Apple today announced that music fans in Japan have purchased and downloaded more than one million songs from the iTunes Music Store since its launch just four days ago. With over 90 percent of the songs priced at just ¥150 per song, the iTunes Music Store in Japan features a mix of local favorites and popular international artists, with Japanese artists claiming both the number one song (Def Tech) and the number one album (Ulfuls).
“iTunes has become Japan’s number one online music store in just four days,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO in the press release. “iTunes has sold twice as many songs in just four days as all the other online music services in Japan sell in one month.”
The iTunes Music Store in Japan gives music fans the same innovative features, breakthrough pricing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world, with over 500 million songs purchased and downloaded. The iTunes Music Store in Japan features 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 include music from international artists such as U2, Jack Johnson and Björk, and over 10,000 audiobooks, 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 includes a wide variety of Japanese-language Podcasts, such as InterFM, Radio SOTOKOTO and Radio Nikkei.
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 online Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.
Related articles:
Apple’s iTunes Music Store takes just four days to become Japan’s undisputed online music leader – August 08, 2005
Apple’s iTunes Music Store offers Japan’s largest library; Napster plans April 2006 launch in Japan – August 04, 2005
Apple’s Japan iTunes Music Store debut more bad news for Sony – August 04, 2005
Apple launches iTunes Music Store in Japan – 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
One Guy –
I’m sorry your wallet is so small.
Now now Markus you don’t have to parade your homosexual hatred for all to see…it’s sooo unbecoming.
One guy from Finland, don’t inflame Americans… it’s sooo twentieth century.
OK, now we get down to the nitty gritty. Apple is able to put pressure on Sony in Japan because they basically told them to go to hell. And you watch Sony come cap in hand to get a piece of the action.
Meanwhile in Australia we witnessed the company I so love and admire (and I don’t say that about any other company) blink when Sony stared them down.
Apple has little bargaining power in Australia because there’s no iTunes online music store. The only way Apple can get Sony to buckle in this country is to show them how much money they can make by selling online, and that means using the iTunes service.
Now I got called a lot of things last time and flaming is an understatement.
Some said I knew nothing about the Australian music market. I guess my 14 years’ experience in session work, playing in bands, promotion, management and finally working for the musicians’ union doesn’t count for anything.
Some thought I was being disloyal by criticising Apple. So one member of the Apple family offers criticism and I’m an idiot (as one poster put it).
Another person said I don’t have any idea about business. I guess 12 years’ experience in business education and business consulting account for my ignorance.
What I said was that Apple was being gutless for not taking Sony on and yet another person said I had little idea of the Sony.
Gee I got the hard push from Sony when trying to get outstanding wages paid to a musician. And they then threatened not to employ the musician again. I called their bluff and they backed down. That’s Sony.
They’ll get away with what they think they can get away with. The only way to get Sony onside is to take them on. And that’s exactly what Apple is now doing in Japan.
I wonder how long until they do the same thing in Australia?
Markus
Do me a favour and don’t speak on my behalf.
Cheers.
Bikersrule –
I think you’re right. I suspect that, up until now, His Steveness has set down cardinal rules for new iTunes Music Stores, and two of them are Have All the Labels On Board and Price All Songs The Same Way. Apple has waited to debut online stores, potentially costing revenue and braving scorn on the internet, for months and months until they could open them in their respective countries with these provisions.
It appears that for the Japanese iTMS, on both counts, the waiting was too much. So Apple gambled, and I think they’re pleased with the results. The prospect of an Australian iTMS (that opens without Mushroom/Sony content) may not be so distant now.
Is that fact there is now an iTMS that does not have a full catalog and exclusively one-tiered pricing a good thing? No. Will it fuel competitors’ advertising? Probably, although that nice one million songs in four days number makes it largely irrelevant in Japan. Will the greedy record labels in other countries push for multiple pricing everywhere else? Of course they will; they would have anyway.
YeeeeeeeeeeeHAW! This is awesome news.
America needs some wins in Japan to help even out this trade imbalance with one of our closest friends.
Japan owns so much of America (what we watch, how we watch, etc), it’s nice to see Apple march on into Japan and grab some market share. This is one instance I’d like to see Apple utterly dominate.
—
To Japan iTMS customers, check out:
Group: Ego-Wrappin
Album: Night Music
Song: 5月のクローバー
Group out of Osaka. Nice mix of jazz, r&b, soul, and stuff… This singer has got a cute, sexy voice. If anyone can translate the lyrics, that’d be awesome. My coworker said it’s very poetic. It sounds it. For a mere ¥150, the song is yours.
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http://www.egowrappin.com
YeeeeeeeeeeeHAW! This is awesome news.
America needs some wins in Japan to help even out this trade imbalance with one of our closest friends.
Japan owns so much of America (what we watch, how we watch, etc), it’s nice to see Apple march on into Japan and grab some market share. This is one instance I’d like to see Apple utterly dominate.
—
To Japan iTMS customers, check out:
Group: Ego-Wrappin
Album: Night Music
Song: 5月のクローバー
Group out of Osaka. Nice mix of jazz, r&b, soul, and stuff… This singer has got a cute, sexy voice. If anyone can translate the lyrics, that’d be awesome. My coworker said it’s very poetic. It sounds it. For a mere ¥150, the song is yours.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />
http://www.egowrappin.com
YeeeeeeeeeeeHAW! This is awesome news.
America needs some wins in Japan to help even out this trade imbalance with one of our closest friends.
Japan owns so much of America (what we watch, how we watch, etc), it’s nice to see Apple march on into Japan and grab some market share. This is one instance I’d like to see Apple utterly dominate.
—
To Japan iTMS customers, check out:
Group: Ego-Wrappin
Album: Night Music
Song: 5月のクローバー
Group out of Osaka. Nice mix of jazz, r&b, soul, and stuff… This singer has got a cute, sexy voice. If anyone can translate the lyrics, that’d be awesome. My coworker said it’s very poetic. It sounds it. For a mere ¥150, the song is yours.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />
http://www.egowrappin.com
MCCFR,
You and One Guy are lovers, correct?
日本のMac のユーザーは最もよい
へ~~ 何？ へんだよ。
Take that, Sony.
Dear Follower,
If there’s one thing I learned about the entertainment industry is that there’s a lot of hard bastards out to make a buck anyway they can. But the record companies are the worst I’d ever experienced.
So get ready for pricing to change. Then again if Apple bargains hard it could be linked to higher bit rates (128kbps is not cd quality) or multiple bargains etc.
You may be right about the door being ajar to the Oz opening but at this stage I have to keep up the pressure on Apple.
At least I can take some comfort in the fact that I was right and this time I’m not getting flamed.
for all of the companies that are choosing to follow micrsoft and it’s use of it’s own DRM for copy protection, I have a question. With Microsofts track record of easily corruptable code, major security problems that lead to hacks and viruses, and the instability of the OS as a whole, why would you as a MUSIC company, choose to rely on them?? I can understand napster as they would want to get hacked so they can go back to giving away free music, is it was they who started the illegal download services in the first place. But why would a company like Sony Music and Victor Music want to entrust a company with such a bad track record with it’s own OS, to provide security to their music tracks?
Question. Is anyone familiar with http://www.98cm.com
Is this a legitimate company in “cn” to buy an ipod from. The prices are really cheap compared to here in the US.