Apple today announced the launch of iTunes Latino, a dedicated area within the US iTunes Store featuring top Latin music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks and podcasts. iTunes Latino offers hundreds of thousands of Latin and international music tracks, including exclusive tracks and albums available only on iTunes.
“We’re thrilled to offer customers their favorite Latin music and video programming with iTunes Latino,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, in the press release. “Latin music has been a huge hit on iTunes and now we’re bringing music fans even more of what they love in a dedicated area on the iTunes Store.”
The unique iTunes Latino area on the iTunes Store is dedicated to Latin and Latin influenced music in many genres including Regional Mexicano, Rock Alternativo, Baladas y Boleros, Pop Latino, Reggaeton and Hip-Hop. iTunes Latino includes exclusives, albums, EP’s and tracks from leading Latino artists such as David Bisbal, Daddy Yankee, Aterciopelados, Marco Antonio Solis, Paulina Rubio, Mana, Cafe Tacuba and Luny Tunes y Tainy, with exclusive music videos from Juanes, Mach & Daddy and Luis Fonsi. In addition, over 50 Latin-focused iTunes Essentials compilations and Celebrity Playlists by artists such as Sergio Mendes, Julieta Venegas and Alejandra Guzman are available for download. Hit TV shows from Telemundo such as “Pasion de Gavilanes” and “‘El Cuerpo del Deseo” are also available beginning today, in addition to a number of Spanish audiobooks and podcasts.
The iTunes Store, the world’s most popular digital music store, currently features over 3.5 million songs, 65,000 podcasts, 20,000 audiobooks, over 5,000 music videos and 250 television shows. With Apple’s legendary ease of use, pioneering features such as integrated podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing and seamless integration with iPod the iTunes Store is the best way for Mac® and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and video online.
iTunes 7 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store and is available as a free download from (http://www.itunes.com). Songs downloaded from iTunes Latino are priced at just US$0.99 each and TV shows are priced at $1.99 each. Purchase and download of content from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Television shows and feature films are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country. Games are available for download in the 21 countries in which iTunes operates and play on the fifth generation iPod. New release feature films are $14.99 each and other feature-length films are $9.99 each, television shows are $1.99 per episode, music videos and short films are $1.99 each and games are $4.99 each.
Great. Now when we go to iTunes, we’ll have to puch “1” to get English…
So it isn’t only Jobs that gets to be “thrilled to announce…”
Slow news days are here…so come on Apple, time to light my fire…
Towertone: Stupid, American bigot.
Sorry about the redundancy; I should have simply said Stupid American.
Since, you all know, all Americans are bigots. And Towertone proves it.
Smart, big audience.
Macaday is right. Ever notice that all Apple announcements (over) use the work thrilled. C’mon, is the thesaurus on their Mac’s not working?????
Delighted
Excited
Ecstatic
Overjoyed
Detective novel
Pleased
Elated
Tickled
Detective novel??????…Sorry I used MS word’s thesaurus.
One of these words is not like the other….la la lal
Geez Frank….like to paint everyone with the same brush do we? So….what are Canadian’s in your opinion?
I await with bated breath….
Hey “Frank” (good ol’ American name, there) — TowerTone’s not a bigot, he’s just honest. You should try it sometime. Being honest, that is.
Of course it’s not going to happen on iTunes, but I shouldn’t have to make any language choice when I’m waiting for service on a phone call or standing at my ATM or anywhere else for that matter! It’s an English-speaking country!!!!
So, the iTunes announcement is great and wonderful and all that. But TowerTone’s point is also valid.
Humor . . . embrace it.
Last time I checked, I was living in America.
But the ITMS is in French now.
Weird stuff
I was finally able to use the drop down menu and change it back.
Maybe the update changed something
ChubbaWubba,
I would love to see you struggle outside of the US if you were at an ATM that didn’t give you a choice of English.
Believe me, phone call’s are even more of a nightmare without the option. I struggle with it everyday.
Have you ever stepped foot outside the US?
Please consider that there are other languages spoken on the big ball that we share.
“Since, you all know, all Americans are bigots. And Towertone proves it.”
Any hypocrisy in this statement? If sarcasm, where’s the emoticon?
To sizewell:
I agree it is fine to have language options, but for MOST users of MOST services in the USA, we should not have to deal with “Press 1 for English” to use an ATM or make a phone connection. Non-English speaking visitors are the exception instead of the rule. Non-English speaking “residents” speak no English by choice…
In the past 12 months I have been to China, Belgium, Senegal and Liberia. I made a point before traveling to become functional in the language spoken.
