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Great White North Boogie (10/21/03)
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Okay, we decline to mention how we know this ("We plead the fifth! The fifth, we tell you!"), but if you've ever wondered whether laundering money through iTunes gift certificates would allow Canadians (and anyone else) to circumvent the iTunes Music Store's "must have a credit card with a U.S. billing address" technical bugaboo, wonder no more-- it wouldn't. Trust us. Now, the Allowance feature, on the other hand, might be a different story; we're not saying that it is, mind you, but any feature intended to allow the kids to buy songs without access to Mom and Dad's plastic might indeed provide a means by which ruthless foreign Terms of Use scofflaws could patronize the iTMS via an allowance given by a U.S. "parent."
Just a little thought experiment to chew on-- we certainly aren't suggesting that any impatient Canucks should actually try this, of course, since even if it technically works, it'd still be a violation of the iTunes user license ("recipients must reside in the U.S."). If you live in Canada and you want to buy downloadable music from Apple, what you should do, of course, is obvious: simply wait for Canada to be annexed as the 51st state.
Or we suppose you could just wait for the iTMS to come to Canada. New evidence even suggests that might actually happen first. Maybe.
It's aboot time, eh? So rejoice, Canadian Mac fans; Apple really is taking active steps to bring the iTMS north of the border, and we're finally seeing the first real proof of that effort. Faithful viewer Russell Gordon tipped us off to a situation described over at MacRumors: David Basskin, the president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency, has publicly stated that "the process of negotiating a licensing deal with Apple is now under way." He met with Apple reps just last week, and reportedly Steve Jobs told him that "Apple couldn't wait to come to Canada" and that getting the iTMS into the Land of Degrassi was "a very high priority for him."
So it should happen any minute now, right? Well, except that the CMRRA only deals with reproduction licensing for songs; Apple still needs to deal with the labels to license the actual recordings of the songs. We aren't at all sure, but we figure that might happen through the Canadian Recording Industry Association-- think RIAA but with more hockey fans (and hopefully a lot more sense). As far as we can tell, Apple hasn't actually contacted the CRIA yet, but since it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to license a recording of a song until securing a license for the song itself, we figure the CRIA will get a phone call as soon as Apple concludes negotiations with the CMRRA. All things in good time, eh?
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SceneLink (4283)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 10/21/03 episode: October 21, 2003: If you put your mind to it, you just might be able to score a retail copy of Panther a few days early. Meanwhile, Apple takes definite steps toward expanding the iTunes Music Store north of the border, and Microsoft tests the terms of its antitrust settlement as the Justice Department watches, worries and even complains...
Other scenes from that episode: 4282: Smells Like Teen Panther (10/21/03) Something special's in the wind, people, and it's so close we can smell it! Can't you just smell it? Go on, grab yourself a lungful-- treat those nostrils. Snnnffffffffahhhhhhhhhhh! Unless we're sorely mistaken, that's the smell of Panther approaching, kids, and it's only three days away. That scent marks the impending end of an agonizing months-long wait and the imminent Exposé-ing of Mac users the whole world over. (Those with delicate sensibilities should avert their eyes.) Yes, that heady aroma will just keep getting stronger and stronger, until finally on Friday night at 8 we won't just be able to smell Panther; we'll also be able to see it, touch it, buy it, install it, and yes, even lick it... 4284: Tales Of The Implausible (10/21/03) So is everyone digging the new fall shows? It's a magical time of year, you know, what with all the new televisual neatness saturating the airwaves. (New episodes of "The Brak Show" alone are enough to put a spring in our step.)...
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