Apple sells one million songs through iTunes Japan

Good times.

This should help iPod sales in Japan, and once the iTunes store mania hits the streets, it's gonna be nuts.

But unlike other fads that quickly fizzle, this one has some legs.

I believe there's even a Japanese podcast in the top 100 in the US.

Apple is doomed!!!!



heh.

...

You can bet that Sony is listening (watching). This will give much greater credibility to Apple's digital vision... and greater collaboration between two great companies. You can also be sure that others (Microsoft, Dell, Real) are also beginning to see the writing on the tablet....

Apparently, Sony did not make it into this launch because they were trying to thrust their own format on Apple.

I think Sony Execs are probably begging Apple to be able to join iTMS Japan on Apple's terms.

Interesting position that Sony's in as a result of being involved in so many different business areas: They can either shoot their music division in the foot by continuing to hold back their music catalog from the iTMS in favor of their own online store, or they can shoot their hardware division in the foot by joining the iTMS.

If Sony were big enough in either area to leverage their power it'd be a different story, but this time out Apple is obviously in a much better position.

It's also interesting to note that the JiTMS has managed these sales with a paltry domestic catalog; there's plenty of foreign music on there, but Sony has a whole heap of very popular artists that they're holding back, and there's very little older music--my wife and a friend spent two hours looking stuff up tonight, and probably less than a quarter of what they searched for wasn't on there (no Sony artists, and almost nothing more than a few years old). I expect the latter issue will be resolved as stuff is added over time.

Still, good to see that iPod fever is just as strong in Japan as in the US.

"Apparently in tests, it took iTMS Japan 20 minutes to copy a 17Mb file from one folder to another. The copy, apparently, causes Netscape to hang, and puts a lot of strain on editors like BBEdit lite."

HTH, HAND.

What I want to know is: is there a way a gaijin like myself can access the .jp iTMS? I'm a fan of J-pop (anime geek, whatever) and would love to be able to get cheap / legit access to songs here in the States.

1 million tunes.

as though it would have been a flop? Apple is the future of legal downloads and the odds of any one catching up anytime soon is minimal.

The only way is if others offered MUCH cheaper downloads and not making a profit and in fact a loss.

Until then, Apple and the iTMS is king and will be for a while.

I think Sony Execs are probably begging Apple to be able to join iTMS Japan on Apple's terms.

Oh, please, what makes you think that. A freakin' million songs? They probably easily made 10 times that in CD sales in the same time period. And you think the Sony guys are complete idiots that they thought no one would be buying music through the iTMS? They knew/know, and a million songs in a week isn't going to magically make them think they were wrong.

Apple is the future of legal downloads and the odds of any one catching up anytime soon is minimal.

The only way is if others offered MUCH cheaper downloads and not making a profit and in fact a loss.

This kind of thinking is what drives companies out of business. The iTMS is only #1 because the iPod is #1. Once the iPod fad dies out (yes, and it will), or people start buying more and more competitor products that aren't compatible with the iTMS, the iTMS will quickly fall in terms of sales and such. It has nothing to do with it being king of the hill. The only thing that makes it popular over the others is the fact the iPod is more popular then the others. And I seem to recall that Apple's computers were more popular, and better, then the competition, at one point too. How'd well they hold on to those numbers?

Of course, considering what I've read as the price of music in Japan, compared to the US, this isn't that surprising. But all you fanboys really need to cut down on the rhetoric like "as though it would have been a flop?" or "Apple and the iTMS is king and will be for a while" or "But unlike other fads that quickly fizzle, this one has some legs." or any of the other stuff that implies Apple can do no wrong, and will always be king of the hill. It just becomes pointless rhetoric that people just ignore after a while (sort of like all the whining people do whenever someone dares say something bad about Apple).