Apple today launched its iTunes Music Store in Japan, giving music fans the same innovative features, pricing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world. With one million songs priced at just ¥150 and ¥200 per song, plus Apple’s legendary ease of use and pioneering features such as built-in support for Podcasting, the iTunes Music Store in Japan is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music online. The iTunes Music Store is the number one online music store with over 500 million songs purchased and downloaded worldwide, and works seamlessly with iPod, the world’s most popular digital music player with over 21 million sold.
“iTunes and iPod are leading the digital music revolution,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO in the press release. “We are thrilled to be bringing the iTunes Music Store to Japan, and hope music fans here love it as much as others around the world do.”
The iTunes Music Store in Japan debuts with local favorites including iTunes Originals from globe and Ulfuls, exclusives from Def Tech, Crazy Ken Band, Chara, Little Creatures, Chie Ayado and The Complete B’z digital box set. Other iTunes exclusives released today include music from international artists such as U2, Jack Johnson and Björk, and over 10,000 audiobooks are available, including works by Japanese authors.
With iTunes 4.9, listeners have everything they need to discover, subscribe, manage and listen to Podcasts built right in. The iTunes Music Store in Japan is launching with a wide variety of Japanese-language Podcasts, such as InterFM, Sotokoto and Radio Nikkei.
In celebration of the iTunes Music Store launch in Japan, Apple is hosting live music performances throughout August at all four retail locations in Japan, including the new Apple Store Shibuya which opens August 6.
Apple today also announced the worldwide availability of early Abkco catalog titles from classic artists such as Sam Cooke and The Animals, as well as the Rolling Stones, making the iTunes Music Store the only online music service in the world to feature the complete digital music catalog of the Rolling Stones. iTunes is offering music fans worldwide the opportunity to pre-order a special version of the new Rolling Stones album “A Bigger Bang” with an exclusive bonus video.
iTunes for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Music Store and is available as a free download immediately from: http://www.apple.com/jp/itunes
Purchase and download of songs from the iTunes Music Store for Mac or Windows requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Music fans in Japan have the option to use iTunes Music Cards for cash purchases on the iTunes Music Store. iTunes Music Cards are available at Sofmap, Yamada, BIC Camera, Amazon Japan, Kojima, Yodobashi Camera as well as through the Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.
Sony can’t be happy about this…
Related articles:
Apple’s Japan iTunes Music Store debut more bad news for Sony – August 04, 2005
Report: Apple CEO Steve Jobs to debut iTunes Music Store Japan ‘in a matter of hours’ – August 03, 2005
iTunes Music Store Japan? Apple to hold ‘special music event’ in Tokyo on August 4 – July 26, 2005
Apple to launch iTunes Music Store in Japan this August – July 15, 2005
Sony grabs Japan flash-based music player lead from Apple ahead of Japanese iTunes Music Store – July 14, 2005
Reports: Apple to launch Japanese iTunes Music Store in ‘near future’ – April 13, 2005
Awesome! Sianara Sony!!!
“.. requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase ..”
Actually, that’s not quite enough. The card itself has to be issued from within the country of purchase. I’m in Canada. My billing address is in Canada. My card was issued from the States. The iTMS won’t take it for the reason stated.
Before Thankgiving we will have Apple countdown to 1 Billion songs sold, IMHO
MW former, as is Sony was the “former” leader in Japan.
はい
so .. am I gonna have to go get a Japanese download of the iTunes application just to be able to view the iTMS in Japan? I don’t see it yet.
:sigh:
ooops. There it is in the indexes after I restarted iTunes. Phew!
Would be nice if you could get songs from another country’s store. Perhaps with different pricing like “import” albums have on Amazon or in a store. I know that it is almost impossible to get legal copies of most, if not all, of popular Japanese albums, outside of the country. Those that are available are priced ridiculously high.
GWM, all Apple applications (and most Mac applications in general) are multilingual. The “Japanese” iTunes program is identical to the “English” program, the only difference is what language you choose in the “International” control panel. The same is true of OS X itself. For fun, try restarting your whole system in Dutch some day. I mention this because it’s just one more thing that makes Windows users gawk in awe, so feel free to demonstrate liberally to your less-enlightened friends.
“Before Thankgiving we will have Apple countdown to 1 Billion songs sold, IMHO”
Actually, based on the sales data that have been released and extrapolating brings it closer to the 3 yr opening date of the iTMS around May 2k6. after all at last statement they said approx 500mil/year. at this point it may be at 500mil/9-10months
“making the iTunes Music Store the only online music service in the world to feature the complete digital music catalog of the Rolling Stones”
So does that mean a box set like the U2 set but for the rolling stones? or just all the tracks, but at reg prices?
