, Apple Europe saw sales of iPods, which start at 349 euros in Europe and $299 in the United States, multiply at almost the same rate as the global average, Cagni said.
In Europe, British consumers in particular were snapping the device up. Another boost would come in July when the iPod mini would be introduced in Europe.
"That's one of the big growth opportunities. It offers a new price range which is important in Europe where consumers are price sensitive," he said.
The European introduction of iPod mini -- smaller, lighter and in different colours to the pack of cards-shaped white iPod -- was delayed by three months as Apple feared it would not be able to meet demand after its runaway success in the U.S.
The iPod works with both Apple's own computers as well as computers running on Microsoft's Windows operating system.
Apple still aims to launch Europe iTunes this year_
By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Apple Computer said on Friday it was sticking to a plan to launch a European version of its iTunes Music Store on the Internet this year, saying it would not rush it out until it is perfect.
In The United States iTunes Music Store has been up and running for a year, and has helped boost sales of Apple's portable music player iPod.
Apple sold 807,000 iPods in the January-to-March quarter, over nine times more than the same period a year earlier and more than the total number of computers it sold.
"When we launch in Europe, we want to do it well. There can be no compromise on the ease of use, the depth of the catalogue or the responsiveness (of the Web site)," Apple's European chief Pascal Cagni told Reuters in a telephone interview.
He added that a delay of a few months was acceptable because the store was going to be an important outlet for many years.
"This is going to be so important for the future that a few months' delay is not essential," he said.
"But it will come. Absolutely," he added, when asked if he was sticking to the launch target year of 2004.
With over 50 million songs purchased on its site, the iTunes store has become the top music site in the United States. It sells music mostly at a standard price of $0.99 per song and gives consumers the right to copy their songs to several devices and burn them on compact discs.
NOT FIRST IN EUROPE
In Europe Apple has been beaten to the market by Microsoft's MSN Music Club and others, while Sony Corp has announced a June launch for its Connect music store in Europe. OD2, which licenses its download service to many European music sites, said one million songs were sold in the first quarter.
Unlike iTunes, most rival sites do not have a uniform pricing structure and often require the purchase of vouchers.
Cagni said it was more complicated to align music publishers in Europe than in the United States.
"There are massive differences in price -- it can vary with a factor of two, and the taxes in countries are different," he said, criticising the major publishing houses which have done a lot of work to digitise their music portfolios but very little to negotiate rights with artists, producers and editors.
Despite the absence of a music store, Apple Europe saw sales of iPods, which start at 349 euros in Europe and $299 in the United States, multiply at almost the same rate as the global average, Cagni said.
In Europe, British consumers in particular were snapping the device up. Another boost would come in July when the iPod mini would be introduced in Europe.
"That's one of the big growth opportunities. It offers a new price range which is important in Europe where consumers are price sensitive," he said.
The European introduction of iPod mini -- smaller, lighter and in different colours to the pack of cards-shaped white iPod -- was delayed by three months as Apple feared it would not be able to meet demand after its runaway success in the U.S.
The iPod works with both Apple's own computers as well as computers running on Microsoft's Windows operating system.
Comments
Sheesh Apple, do you know where you can shove your US-centric business practices (complete with the iTMS)? Maybe it is a good thing because this way they'll have to actually compete with download stores. Let's find out if they can succeed if they are not hitting the competition by surprise.
The interview basically says that Apple could roll out an almost-iTMS with variable rights or an incomplete catalog, but they don't want to. So the holdups are primarily legal and contractual.
I guess that's one thing the EU didn't really address.
Originally posted by MacsRGood4U
Smircle. Get you facts straight (or knowledge). iPhoto printing didn't come to Europe because it is Kodak that has the technology.
And of course no other company in the world offers photo printing. Then again, I do wonder why I could have my digital images printed via the website of my local drugstore chain three freaking years ago. Maybe because they actually cared for their customers' money?
Amorph: same with music downloads. There are a couple already in existance over here, so it is Apple that's dragging their feet.
Well, I guess there is a reason after all that Apple's market share over here is somewhere at 2.5% or less...
Originally posted by Frank777
Forget Europe...where the Canadian site?
Well, you know... licensing issues between Ontario and Quebec, your aged legal system, complicated regulations...
Same with Japan - you just would not believe how difficult it is to strike a license agreement that fits the Tokyo record companies and the Osaka ones.