According to Jobs, iTunes is available now in 20 countries, which account for 85% of the global; music market. There is no question about whether Apple is currently in the driving seat of digital music or not; for now most experts agree that is most definite. Some have credited the company with revolutionising the way songs are bought and heard. However, it's Apple's iPod music player that the company cares most about.
Launching iTunes in Japan can only do well for the multi-million selling devices, which currently account for 36% of all portable digital music players sold in Japan - compared to a market-dominating 70% in the United States. "We think this is going to change the experience of discovering and buying and enjoying music in Japan." Jobs said. "Together with the iPod, we think we are ushering in a whole new age of digital music."
One of Apple's biggest download store rivals is Napster, which also has it's eyes set on Japan. The company announced a deal with Tower Records Japan to launch it's service in the country. After reporting a net loss of $19.9 million, the company believed that they will get back on the surface with their rapid growth of revenues. "We look forward to announcing a number of new strategic initiatives later this calendar year designed to create new revenue streams, improve margins and accelerate our path to profitability," said Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and CEO.
Source:
BBC News
Written by: James Delahunty @ 4 Aug 2005 19:10
