News
Apple iTunes Launches in Canada
Apple iTunes Music Store launched in Canada on December 1st with a selection of 700,000 tracks from both major and independent artists. Audiobooks are also available for download. Singles are priced at 99 cents and albums are priced at $9.99.
Apple iTunes offers exclusive tracks such as pre-release singles and songs recorded specifically for iTunes, free 30-second previews of every song, and music videos and movie trailers. The store also permits users to post their own playlists, print CD jewel case inserts and automatically convert unprotected WMA files to the iTunes’ AAC format.
The first iTunes Music Store launched in the U.S. in April, 2003. The download store is also available in the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
The next international territory is expected to be Japan sometime in 2005. iTunes download stores for Australia and Ireland are also reported to be in the works.
Canada already has several legal music download stores. The first to launch was Moontaxi Media’s Puretracks.com. In addition to its own store, Puretracks also supplies the music catalogue for co-branded stores such as those offered by telephone companies and retailers across Canada.
Puretracks is also the supplier for AOL Canada. Puretracks’ catalogue of 700,000 tracks includes a large selection of Canadian independent music. The other two legal download stores in Canada are Napster.ca which launched in May 2004 and Quebec’s Archambault.ca.
Apple iTunes offers exclusive tracks such as pre-release singles and songs recorded specifically for iTunes, free 30-second previews of every song, and music videos and movie trailers. The store also permits users to post their own playlists, print CD jewel case inserts and automatically convert unprotected WMA files to the iTunes’ AAC format.
The first iTunes Music Store launched in the U.S. in April, 2003. The download store is also available in the U.K., France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
The next international territory is expected to be Japan sometime in 2005. iTunes download stores for Australia and Ireland are also reported to be in the works.
Canada already has several legal music download stores. The first to launch was Moontaxi Media’s Puretracks.com. In addition to its own store, Puretracks also supplies the music catalogue for co-branded stores such as those offered by telephone companies and retailers across Canada.
Puretracks is also the supplier for AOL Canada. Puretracks’ catalogue of 700,000 tracks includes a large selection of Canadian independent music. The other two legal download stores in Canada are Napster.ca which launched in May 2004 and Quebec’s Archambault.ca.
(Abstracted from Apple Unveils iTunes Music Store in Canada, Digital Music News, December 2, 2004; Apple Opens Canadian iTunes Store, by Tony Smith, The Register, December 2, 2004; Apple iTunes Canadian web site (www.apple.com/ca/itunes); and Apple to Press Play on ITunes in Canada, by Richard Blackwell, The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2004)
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