Speaking of countries waiting forever for iTunes Music Store access, how 'bout that there Ireland? It may not be the only European Union country without its own iTMS, but it is the only non-iTMSed one that actually uses the Euro for currency, and its omission from the list of supported countries makes the so-called "pan-EU" iTMS not just incomplete, but inconsistent as well. Oh, and not just a little ironic, what with Ireland's most famous rock band currently flogging iPods all over the telly, giving pro-iTMS pep talks to the press, and personally signing the backs of a zillion iPod U2 Special Editions. (What, you thought those signatures were machine-etched? Dream on. We hear Apple lost four employees while The Edge learned to work the laser.)

So why no Irish iTMS last Tuesday? Well, according to Macworld UK, apparently there was supposed to be, but the launch was "stymied at the last minute by a disagreement with the Irish Music Rights Organization." Phonographic Performance Ireland, which apparently represents the Irish recording industry, says that it was as surprised as anyone not to see the Irish iTMS launch on Tuesday alongside the nine other stores, but notes that the last-minute disagreement has since been hammered out.

Of course, if that were true, wouldn't the store be live by now? Because it isn't. And Apple refuses to comment on the situation, offering only its standard non-statement about how it's "committed to expanding the iTunes Music Store globally, and will announce new countries as and when they come on board." Meanwhile, the IMRO contradicts PPI be saying that "negotiations haven't concluded yet," but a "local label source" says that it believes "the issues have been resolved" and that the Irish iTMS should "open very quickly." Of course, then "local artist representatives" contradicted that source by insisting that "negotiations continue." It's like watching a freakin' tennis match or something.

Given the continued nonexistence of the store itself, we're going to have to assume that IMRO knows what it's talking about when it claims that negotiations are still underway; unfortunately, no one seems to be talking about just what the disagreement might be. Is it a tussle over the artists' cut of the take? The determination of which bands get promoted more heavily than others? The standard rider about picking all the brown ones out of the M&M bowl? What?

Well, AtAT sources have the answer: apparently all Irish artists want their own iPod Special Editions just like U2 got. Oooo, this could get messy. After all, there are only so many color combinations to go around, which means that if this demand is granted, somebody's going to wind up with his signature on the back of a puce-and-safety-orange iPod-- and that's not good for anybody. Stay tuned.