My point – if you are coming to the USA to live (and WORK) learn English – at least enough to function. I know from my experiences that if one wants to learn another language, it only takes a few days to start picking it up – and with minimal effort. People who have been living here for YEARS and speak no English are absolutely doing so by choice.
I have nothing against people from other countries or other cultures – I have adopted two children from China – but I do firmly believe in assimilation.
This is interesting. There are predictions that the three dominant languages of the future are going to be English, Spanish, and Chinese. English because it is the current internationaly language, but that is not guaranteed to stay. Spanish because of the number of people who speak it. It’s already becoming more common in the US, as noted by above posters. Chinese because of the vast number of people who already speak it (over 1/4 of the world). It has problems with it’s written form, which could make it harder.
The other interesting aspect is that there is no official language in the United States, but Congress is trying to change that. Check out this description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_in_the_United_States
My point is that you shouldn’t count on everywhere catering to English speakers in 30 years….
But is Apple launching parallel iTunes Stores for Latin America?
Sizewell;
Don’t be a tool. YES, I’ve traveled extensively, thank you very much. Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Japan . . . and I knew enough of the “native tongue” in each country to survive adequately while there. Why?
BECAUSE I LEARNED ENOUGH OF THE LANGUAGE AHEAD OF TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I was only VISITING these places! If I had been RE-LOCATING to any of those countries to, you know, LIVE and/or WORK there (legally or illegally, <wink, wink>), I DAMN SURE WOULD LEARN THE DOMINANT LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THAT COUNTRY!!!
Read what “Yes” wrote above — it’s spot on.
Quevar;
You conveniently forget that English is the dominant international language for many reasons. ONE of those reasons is because of the industrial and economic might of the United States. But another is because English is arguably the MOST EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE CURRENTLY IN EXISTENCE! And the most conducive to international trade. You don’t hear American airline pilots speaking French with the control tower as they land in America; you DO hear French pilots speaking English as they land in France.
I believe with Firefly that Joss Whedon and others who’ve postulated the same thing actually got it right: It will be China and the U.S. dominating the world stage into the future. One nation leads the world in terms of productivity, economic output, and technological advancement. The other has a shitload of people.
Peace out.
You know before I scrolled down to see the comments on this article I was thinking, “Oh no, knowing MDN commenters, this is going to explode into a nasty negative ethnic debate.” And sure enough, right out the gate you get TowerTone lighting the fuse.
Just so you know, I am a lilly white, born and bred, all American boy. It sickens me that there are so many @sshole jerks that put down our brown brothers and sisters who only come here for a better life like our ancestors did. And then Frank thinks all Americans are bigots because @sswipes like TowerTone and ChubbaWubba, vocal representatives of the redneck right minority, have spread across the world a message of xenophobic hatred. But Frank, it is not all Americans, or even a majority.
English is NOT the original or rightful language here, only the currently dominant and most convenient. Personally, I am neither put out or offended by having to to punch 1 for English; I am, however put out and offended by having to punch the subsequent 20+ other buttons to get the service I want.
Although I have know Mexican immigrants that are lazy or even criminal (as is also true for the TT & CW contingent), most are upstanding, honest, hardworking people (as is also true for the TT & CW contingent). Truth be told, my life has been generally enriched by the presence of most Mexicans and other ethnic groups I have encountered.
People like TT and CW are threatened by the arrival and presence of immigrants because they feel they can’t compete on the job market against hard working people, and also because they are cheap asses that don’t want to pay taxes for schools to educate their children and provide them other services. They fail to realize the great economic contribution immigrants make to our society through their hard work and their family values. But don’t be offened, most don’t even want to pay taxes to educate ANY children except their own. Truth is, they don’t want to pay taxes to help anybody do anything. What kills me is that many of them profess to be Christian, and yet Jesus’s teachings completely allude them.
But I say that the iTunes news IS big news and it IS good news. Again, I am enriched by having this content available to me.
My guess is that Frank is a frenchman. (I use the small “f” on purpose because france is a small player on the world stage)
Frank proves exactly what the french are good at. Throwing a verbal insult and then running away.
