Why is it that in order to use iTunes you have to have a US billing address and credit card? I mean if RIAA is so concerned with pirating then maybe if they made music available globally no one would try and pirate it because their favorite band isnt available in their country! :loco:
I know, it’s strange…do you have a credit card from your home country? I think you can register as a user from the UK or from a number of other countries, too. You just can’t purchase music from Taiwan using a Taiwanese credit card at this point…
Yea, that kind of thing is frustrating.
In some ways globalization has been overhyped. I can’t remember how many products and services I’ve tried to obtain from what looked like big, reputable US companies, but they don’t accept foreign credit cards, billing addresses or ship internationally.
I tried to buy shoes from several companies with no success, so eventually had them sent to my parents’ house. Many products through Amazon.com can’t be shipped internationally. And, long ago I began pretending my parents’ address was mine for registration and billing purposes with so many companies.
Perhaps part of the reason is they’re afraid of fraud. US companies run up lots of uncollectible debt domestically, but imagine how much worse it would be when they’re shipping products to Russia, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, etc.
And part of the reason some products bought from the US can’t be shipped internationally may be because the companies have distributors worldwide and the US distributor has no legal right to sell to Taiwan; only some Asian distributor has that right.
Surely there are other reasons too, but I agree with your frustration (although I don’t believe making iTunes more readily available globally would have a significant impact on music piracy).
It’s up to the labels to decide what they want to go.
For an iTunes Music Store, Apple has said piracy is a problem here. They probably will have a store eventually.
For now, I’m happy buying stuff from the US Store. I wish they had more foreign music.