De site van zakenblad Forbes meldt dat een Europese versie van de iTunes Music Store nog steeds wordt tegengehouden door allerlei bureaucratische vertragingen. Apple wil dolgraag de Music Store ook in Europa beschikbaar stellen, maar doordat licentie-overeenkomsten, release-data en betaalsysteem bijna per land verschillen lukt het nog steeds niet. Maar Apple blijft optimistisch en hoopt dat Europeanen toch nog in de eerste helft van 2004 legaal kunnen downloaden bij de Music Store.

Citaat: A maze of licensing contracts, music release dates that differ by country and incompatible billing systems have combined to sidetrack the service, which many recording executives still hope will make its European debut in the first half of 2004. “We will be here this year. I’m not going to announce the date at this time, but we are working very hard,” Eddy Cue, vice president of applications and Internet services for Apple, said at the annual MidemNet music conference on the French Riviera. Apple is druk bezig om de platenbazen ervan te overtuigen dat de markt-ideeën die ze er op na houden inmiddels achterhaald zijn.

Citaat: “One of the things we are working with the European labels on is to get them to understand how the business works in the online space, and having them change some of their business practices,” Cue said. While the industry has made big strides in the past year to make music available for paid downloads, the red tape is still a major gripe of the online vendors. In Europe, the issue is more complicated than the United States as scores of national rights bodies, publishers and collection agencies have yet to agree on standard licensing fees. Forbes: Apple’s ITunes European debut held up by red tape