In Europe, Apple Faces Hurdles to iTunes Movie Rentals
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The European market rules will force deals to be made one country at a time.
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Apple and four of the biggest record companies this week must submit written responses to antitrust charges that they restricted online sales of music in Europe.
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Apple Inc. has agreed to scrap its online pricing policies across Europe for its iTunes music downloads
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Now that Apple has conquered the online music arena with iTunes and its iPod, is it ready to do the same for movies?
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Apple has launched the iTunes Music Store&#39;s pan-Europe incarnation, as it promised to do last June when it opened UK, French and German online stores.
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Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O said   on Tuesday it will begin selling movie downloads from Walt   Disney Co.'s DIS.N film studios, aiming to turn its iTunes   online music store into a one-stop shop for digital   entertainment.
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(InfoWorld) - Just because three major online music retailers bind their music stores to specific portable players doesn't make it acceptable, a Norwegian consumer group leading the charge against Apple's DRM (digital rights management) policy says. "ITunes Music Store and others are unfair to consumers no matter how many download services follow the proprietary approach," wrote Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor at The Norwegian Consumer Council, in response to a letter written by Apple CEO Steve Jobs andÂ posted on the Apple Web siteÂ on Tuesday. Jobs examined why DRM exists and discusses alternatives to the current set-up in his open response to calls for Apple to allow users to buy songs from the iTunes store and play them on any device. Norway's consumer representative hasÂ threatened legal action against AppleÂ for violating Norwegian law by limiting iTunes customers to playing their music only on iPods. Consumer groups in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany haveÂ joined Norway's complaintÂ against Apple. Jobs points out that Microsoft and Sony also sell music that can only be played on their players, supporting a model that serves customers well with choice and a continuing stream of innovative products. He also suggests that groups like Waterhouse's "redirect their energies" toward convincing the music labels to sell music without DRM, technology that aims to restrict how buyers can copy or use the music. The four biggest record labels forced Apple to employ a proprietary DRM system as a condition of the agreement that allows Apple to sell their music, he said. Ideally, he said, the labels wouldn't require DRM. "This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat," Jobs wrote. While Waterhouse agrees that the record companies carry some fault for the situation, the iTunes music store and others like it are ultimately responsible. "They're still the company that's selling music to the consumers and are responsible for offering a fair deal according to Norwegian law," he said. Still, with his letter, Jobs' appears to have stirred up some additional pressure on the record labels to change their DRM policies. EMusic.com Inc., which claims to be the second largest music download site, only sells DRM-free music from thousands of independent labels. But the site would like be able to sell music from the four biggest labels. "We are hopeful the remaining four will one day join [the independent labels] by licensing their complete catalogs and reap the benefits of consumer demand," David Pakman, president and CEO of eMusic, wrote in a response to Jobs' letter. Even though Jobs didn't hint that a solution might be impending, Waterhouse appeared to see a glimmer of hope. "If this means that Apple is willing to the kick the lock in technology from the [iTunes/iPod] combination this is really good news -- news that should be put into action as soon as possible to bring us all one important step closer to a well functioning digital society," he wrote.
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With iTunes movie rentals now available, Don Reisinger thinks Steve Jobs pulled a fast one on the online rental industry.  Is he right?
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Apple will scrap online pricing policies across Europe for iTunes music downloads and charge consumers in Britain and the rest of Europe the same amount,  according to the deal.
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Apple bears the ultimate responsibility for making iTunes compatible with rival music players, says the agency leading a European effort to make it happen. By the Associated Press.
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Apple Computer is planning to expand its online music download service to more European countries, the company announced at the Popkomm music trade fair.
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European shoppers are petitioning Apple to bring EU pricing better in line with that of the United States.
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The EU iTunes Music Store retains the same features and per-song price of 99 euro cents, established in June for customers in UK, Germany and France.
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Available as a free automatic download later this month, the new software announced today lets movie fans rent movies on the iTunes Store directly from their widescreen TV. With iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TVâand with no computer requiredâcustomers can effortlessly rent movies just by clicking a button on their remote. By the end of February, theyâll be able to choose from a catalog of more than 1,000 titles, including over 100 titles in stunning high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD-quality iTunes Movie Rentals cost just $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases. High-definition versions are just one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 and new releases at $4.99.
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Apple is reportedly in talks to bring movie rentals to its iTunes store, with the company reportedly planning to offer rentals for $2.99 USD for 30 days.
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Apple will scrap online pricing policies across Europe for iTunes music downloads and charge consumers in Britain and the rest of Europe the same amount, according to the deal.
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InfoWorld - The European Commission ended itsÂ antitrust investigation into AppleÂ after the company agreed to reduce the price of music downloads from its iTunes Web site in the U.K., the European Union's antitrust regulator said Wednesday.