Europe and Apple: digital music players

Many countries in Europe, including Germany and France, are joining the Nordic-led drive to force Apple Inc. to make iTunes and its digital music store compatible with all digital music players.

Currently, songs that are bought via iTunes music store are designed to work exclusively with Apple’s iPod. The iPod also generally cannot play copy-protected music sold through other online stores. Apple, with iTunes, and the iPod, is the market leader worldwide for digital music.

Starting in June of 2006, European countries, including Norway, Denmark, Britain Belgium, Poland, and Sweden have claimed that Apple is violating contract and copyright laws in their countries. Recently, Germany and France, two of the biggest European giants in digital music sales, have also joined the fight against Apple. In the fall of 2006, France passed a law requiring sellers of digital music players and online music services in France to open up their technical standards and become entirely interoperable.

However, the new French law will have little immediate effect. The law actually has a lot of room for interpretation in the French courts. There is also a loophole in which Apple and other digital music providers can overcome the law by striking individual deals with artists and record labels.Apple is also being investigated by the European Commission because Britain is accusing Apple of overcharging for its iTunes songs as compared to other online music retailers. Users in Britain are charged 79 pence, or $1.45, for most iTunes tracks, users in Britain are charged 99 euro cents, or $1.25, while users in America are charged $.99. The other major online music retailers usually charge closer to 99 US cents for most tracks.

Apple is arguing that opening its format would encourage pirates. In a letter, Apple indicated that it was not willing to change its business model by opening its iTunes downloads to other digital music players.

So far, Apple sales are up in Europe. Apple stated that it has been working to expand its iPod sales in Europe and said during its quarterly annual report that its advertising and sales efforts were “paying off.”