Keith in Tokyo:
Hiya. The apps may well be the same internationally, but Apple does indeed deliver varying content at varying times (might be a glitch .. or some Apple testing, perhaps). My Mac OS is in english, but sometimes I get the Music Store in French. It’s happened to me three times during the past week.
I only made the previous posting because the Japanese iTMS hadn’t yet showed up in my iTunes. It’s there now, but I still can’t access the store. Regardless, Apple is right on top of their iTMS Charts for Japan, I’m happy to report. Got an aggregator? Here’s one of the feeds: (this one shows the current top ten songs in the iTMS Japan) http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wpa/MRSS/newreleases/sf=143462/limit=10/rss.xml
wheres the .au and .nz store 🙁
ok .. now I’m in. I managed to access the Japan iTMS by selecting items in the iTMS Charts RSS feed. Go ahead, tell me you guys are all breezing right in through the front door. Just my luck, prolly. lol.
GWM — I used to have similar problems from time to time, and I think it was just a corrupt preferences file.
I also tried a long time to get access to the Japan music store, but I think it was just really really busy. I’ve already subscribed to three Japanese-language podcasts! Gotta get to the Apple Store in Ginza to get me a one of them iTunes cards so I can start loading up on music, though. I wonder whether they’ll have free tunes like the US music store?
The Japanese Store is Beautiful! The Music is Beautiful! I’m in love. Damn. I wanna buy …..
Yes. I’ve been checking the Japanese Podcasts too, Keith. Can’t understand a word, but who cares. This is VERY exciting. yum.
Hey, I’ve got a brilliant idea! Why doesn’t Apple put the *actual* release dates of the albums on iTMS instead of the completely useless and confusing dates they list now. Who would have thought that almost all the Rolling Stones albums were released in 1994?
Aussie Aussie Aussie…
We must be getting close, we’re part of the asia pacific region.
If they release a music store in Antarctica next, I’ll be pissed.
Question…
All these music stores in different countries, Is it possible say, for someone in the one country to access music (or at least browse and listen to samples) from another country. Someone above mentioned the Japanesse music is beautiful which I’m sure it is. But to I have to travel to Japan to listen to some of it ?
I’m just saying, in the mainstream we often don’t get to listen to a lot of foreign music and the iTunes Music Stores that will eventually pop up all over the world would be a good way of experiencing music from everywhere. Instead of the usual english speaking stuff we normaly get. That is if you’re from the US, UK or OZ.
I wonder how much faster this will get Apple to the 1 Billion mark…
It sounds like Australian and Mexican stores are in order next…
MW=Progress…
Wow, this is the first time they have not had uniform pricing. I guess a lot of compromises had to be made to finally get it out the door. The 200 yen price sucks and I will do my best to boycott those songs to put the pressure on to have the all be 150 yen (which, tho a little high, is much more in the acceptable range).
Since I have a US Credit card I will continue to mostly buy for the states tho and only pick up some local talent once in a while at the Japan ITMS.
I want to support it but it really sucks that they got their screw-over-the-Japanese-consumer pricing pushed through. That happens all too often over here.
All that said, I think this will really help out Apple in Japan and that is all good.
Sorry for all the typos. You guys know what I meant.
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Garry. You can access and listen to samples from any ITMS anywhere in the world. Just click choose store at the upper left and select the store you want. Enjoy!
There went Sony’s so-called lead in flash-based MP3 player sales.
Oh, and by the time Napster debuts in Japan “in a year’s time,” Apple will have a complete stranglehold on the market there. Napster and Tower Records might as well hang it up on based on this announcement.
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> Would be nice if you could get songs from another country’s store.
This will eventually happen in the European stores, since Apple’s current practice of stopping someone in one EU country from buying from another EU country’s store is illegal (doesn’t matter if the labels insist upon it, that clause itself wouldn’t be valid and Apple would win if they took the labels to court over it).
It’s really a shame that the record companies are so short sighted when it comes to allowing buyers from other country’s. I’d really love to be able to order from other country’s stores, not necessarily for price reasons, but simply because some of the music i like can’t be purchased in the UK store.
Anyone know the deal with these ITunes Music Cards? Could i, say, purchase a Japanese card from Apple online using a UK credit card and then use the Music card to purchase from the Japanese iTMS?