Member Avatar for kc0arf

Earlier this week, Apple announced a new Australian iTunes Music store. This means that Australian Windows and Mac people can download and enjoy music on their computers and iPods just like those of us in the states.

According to internet sources, Apple typically pays AU $.99 per song, and sells the song for AU$1.69 -- an understandable markup. Unfortunately, I do not have details concerning Apple's fees here in the US to compare.

I think this is a great idea to expand the iTunes market further overseas. It makes a lot of sense to me to distribute the songs (intellectual property) through a legal means, and to ensure that the artist recovers the costs of making and marketing the music. Granted, I think that some musicians are overpaid, but that is the business process, and I do believe that if an artist makes a work public, that he/she should be compensated properly for it.

Now, if we can just get the movie people to do the same. Download a movie and watch it. Be allowed to make one copy of it for personal use. If the copy goes bad, gotta download it again. Yes, I know that the digitial videos are much larger than music files, but those of us with highspeed internet could download a movie overnight, and watch it the following day.

Austrailia, enjoy your new iTunes experience. :)

Christian

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Dani AI

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As reported, Apple officially opened the iTunes Music Store in Australia on October 25, 2005 — the launch page cited a catalog of over one million songs, songs at A$1.69, music videos at A$3.39 and most albums around A$16.99 (GST included). (Official announcement: Apple Newsroom.)
Apple press release — iTunes Music Store in Australia

Important practical details that clarify the early rollout: purchases required a valid credit card with a billing address in Australia, and Apple offered iTunes Music Cards for cash purchases through major retailers; the store’s “personal use” rules let users play purchases on multiple personal machines, burn songs to CD and sync to iPods under the limits Apple published. (See pricing & availability in the press release.)
See pricing, personal-use rights and payment info

A couple of technical/context notes that matter today: early iTunes tracks were sold as protected AAC files (FairPlay DRM) at 128 kb/s, which is why Apple emphasized personal-use rights rather than unrestricted file copies; Apple later introduced higher-bitrate, DRM-free “iTunes Plus” tracks in 2007. These format and rights differences explain common questions about device compatibility and burning or backup workflows.
Apple iTunes launch details (2003) • TidBITS on iTunes Plus (2007)

One reason the catalog felt incomplete at first: not every major label was signed at launch (Sony BMG notably held out); Sony BMG artists were added later (January 2006), so gaps in artists/titles were expected during the first months. For anyone checking the historical thread, that staggered label rollout is why some favorites were missing at first.
MacRumors on label additions (Sony BMG added Jan 2006)

Quick checklist from the launch-era notes above: use the latest iTunes build, make an Australian-billed Apple ID (or buy iTunes Music Cards locally), and remember that DRM/provenance and label agreements determined what was available at launch.

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Member Avatar for Dani

Aussies were never able to buy iTunes songs before now? That doesn't seem right?

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Yes. iTunes is new to Australia.

So yes, it is new.

Christian

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