“Apple Computer Inc.’s hugely successful iTunes music downloading system is about to launch in Canada, establishing a powerful competitor to the Internet-based music services already in place in this country,” Richard Blackwell reports for The Globe and Mail. “Apple’s iTunes on-line music store, already up and running for customers in the United States and Europe, is expected to be open for Canadian audiophiles in the next few days. In October, Apple said it would launch in Canada in November, and a company spokesman said this week the company intends to meet that deadline.”
“David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, which negotiated with Apple and the other on-line music players on behalf of copyright owners, said his organization ‘stands ready’ to sign a deal with any company that wants to legally sell downloads. The overall goal in licensing pay-for-play systems is ‘to reduce the amount of piracy,’ he said. Mr. Basskin said his organization only recently initiated discussions with Apple regarding iTunes, and as of Thursday they were ‘close to an agreement.’ He said Apple likely waited until now to come into the Canadian market because it wanted to get established first in the United States and Europe, where the population base is greater,” Blackwell reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Monday is our best guess, since Friday after Thanksgiving wouldn’t give Apple much U.S. media bang for the non-buck. Media coverage in the U.S. is important, as even the news of iTMS for Canada would generate much U.S. press which would only help iTMS and iPod sales there, too. Tuesday is also a possibility since it’s the last day of November and could coincide with New Music Tuesdays.
Bwahahhahhhahaha. FIrst Canada, zen ze rest of ze vorld!!!!!!! (except for Europe of course, which has already been done)
Japan is rumored for March. Things can be much more complicated in Japan (on purpose I think).
There was a rumor that said Apple would open an iTMS-Canada on the 26th. I guess we’ll find out if it was true tomorrow.
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/10/20041012011843.shtml
There goes what little savings I have.
What about AUSTRALIA damn it!
Turns out we ain’t “the lucky country” after all…
lucky country as in… originally a penal colony..?
OHOHOH! got it..
Uh…it’s not Thanksgiving in Canada on Friday, so bang for the “non-buck” is about the same either way for Canadians. Friday would give us the whole weekend to deplete our bank accounts.
Mike
australia was originally a penal colony… as was america. only their convicts didnt kill their captors a little later on
Georgia was a penal colony, the others were not.
Take a bow Apple. By signing up Europe before Canada it proved to us over the pond that its not just N America centric.
Australia next…
Isn’t Georgia still a…
Can’t wait for Monday (but I hope this weekend lasts forever).
Typical American thinking…..Shame on you MDN.
The world does not revolve around the US of A. Some countries actually celebrate thanksgiving on different dates than you! Imagine that! Shocking!!
So yes as M.T. MacPhee stated, if they launched today, or Monday, the net effect would be the same for the Canucks.
PP
Peter P. You should be “thankful” that because of MDN’s mistake, you have the opportunity to bash your neighbor to the south.
pkradd,
It’s not a mistake…it’s ignorance. It frustrating and its ubiquitous in this American culture. We need to open our eyes to the world around us.
That is my point.
It was not meant to bash, merely to inform, layered with a bit of sarcasim obviously.
PP
Yes Peter P. I agree. However, there’s an easy way to overcome ignorance. In this case, simply subscribing to other “Shared Calendars” in iCal would prevent such US-centric comments to a minimum in the future. After all, it’s really just an education thing.
MDN check out http://www.apple.com/ical/library/holidays.html
I hope the Japan iTMS does come out in March. Been waiting a while for that. Of course I don’t have any kind of bank account in Japan so I don’t know how this will work yet…
Well, Thanksgiving is over. The day where all the other little “countries” take a pause to think about how great the United States really is compared to their “country”. Hi I’m from the United States of America! Yeah we had a goood time eating turkey thanks! Praise allah!
This week we give Canada the iTMS. Be happy because us Americans made it therefore it must be the best thing out there ’cause we’re Americans and we made it! Land of the free! Yay! Praise allah!
Actually MDN’s take indicate a knowledge that it is not Thancksgiving in Canada. The merely point out that media coverage in the USA spills over into Canada.
Why do you think we have Canadian Content laws for broadcast media in Canada? If we didn’t there is the risk that Canadians would be overwhelmed by cheap, plentiful US opinions and would forget all about a unique Canadian-ness and start drinking weak beer and saying “Huh” instead of “eh.”
sory for mised leters. this old Mac @ wrk can’t kep up!
As far as I know only 2 countries in the world celebrate Thanksgiving. 3 if you count Quebec.
Since harvest occurs much later in the south, I take it that is why the Americans moved the date from the second Monday in October to the last Thursday in November when they adopted the celebration.
They got the number of players per side and the length of the field in ‘North’ American Football wrong too. There were 12 per side in the very first game between Harvard and McGill Universities that was played in Canada on a 110 yard field. Ever since then it’s been 12 a side in Canada on a 110 yard field and 11 per side in the USA on a 100 yard field.
Don’t get me started on our much deeper end zones.
Happy thanksgiving and praise Allah? According to this imam, Allah and turkeys were incompatible.
http://www.islam.tc/ask-imam/view.php?q=4246
in USA, when Americans feast on Turkeys. Can we Muslims participate in it, by wishing and offering a Turkey to our non-Muslim friends?
We have studied the background of Thanksgiving day- to express gratitude to
the favours of the natives of the 16th century. IN principal to express
gratefulness and gratitude for favours rendered is encouraged. However,
Thanksgiving being a national holiday express its salient position in the
American culture, which has many unislamic values and principles.
Celebrating Thanksgiving purposefully or subordinately is an expression of
accepting the general American Culture. It is not celebrated independent of
the American Culture. In view of the above it is not permissible to
celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
I believe it was Sir Thomas Beecham who on arriving in Australia with his ochestra was asked by a customs officer whether he had a previous criminal record.
Sir Thomas replied that he didn’t realize that that was still a requirement for entering the country.
That was the same Sir Thomas who had an intense dislike of the harpsichord and said it sounded like:-
“two skeletons copulating on a tin roof.”