AOL announced today it has teamed up with Apple to integrate the popular iTunes Music Store throughout AOL Music channels in the UK, France and Germany, providing AOL Members with instant, one-click registration to the popular online music store in each of the three countries. The iTunes Music Store, which launched in the UK, France and Germany today, offers users the ability to preview, purchase and download music from a catalogue of more than 700,000 songs.
When iTunes is fully integrated, AOL members in the three countries will be able to directly access the iTunes Music Store by clicking on iTunes buttons integrated throughout AOL Music. AOL members will be able to use their AOL screennames and passwords to access the iTunes Music Store where they can search, preview and buy music as well as browse exclusive AOL/iTunes programming pages in the iTunes Music Store. Special offers from AOL for free iTunes downloads and iPods, giveaways will be available to AOL Members as well. For more information, AOL members can go to AOL Keyword: iTunes.
“We are delighted that Apple has chosen AOL as its partner at the launch of the iTunes Music Store for the UK, France and Germany,” said Philip Rowley, President, AOL Europe in the press release. “AOL is committed to providing our members the best and most comprehensive music services and exclusive content. With the integration of iTunes, they will have one-click access to the pioneering iTunes Music Store.”
“As we roll out the iTunes Music Store in the UK, France and Germany, we are also pleased to be expanding our relationship with AOL,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Marketing in the press release. “By joining forces, we are making it easy for AOL Members to preview and buy music from the iTunes Music Store as a natural extension of their AOL Music experience.”
Over the course of the next several weeks, AOL UK, AOL France and AOL Germany will conduct promotional sweepstakes giving members the chance to win iPods and free downloads from the iTunes Music Store. AOL UK members, for example, will have the chance to win one of 29 iPod minis, and a grand prize 40-gigabyte iPod with a certificate code for 1,000 free songs, as well as giveaways to AOL members of tens of thousands of iTunes Music Store tracks.
This alignment comes as interest in legitimate music download services has skyrocketed. According to Nielsen SoundScan data, digital singles beat physical single sales by a margin of more than 6 to 1 by the end of last year. iTunes Music Store customers have downloaded more than 85 million songs from the iTunes Music Store since its launch in the U.S. last April.
AOL UK: AOL’s agreement with Apple builds on the strong heritage of the AOL Music channel in the UK, which attracts more than one million unique visitors on a monthly basis. Recent exclusives from groups such as the Sugababes and the Scissor Sisters performing in intimate surroundings for Sessions@AOL, and a deal to stream footage from the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival, have further strengthened AOL’s position in the market.
AOL Germany: AOL Germany sees the integration of iTunes as an ideal complement to its existing Music channel. iTunes will be integrated both throughout AOL’s Music channel and in the Computer & Technology channel. AOL’s exclusive collaboration with iTunes underscores its proficiency in matters of music and entertainment.
AOL France: The integration of iTunes into AOL France is another milestone in our commitment to provide our AOL France members with a wide range of legal music services and content to meet their needs. The iTunes integration is part of a series of new services that AOL France will be announcing, which will change the online music experience for our French members.
AOL Europe, a business unit of America Online, Inc., which is the world’s leading interactive services company with more than 32 million members worldwide. America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. America Online is the world’s leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
my friend wellington told me that ace of base didnt show up but its ok because everyone was line dancing with steve jobs
For those of you wondering (as I often do) what purpose AOL has in this world, you need only to own a WBFH (Wintel Box From Hell). AOL actually does them a service by making their internet/email nightmare somewhat manageable.
AOL is obviously only concerned about immediate profits, because in the long run, AOL Music –> iTunes/iPod –> Buy a Mac –> Drop AOL.
Granted, I still have one friend that has AOL on his Mac, and he is very well aware that he is paying double for his internet service (AOL + local ISP), but it is something he is comfortable with. Until AOL gives him the problems that his WBFH gave him, he’ll (sadly) stay right where he is at. Perhaps, one night, I’ll get him drunk and being more open to suggestion, convince him to move everything over to Mail on his Mac, and then drop AOL.
As much as I’m not a fan of AOL, I can’t see anything bad about this deal. And it makes sense that the partnership that AOL has with Apple here in the US would continue with the iTMS Europe launch. I think it’s so successful for AOL, that they’d be fools not to keep up the same partnership across the pond.
“Interoperability is very important to us. We interoperate with the world’s most popular MP3 player — the iPod,” Jobs said.
As much as I think this is a good deal for Apple and AOL, I have a small gripe that is really nothing but an issue of semantics. I am a proud American, as of late (since GWB has been in office), I cringe at the idea of the word “America” being pushed on people in other countries. AOL stands for America OnLine, and frankly, folks in Germany and the UK can certainly get themselves online without America’s help
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> I know, I know, it’s just the corporation’s name, with international operations, but AOL should seriously considering renaming their foreign operations. It’s just my quirky opinion, but I think that a global company should have global name. Maybe it does, and I’m just unaware. That’s my 2 cents, but as a concerned American, I wish we could pull our name from being the “standard” in the global community. I guess it’s a vague feeling of shame. Not ashamed to be American, but ashamed that George W. wants everybody to be American.
