itunes australia blows
Yep, I said it. It blows. So far at least.
The iTunes Australia store finally opened and my immediate reflection is of it's worthlessness. I guess If you were bedridden, cashed-up and unaware of anything musical outside of popular radio it may seem fine but you'd be wrong.
Due to the uneasy stand-off between the labels (Sony, i'm looking at you there) and iTunes Australia marketing we've got a joke store. Most of the albums I looked at were 'buy songs each only' rather than the whole album. It means that the download version of the new Depeche Mode disc would cost me AU$20 whereas the bought disc last week cost me AU$22 which gave me a disc, booklet and a sense of tangible product. Don't even think about including the whole "well, you saved petrol..." bollocks. Robert Palmer's 'Riptide' cd (I owned the tape as a kid and thought a trip down memory lane would be nice) would cost me AU$15. The actual disc isn't any more at either JBHiFi or WOW for God's sake and I get an actual product they had to manufacture!
Funnily enough I've been buying music online through US and UK stores using either PayPal or credit cards. I've been pretty happy with the buy's as most import stuff costs me around AU$30-35 and to buy and download only cost me about AU$16. Not to mention the fact that it's nigh on impossible to get some of the music I want in the country anway.
That brings me to the main bone of contention. Choice and range. Where the fuck is it? I realise there are massive publishing ramifications from area to area but a large amount of music I'd love to buy isn't available on the Australian store. Two soundtracks-Contantine and Solaris-I want to buy are not available. They are in every other friggin country but not here. I was under the idea that many physical discs don't get sold here as the local labels don't see them as big enough sellers to warrant all the paperwork and manufacturing. Fair enough, but doesn't this 'new' delivery system cost nothing except the cut Apple make? They should be making as much available as humanly possible and then offer more. Instead I'm left with either paying AU$80-100 for two cd's and shipping OR downloading through peer-to-peer. What decision would you go with?
Thanks for nothing boys. I'd imagine it's not the setup Steve Jobs was hoping for either. At least he's directed a company upwards and onwards. What have the Sony and Sony Australia board done lately i wonder...
quote for the day:
"Lucille: I'm giving the company to Buster.
Michael: Buster? You're giving the company to a guy who thought the blue on the map was land?"
- Arrested Development
The iTunes Australia store finally opened and my immediate reflection is of it's worthlessness. I guess If you were bedridden, cashed-up and unaware of anything musical outside of popular radio it may seem fine but you'd be wrong.
Due to the uneasy stand-off between the labels (Sony, i'm looking at you there) and iTunes Australia marketing we've got a joke store. Most of the albums I looked at were 'buy songs each only' rather than the whole album. It means that the download version of the new Depeche Mode disc would cost me AU$20 whereas the bought disc last week cost me AU$22 which gave me a disc, booklet and a sense of tangible product. Don't even think about including the whole "well, you saved petrol..." bollocks. Robert Palmer's 'Riptide' cd (I owned the tape as a kid and thought a trip down memory lane would be nice) would cost me AU$15. The actual disc isn't any more at either JBHiFi or WOW for God's sake and I get an actual product they had to manufacture!
Funnily enough I've been buying music online through US and UK stores using either PayPal or credit cards. I've been pretty happy with the buy's as most import stuff costs me around AU$30-35 and to buy and download only cost me about AU$16. Not to mention the fact that it's nigh on impossible to get some of the music I want in the country anway.
That brings me to the main bone of contention. Choice and range. Where the fuck is it? I realise there are massive publishing ramifications from area to area but a large amount of music I'd love to buy isn't available on the Australian store. Two soundtracks-Contantine and Solaris-I want to buy are not available. They are in every other friggin country but not here. I was under the idea that many physical discs don't get sold here as the local labels don't see them as big enough sellers to warrant all the paperwork and manufacturing. Fair enough, but doesn't this 'new' delivery system cost nothing except the cut Apple make? They should be making as much available as humanly possible and then offer more. Instead I'm left with either paying AU$80-100 for two cd's and shipping OR downloading through peer-to-peer. What decision would you go with?
Thanks for nothing boys. I'd imagine it's not the setup Steve Jobs was hoping for either. At least he's directed a company upwards and onwards. What have the Sony and Sony Australia board done lately i wonder...
quote for the day:
"Lucille: I'm giving the company to Buster.
Michael: Buster? You're giving the company to a guy who thought the blue on the map was land?"
- Arrested Development
posted by brent c. airey at 9:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home