ChubbyWubby, I believe you may have missed a huge chunk of history…
One of the primary reasons that English became an international language was Britain’s colonial expansion and schooling of millions of people in English (you know, with the accent and everything..) – thus the reason that South Africa, India, Iraq, etc. all speak English. It was brought to them by the Brits.
Now, you might argue that the reason English continues to GROW is because of America’s prominence, and because of English being an expressive language.
On the flip side, English is a very difficult language in the sense that the rules often seem arbitrary, from structure to spelling to pronunciation. In this sense, Spanish or French or even Latin are easier to learn.
And finally, do NOT kid yourself that China will continue to dominate the world stage in the future because it has a “shitload of people”. China, despite being saddled with a repressive, post-communist (yes, POST-communist) government, has made huge advances in the world.
China has made the hard decision to begin “westernizing” its economy, moving its industry forward technologically AND out of government ownership / control. The people are slowly (very slowly, there are a shitload of them, after all) moving OUT of abject poverty. Look around your house, pick up random possessions and see how many say “Made in China”. Your kids or grandkids may learn Chinese in school someday, and it won’t be because there’s a lot of people in China. It will be because China owns a big chunk of the world. They already buy the 2ND LARGEST number of U.S. Dollars in Treasury Bonds every quarter, behind only Japan. Make no mistake, China owns more of the U.S. than we do of China.
Just food for future thought…
Thomas… good take with some interesting arguments. I think though, you paint towertone with a broad brush. If I can guage his intent (staring into a pile of tea leaves at the moment and knowing him a but from his many other posts in this forum) his comment was probably meant as humorous and has been spun as political.
“English is not the original or rightful language here…” – not the rightful? Hmmm… not really sure what other language could be considered rightful but english for the usa. It’s been the current and dominant for quite awhile now – when does it graduate from passing fad to legitimacy?
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Having said all of this. The language issue is usually solved by the third generation of imigrant groups. The first generation brings the mother culture and tongue with them. The second likes the culture of home but wants to use the english language. The third want’s full imersion in american culture and english as their primary language.
Back on topic.. this is a good move by Apple. Great market that is growing financially.
The Declaration of Independence was written in English. So were the Constitution and that Bill of Rights thing we used to have.
Thomas- don’t be a sh-tbreak. YOU’RE the one spewing stereotypical hatred by calling people with a different opinion than yours “rednecks” and “xenophobes”. Fact is, Chubba is right — this IS an English-speaking country and SHOULD be. The best way for new “arrivals” to immerse themselves in the culture of their new “country” is to assimilate. The best, fastest, and easiest way to do that is by LEARNING THE PRINCIPAL LANGUAGE OF YOUR NEW “HOME”!
What about that don’t you understand?
Any and all LEGAL immigrants are welcome here. As long as they WORK and don’t act as a drain on our society. Other countries ALL OVER THE GLOBE have strict immigration requirements. Why can’t we? Hmmm? Why can’t we, ya know, ENFORCE OUR OWN DAMN LAWS!?!?!?
Tell me, Thomas: Why do I get arrested — as a U.S. citizen — and my car towed away if I’m driving without a license or car insurance? Yet if I’m an illegal immigrant the police almost always let me go because I.N.S. DOESN’T WANT TO TAKE ME IN and/or because the police have been told to keep hands-off? Does that sound like unequal representation under the law?? Does to me. AND I’M A FRIGGIN’ LEGAL CITIZEN!!!!
Don’t be a fool. Legal immigrants who go through proper channels are welcome. ILLEGAL ones are not.
Jim- What I meant by English not being the rightful language is that it is no more or less the rightful language than any other. I suppose if there is a “rightful” language it would we the first human language spoken on this continent. The important thing is that to say or imply that anyone who lives here needs to speak one language or another is unfair. These things are being said to tell non-English speaking people that their language is not valid, their status is second class, be like me or get the hell out.
Yes, it would be great in one way if everyone could speak the same language, but they don’t. And although many would claim that this country belongs to white, English-speaking males,…it doesn’t. If everyone spoke English it still would not fix miscommunication. If everyone spoke English exclusively it would be convienient but the beauty other languages would begin to fade along with the culture that is embodied in those languages. Also certain expressions for which there are no Englich words to express would be endangered and could be lost.
As far as TT is concerned, I can only go by what he said, and what he said was not humerous as can be shown by the subsequent comments that his words triggered. Regardless of his intent, his words fan the fire of bigotry.
Huge untapped market. go Apple. Ariba!