Crunge, go fill up with some BP gas and we will call it square.
apparently we have an “isolationist” in our midst, as in the white house…
Hey Crunge. Shame is one thing but frankly that man needs to be impeached and sent to the world tribunal. A child can see that. What are you yanks waiting for, the UN?
I wonder how much of Apple’s take will go to [~E~]OL for this deal … all of it? Half? Better get them iPod Minis out in the market toute suite.
AOL could become Freedom OnLine in France
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I will never understand how anyone enjoying the enormous freedoms and opportunities afforded to them by this great country can feel shame upon hearing the name, “America”. Freedom and opportunity, I might add, borne on the backs of men and women who have sacrificed much more than you or I. Whether you agree with the current administration’s policies or not, the blood of of America’s sons and daughters is even now being spilled in the liberation of people half a globe away — and you feel shame? You expect a company to feel shame because because their name contains the word “America”? That’s sad. Wonder if you had the same “vague feeling of shame” when Bill C (to use your own reasoning) wanted EVERYBODY to use their position of power to blow semen all over an intern’s dress.
Without question America has had it’s share of bad policy and questionable leadership (something apparently no other nation is guilty of). At the same time, no other nation has exceeded America’s commitment and level of sacrifice for the cause of liberty and freedom around the world. Personally, I find it detestable that anyone could feel shame at being “American”. But, that’s just my 2 cents.
FOL! hehe
i guess they just use the letters overseas, A-O-L?
(way to put words in his mouth, super weener. me im proud to be american but ashamed of bush. too bad he got fewer votes and still sits in office.)
GO WIENER, GO!
The Crunge, you’re the real weenie. Really pathetic…
I always thought that AOL probably has wished a few times that they would have called their company by a more international name. Of course by the time they got so big that they were moving into foreign markets it was too late to change.
I have never ever used AOL but a Mac User friend of mine did because at that time it gave him many more access points even internationally. I think this is pretty much an non issue anymore though since most hotels now have broadband available.
Super Weenie quotes: “At the same time, no other nation has exceeded America’s commitment and level of sacrifice for the cause of liberty and freedom around the world.”
This is the biggest pile of crap I’ve ever heard! And a downright lie.
The cause of liberty and freedom around the world… really? Where was America for the first three years of WWI or the first two years of WWII then? Oh, that’s right – you were playing the isolationist card. During thos two periods we Europeans must have lost more than 2 million people to keep the world ‘free’.
On ONE DAY at the battle of the Somme during WWI, the allies lost over 59,000 soldiers – more than the US lost in the entire Vietnam war fiasco [of course that’s not counting the 2-3 million Vietnamese deaths at the hands of the US military].
Don’t say such crap if you know nothing about history – as is evident by the above brainless comment.
Yeah… impeach Bush is right.
I always thought that AOL stood for Ar**holes OnLine
Simon
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So did I? Why are they talking about america and AOL? Or is it because it is the same thing?
Never mind.
More important is that now we have to wait for the Pan European iTunes Music Store for few more months.
I saved huge amount for the summer today. What a relief. There will be no xMas presents this year though because all the money will go to Pan European iTMS
Charlie, both ww1 and most of ww2 were ad nauseam extensions of the same old German/French arguement. “America’s commitment and level of sacrifice for the cause of liberty and freedom around the world” is evident because it wasn’t our fight, and still we helped the right side with lives and billions of bucks.
I am used to that being ignored (and even the idea that ww2 was a clever creation of US business), so your silly argement doesn’t bother me. Just try to figure out how either of those wars would have gone without the isolationist yanks in France, North Africa, Italy, Normandy, and the 100,000 AAF shot down in the daylight because the British found bombing at night much safer.
It is you, buddy, who needs to study history with an open mind, not just to support with spotty footnotes your preconceived point of view.
It shows a certain insensitivity to other countries in America (North, Central and South) to refer to the USA as “America”. USians is preferable to Americans. I know that Republicans won’t understand this, but it is better to be liked, as Clinton knew, than to be feared, which is the intent of the wretched neocons in charge presently. There is even talk of planned terrorist attacks engineered by the neocons of such a magnitude as to give Bush an excuse to cancel elections and impose martial law, using FEMA, Homeland Security, the DoJ and the FBI as his agents. Is this paranoia? They were surprised that the Spanish attacks produced the opposite result they expected.
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen, so ITMS can flourish in Europe and we can get a president that will reverse the hostility of the world toward the US.
And all those american commie supporters (wwII) are not allowed to speak about freedom and democracy while they are torturing, raping, killing people in an illegal war.
The comment above was NOT for anti-American motives. When it was Compuserve or AOL in the dayd of 14.4 modems (remember them?) serious people went Compuserve, Muppets went AOL.
Mi naame iz Donnie!
I am so @#$%ing sick of WWI and WWII being brought up every time Americans and Europeans decide to have a wiener-measuring contest. It was over 50 years ago, folks. Are you telling me there’s no other event in the last half century that we can judge ourselves by?
I don’t know if Apple has enough Jerry Lewis and David Hasselhoff music for France.