EU Launches iTunes Probe

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The Financial Times says that Brussels has issued formal charges the sale of music through iTunes violates competition rules. I could swear that buying an iPod was a choice, not a requirement. It’s not like there isn’t a million other MP3 players on the market.

The Commission’s main concern is that iTunes’ current set-up in the European market prohibits users in one country from downloading music from a website intended to serve another country. Its move against Apple and the music groups was triggered by a 2004 complaint from a British consumer organization criticizing the fact that the UK version of iTunes was more expensive than Apple’s product in other European markets.
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Wow. They're really serious about this. Not only are there other portable audio devices, but even other music services!

Seems their glasses can only spot Apple.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Wow. They're really serious about this. Not only are there other portable audio devices, but even other music services!

Seems their glasses can only spot Apple.
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Maybe it's because no music service or even player has a market share even comparable to itunes / ipod. Apples choice to tie of the music bought on itunes (far and away the most popular LEGAL online music service) to their ipods is what brought attention to them, and rightfully so.
 
So b/c they have a popular device & a popular service justifies the hissy-fit that the EU is having about it?

ummmmm...ok...
 
Popularity isn't bought. Well, maybe Apple has the means, but in most cases, popular things become popular for a reason. They had a good idea and went with it. Now they have to be punished. If iTunes were the only option, sure, sue them to Pangea. They're being proprietary.

Speaking of which, why isn't Dell being sued for having probably 85% proprietary hardware? Or a lot of big integrators? You can't easily swap components. Why is that being overlooked? I'm not even that big of an Apple fan. I just have an iPod.

What does a company have to do not to get sued when their cash crop soars?
 
I agree that it's hard to miss the pattern here. US-based company corners the market on a product or service area. EU slaps the company down with tariffs or failing that, lawsuits.

That said:
"The Commission’s main concern is that iTunes’ current set-up in the European market prohibits users in one country from downloading music from a website intended to serve another country."

As a consumer, I can support this statement. It pains me to no end that I can't order games or DVDs from Amazon's Japan website. And why not? Because the publishing houses bought enough seats in the Japanese Diet to dictate the rules. Some free market this is, eh?
 
First M$ and now Apple. Not a big big fan of either but you got to stop and think which US company will be picked on next by the guys across the pond? :rolleyes:
 
If MS gets heat for a Monopoly it is about time they went after other companies trying to corner markets.......

Maybe now people wont see Apple as being such a god send and being jus as greedy a corportation as any other in the buisness to make money.


Buying an ipod is a choice,but Apple has cornered licensing for songs to buy online so many other companies cant get them, only via Itunes.....


if you could only get X album via say MS service, all hell would break loose, so why should Apple get away with it ?
 
Apple needs some heat.

And they are being targeted because they are like 90% of the market share in this arena.


The EU is picky, but they also have pretty good reasons most of the time for being picky. Unlike the US, the countries are very small and borders get a bit vague at times.

I love how its such a double standard with MS being bashed for being a monopoly and how people should switch to Macs, yet Apple is the biggest monopoly there is when it comes to MP3 Players and their Music Store. Yes there is a choice, just like with Windows, but with their practices it turns into a huge monopoly.

I love hearing stories of friends and people trying to get another MP3 Player as it fits their needs more, yet they cannot because all their music is from itunes and they just found out it cannot be transferred to anything but their iPod! Another sale for Apple then as they buy yet another iPod :p

Not to mention the fact that just about all stores only carry iPod accessories. It sucks trying to find accessories for anything else these days :(
 
GJSNeptune said:
Speaking of which, why isn't Dell being sued for having probably 85% proprietary hardware? Or a lot of big integrators? You can't easily swap components. Why is that being overlooked? I'm not even that big of an Apple fan. I just have an iPod.
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Dell does not prevent you from reselling the PC that you buy from them. Apple prevents you from selling the music you buy through iTunes.
 
Who cares? It's $.99 a song. Who's going to sell their music? Sure, it'd be cool if Apple had the feature to "buy it back" but what, someone's gonna eBay their iTunes songs? Can you sell music from other services?
 
drizzt81 said:
Dell does not prevent you from reselling the PC that you buy from them. Apple prevents you from selling the music you buy through iTunes.
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The music is a service, thats like being pissy at directv because you can't sell your payperview movies that you bought via the remote.


