Apple unveils iTunes Music Store

 

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Posted on 28 Apr 2003 at 18:11

As expected, Apple yesterday unveiled the new iTunes Music Store, an online collection of more than 200,000 songs to buy and download.

However due to what Apple described as 'international legal issues' - believed to stem from differing licensing rights around the world - the service is only available for Mac users in the US. Or as the Terms of Sale puts it, 'Purchases from the iTunes Music Store are available only in the United States and are not available in any other location. You agree not to use or attempt to use the service from outside of the available territory. Apple may use technologies to verify such compliance.'

It is also possible that there are issues over pricing, as music in the UK for instance, is more expensive in the US. The international offices of the record companies that Apple has on board, would not be happy if they were effectively being undercut by cheap 'imports from the US.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs intimated yesterday that the service will be extended beyond America's shores at some stage, but neither he nor Apple UK was able to give any indication of when that might be. However Jobs did say that Windows users would have access to the downloads by the end of the year. It would surely be something of a PR faux pas for Apple if Windows users in the US were able to use the service before Mac users elsewhere. That, after all, is not what the Switch campaign has been about.

That aside, iTunes Music Store is a tour de force. Fully integrated with iTunes - indeed iTunes 4 is the only way to gain access - it provides one click access to the collection, which includes full albums as well as exclusive tracks from the likes of U2, Bob Dylan and Eminem.

Tracks cost $0.99 each, with a whole album costing $9.99. Once downloaded, music can be played on three 'authorised' Apple computers - authorisation is managed through iTunes, and burnt
to CD, 'solely for personal, non-commercial use'. Songs can also be copied to an iPod.

First impressions reveal that the selection of music initially available is what you would expect from a US service launched by 'trendy' Californians. However Apple UK was keen to stress that because iTunes Music Store can offer individual tracks as well as whole albums, up-and-coming bands will be able to use it to showcase their material.

UK users, although not able to buy, can still browse the store and listen to the previews. Clicking the Music Store icon in iTunes displays a short message about the store not being available in 'your country', but click OK and you can still have a good look around, either by browsing or using the standard iTunes search field. Once you've located a song, it's displayed in the iTunes window just as a track on your hard drive would be. Click Play and the 30 second preview begins.

With software as impressive as this, Apple could have solved the multitude of problems associated with the fledgling music downloads industry, by dispensing with those things that turn users off - over-zealous copy-protection, subscription fees, and complicated user interfaces - and replacing them with something that's easy to use, value for money and allows you to listen to your music wherever you want.

Author: Simon Aughton