Apple's iTunes Music Store Makes European Debut

In addition, Apple's European iterations of its iTunes Music Store come with much the same attributes as their U.S. counterpart, including access to over 5,000 audiobooks, Apple's "iMix" playlist-publishing feature and the ability for PC users to import unprotected Windows Media Audio (WMA) files into iPod-friendly formats.

Visitors to these new iTunes Music Stores will need a valid credit card with a British, French or German billing address to purchase and download music. AOL users in Europe -- including 2 million subscribers in the UK alone -- will be able to access the iTunes Music Store through AOL's Music Channels.

As in the United States, customers who have computers running either Windows XP or Mac OS X, version 10.2.8 or higher, can access the new iTunes Music Stores. Apple also announced Tuesday that it will roll out a version of iTunes Music Store for the entire European Union in October of this year.

iTunes Music Store a 'Compelling Choice'

Mark Mulligan, an analyst with Jupiter Research in the UK, said that Apple's move into the European market was greatly anticipated. "It is another piece to offering a huge amount of consumer choice in Europe [because] Europe's online music offerings are far behind in catalog [size] and usability," he told MacNewsWorld.

"This is a truly compelling choice for consumers," Mulligan continued. "Odds are those without monthly fees should do the best in the midterm."

In today's press conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs attempted to differentiate Apple's offerings from some of its competitors by stressing that iTunes Music Store offers music purely on an a la carte basis instead of focusing on subscription models or on-demand streaming.

"The experiment has been done. People don't want to rent the music -- they want to own it," Jobs told the crowd.

"If I have to pay ten dollars a month to listen to my favorite song, that's $1,000 after ten years," Jobs continued. "I don't want to do that. I want to own my music."

Apple's Independent Problems

Despite the excitement Apple has generated for its European offering, Apple apparently was unable to come to terms with several independent European labels, Macworld UK reported on Monday.

MacWorld UK news editor Jonny Evans told MacNewsWorld that Apple may be operating at a disadvantage without all of these independent labels on board.

"To put this into context, Apple is losing the facility to offer tracks from the UK's sixth record label, the independent music sector," Evans said. "This sector is worth 22 percent of [the $16.42 billion yearly market] in the UK alone."

For his part, Mulligan said that Apple's inability to nail down European independents could be an obstacle. "For example, 40 percent of all music in France consists of French artists. Some of this is major labels; however, some are also independents," he explained.

IDC senior analyst Susan Kevorkian concurred with Mulligan, adding that Apple has to get localized and understand the significance of including a given country's domestic repertoire on the iTunes Music Store.

"If they do this right, they'll build a strong base among music lovers in those countries," Kevorkian told MacNewsWorld. "If they don't, they'll alienate them quickly."

Expanding Apple's Range

David Moufang, proprietor of Heidelberg, Germany-based Source Records, said that while online digital distribution is the future of music sales, he believes that it is crucial that Apple not raise prices for purchasing tracks.

"A dollar per track must remain the maximum," he said in a MacNewsWorld interview. "You have to face [the] reality that there is always a way of getting music without having to pay for it."

For his part, Mulligan said Apple needs to convince potential European iTunes Music Store that purchasing music through its service if the company wants to expand its presence. "There will be a long period of consumer education for why people should pay for music," he said.

At the same time, however, Mulligan believes Apple's a-la-carte approach offers the company an advantage for reaching consumers experimenting with digital music or who lack broadband capabilities.

"Consumers can test the waters with iTunes Music Store, buy a single song with no obligations," he noted. "In areas without strong broadband adoption, you can still buy and download a song relatively easy."