This whole thing points to one thing, EU is a bunch of crybabies that has no idea about big business.... they'd rather leech off creativity's profits than do their own thing. If the EU continues, then no company can pioneer a new idea and make profit from it, heavens forbid that it becomes popular.
 
I will repeat what I say in every post. If you don't like the terms/conditions/company/offering, THEN DON'T buy the product! :mad:
 
I could see the perspective that EMI now has to open its DRM free music to Microsoft, Walmart and anyone else who sells MP3s. If it is only Apple that getas the right to sell DRM free then I would be pretty upset. I have no reason to install Itunes and would hate to have to just to get DRM free.
 
Suing Apple because they (Apple) are restricted by recording labels per country is stupid, and shows the EU has no business regulating business entities after the fact. The iTunes model has been running in most countries for what, 3 years at least? What, did the EU body sit and wait for this to develop? Hell, the sanctions that the EU pulled on MS last year is no different. And then earlier in the year, the EU again tried to block the sale of Vista after they had already settled the Antitrust suit. Looking at how much money they pulled from US companies by suing seems to be their GNP for the entire year. Pretty soon, any successful US company will want to avoid Europe in fear of the litigious EU unions heavy handed tactics.
 
GJSNeptune said:
Who cares? It's $.99 a song. Who's going to sell their music? Sure, it'd be cool if Apple had the feature to "buy it back" but what, someone's gonna eBay their iTunes songs? Can you sell music from other services?
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That's why you have the option of sampling music BEFORE you buy the song(s). When you buy a CD, you normally don't have that option but with iTunes (and similar programs) you can sample before you buy.

If you don't like that you can't sell back a FILE then tough.
 
Yeah really, even though a lot of the samples aren't very useful. Wal-Mart's music is even cheaper. What about Napster and other subscription-based music services? iTunes is also a service, but you get to keep the songs. You definitely can't sell Napster "purchases." Do we get to bring a satellite radio into CD Warehouse and sell the content it plays?

"We're suing Apple because you cannot bring your used iTunes purchases to a CD Warehouse to sell them!"
 
Remember there is a common market in the EU. On the European continent it costs 66p for a song but in Britain it costs 79p. I can understand the price difference for a CD but not an electronic file. And Britain has lower business taxes than the rest of Europe.

I agree that the EC (European Community Parliament) has mistakenly targeted Apple because the problem is the restrictive practices of the record labels. Apple has stated that they want a level playing field. Maybe the EC want to actually help Apple pressure the record labels to standardise the price.

However try to imagine that Apple and the record labels were selling electronic songs for $1.20 in California and 99c in the other states. I guess most consumers would not be pleased.

Please be aware that the European Parliament is much like the House with loads of bickering and all with their own agendas and grievances. Sometimes it ain't pretty.
 
That has ALWAYS been my point about all this MS/Apple vs. EU stuff.

You do NOT have to buy Microsoft. Its number one competitor is FREE.

You do NOT have to buy an iPod or use its service, there are TONS of other MP3 players and plenty of places to get your music.

I am no fan of Apple, its products or practices but even a child knows that you have a choice. No one forces you to use iTunes. No law requiring it. No ill effects if you don't go with Apple.

These fines are getting out of hand. If the EU was TRULY about fairness...they would block these companies from doing business in Europe...no milk them for money that is redistributed to poor countries....countries that do not even have iTunes or iPods.
 
In this case, EU wants to have the same price for songs in the UK and rest of europe (because someone in the uk complained).. why is that a problem? or the option for people to buy a song from german iTunes even if they live in the UK. Apple says they got the advice that they should make separate sites for different countries.. I guess theres also the issue of different rights holders/distributors in different countries so I dont know if this could be done because of that... why does it cost more in UK?

How would this sit with you?
However try to imagine that Apple and the record labels were selling electronic songs for $1.20 in California and 99c in the other states. I guess most consumers would not be pleased.
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Also..If you think that EU is out to get JUST US companies, then you are out of your mind.. if you look at the antitrust cases, companies inside EU and rest of the world are getting shafted equally :p MS had to pay a lot.. but if you look at all the fines from recent cases, its not THAT much... I would be interested to know where to money goes..
 
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