iTunes Store expands to 119 countries, keeping rivals at bay
Apple on Tuesday took a major step in expanding its presence in the international market, launching the iTunes store in more than 50 countries—a move that nearly doubles the list of countries where it sells music.
Consumers in Russia, Turkey, India, and South Africa and 52 additional countries can now purchase and download music from Apple’s extensive music store. That lets the store sell music in a totall of 119 countries, a significant achievement in itself, but one that also keeps the company far, far ahead of rivals like Amazon, Google, and the Xbox Music service when it comes to international markets.
Additionally, Russia, Turkey, India, and Indonesia also joined the 62 countries where Apple already offered digital movies on the iTunes Store—also well ahead of its rivals. (Amazon, though behind on movies and music, does beat Apple in offering e-books internationally. An October MacStories survey puts the retail giant in 179 countries to Apple’s smaller 31, making it the only area of digital media where Apple lags internationally.)
That’s pretty solid work for a venture that didn’t even exist at the beginning of the millennium. It’s been nearly a decade since Apple took its first steps abroad in Europe and Japan. Starting a store, even one that exists entirely in cyberspace, isn’t so easy as flipping a switch; it represents a real investment in infrastructure and content to plant the company’s flag abroad.
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http://www.macworld.com/article/2018401/itunes-store-expands-to-119-countries-keeping-rivals-at-bay.html
