Apple Expands the Worldwide Reach of iTunes Store to 119 Countries
By Rob Scott
December 6, 2012
December 6, 2012
- Apple has announced the expansion of its iTunes platform into 56 new countries, including India, Russia, South Africa and Turkey.
- The expansion, which nearly doubles iTunes’ worldwide footprint, is a response to growing competition in global markets from rivals including Microsoft, Google, Spotify and Netflix.
- “But while competition is increasing, Apple still benefits from its vast reach,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “ITunes remains the juggernaut in the digital media world, with more than 400 million users and more than half the market for music downloads.”
- With this expansion, the iTunes Store now reaches 119 countries, while the company’s App Store is available in 155 countries. The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that Apple has released the most significant update to iTunes since the software’s debut.
- “However, Apple’s iTunes still doesn’t offer a streaming subscription service, an increasingly popular method of consuming both music and video by paying a fixed subscription every month, rather than buying individual songs, albums and films,” notes WSJ.
- Apple faces competition from streaming service Netflix, Microsoft’s recently launched Xbox music, and the new Google Play online store that features Google’s entire media catalog.
- “The expansion of the service to developing countries underscores Apple’s belief that these markets are ready for electronic distribution of media, and that Apple has sold enough iPhones, Macs and iPads on these markets to justify the effort, said Adrian Drury, media analyst at London-based research firm Ovum.”
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