Why do non-US users have to jump through iTunes hoops to get content?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 24 February 2008 08:00

Opinion and Analysis

An article at APC magazine shows you how virtually anyone, anywhere around the world, can bypass the iTunes and licensing limitations that mean only US citizens get the best content, and get it first – but why do we put up with this?

Want to get access to the same content on iTunes, at the same prices, as US citizens – even though you don’t live in the US, or have a US credit card, debit card or bank account?

An article at APC Magazine (in Australia) shows you how to do just that – even if Apple in Australia, or US licensing laws, don’t like you doing it.

The solution is actually quite ingenious yet simple – just buy a US iTunes ‘gift card’ from eBay, and create a new iTunes account through that gift card, while using any US address to fool the iTunes system into believing you are a bona-fide US citizen.

Apparently Apple’s address, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, is one that many who use this process like to put in as their address, no doubt as a little way to thumb their nose at Apple.

It’s also a protest, not only at Apple, but the license holders of the music, movies and TV shows who refuse to do deals granting worldwide access to that content, instead of for the US only.

They prefer instead to keep decades old arrangements in place that generally see the rest of the world behind the US in fresh content, even though the Internet makes such efforts laughable these days.

The thing is – why do we put up with it? That said, I guess people aren’t putting up with it, if they are going to the trouble of buying US iTunes gift cards.

But just as it’s a hassle to have to import an iPhone, and then unlock it so it can be used in a non-authorised country, it’s also a hassle to have to go through the rigmarole of getting those oh-so valuable US iTunes gift cards.

Apple may stand up for the right to DRM-free music, but when will they stand up for the rights of consumers to be treated the same, in terms of getting access to the same content as everyone else?

For more content outrage, and why it’s not just Apple playing this game, please read onto page 2.