arstechnica.com— iTunes Store customers in the UK pay more than those on the Continent, and the EU doesn't think that's fair.
Apr 2, 2007View in Crawl 4
Right, for the final time lets get something clear.This has nothing to do with the UK paying £0.10 more per song than the rest of the EU, but this has everything to do with Apple not allowing me to buy songs from thier .fr,.de,or .whatever store within the EU from the UK.If the EU find that Apple have been doing this (which they have - its not up to the EU to decide how Apple word thier contracts with the record labels) they will get fined - if they fail to open up the stores they will keep getting fined. There is nothing preventing Apple from allowing this, it has nothing to do with different companies holding distribution rights in different companies - end of the day the record label "owns" the track and its everything to do with the Apple deal with the record labels.
The EU is ment to be all about free trade, true you can give figures about all the different GDP etc values, but fact is - its a large number of still relatively independent countries that come together for certain things, it is not entirely fair to compare it them to a single country like the USA.
@CAWPIN"Also, I thought the UK wasn't part of the EU so why do they care what the UK gets charged?"At what point did you decide you were right and the EU were wrong?The UK has been a member of the EU since 1973.
You talk about "Muslims invading the EU", but Europeans are just as hostile to extremist American ideology. You talk about anti-Semitism in Europe, when racism against blacks and Jews is widespread across America and socially acceptable.You know what? I think you've lied about everything in your posts. You sound like a teenage conservative/libertarian wannabe, making claims about Muslims invading the EU and basically showing yourself to be the stereotypical dumb right-wing American.I think it's wonderful how the American right-wingers hate the EU. It shows that we're a threat to their ideology and their way of life, which should give us Europeans great comfort. They're afraid of the EU because they fear we'll turn into a version of the United States which gives a damn about liberty, equality and social justice. That is their nightmare.There's also a bit of envy, since unlike the US, the rest of the world doesn't hate the EU and perhaps even likes it.
Ok, I'll try to explain it to him.Under EU law, a consumer in one EU state is able to purchase goods from a store based in another other EU state. It does NOT mean the prices have to be the same.I live in the UK, and can travel to France to buy wine from a French supermarket (for example, a Tesco store) because wine is taxed lighter in France. If the French Tesco refused to serve me and instead told me I had to travel back to the UK and buy my wine from a UK-based Tesco store, they would be breaking the law.That's what's happening with iTunes. Apple is preventing Europeans from buying music from the iTunes stores of other European countries, in violation of EU law. Apple is clearly guilty, and will receive a massive fine for their anti-consumer practices.
I don't want to buy from the EU store though, cos my bank and most credit card companies tack on a 1GBP handling fee. Which will double the price of purchasing a single.
dayyveApr 3, 2007
@happyscrappyAhh, I gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
meatmcguffinApr 3, 2007
Geographically and economically, the UK is a major player in the EU.Spiritually, it's a million miles away.
alexfernyApr 3, 2007
Right, for the final time lets get something clear.This has nothing to do with the UK paying £0.10 more per song than the rest of the EU, but this has everything to do with Apple not allowing me to buy songs from thier .fr,.de,or .whatever store within the EU from the UK.If the EU find that Apple have been doing this (which they have - its not up to the EU to decide how Apple word thier contracts with the record labels) they will get fined - if they fail to open up the stores they will keep getting fined. There is nothing preventing Apple from allowing this, it has nothing to do with different companies holding distribution rights in different companies - end of the day the record label "owns" the track and its everything to do with the Apple deal with the record labels.
alexfernyApr 3, 2007
The EU is ment to be all about free trade, true you can give figures about all the different GDP etc values, but fact is - its a large number of still relatively independent countries that come together for certain things, it is not entirely fair to compare it them to a single country like the USA.
allenbApr 3, 2007
@CAWPIN"Also, I thought the UK wasn't part of the EU so why do they care what the UK gets charged?"At what point did you decide you were right and the EU were wrong?The UK has been a member of the EU since 1973.
gruntboyxApr 3, 2007
The EU is just trying to milk the cow. . . .
kronix2Apr 3, 2007
You talk about "Muslims invading the EU", but Europeans are just as hostile to extremist American ideology. You talk about anti-Semitism in Europe, when racism against blacks and Jews is widespread across America and socially acceptable.You know what? I think you've lied about everything in your posts. You sound like a teenage conservative/libertarian wannabe, making claims about Muslims invading the EU and basically showing yourself to be the stereotypical dumb right-wing American.I think it's wonderful how the American right-wingers hate the EU. It shows that we're a threat to their ideology and their way of life, which should give us Europeans great comfort. They're afraid of the EU because they fear we'll turn into a version of the United States which gives a damn about liberty, equality and social justice. That is their nightmare.There's also a bit of envy, since unlike the US, the rest of the world doesn't hate the EU and perhaps even likes it.
kronix2Apr 4, 2007
Ok, I'll try to explain it to him.Under EU law, a consumer in one EU state is able to purchase goods from a store based in another other EU state. It does NOT mean the prices have to be the same.I live in the UK, and can travel to France to buy wine from a French supermarket (for example, a Tesco store) because wine is taxed lighter in France. If the French Tesco refused to serve me and instead told me I had to travel back to the UK and buy my wine from a UK-based Tesco store, they would be breaking the law.That's what's happening with iTunes. Apple is preventing Europeans from buying music from the iTunes stores of other European countries, in violation of EU law. Apple is clearly guilty, and will receive a massive fine for their anti-consumer practices.
happyscrappyApr 4, 2007
To everyone who dugg me down for saying the EU should stop blaming Apple, it is the record labels' restrictions that cause this:<a class="user" href="http://news.com.com/EU+blames+record+firms+for+iTunes+limited+access/2100-1027_3-6173093.html?tag=nefd.top">http://news.com.com/EU+blames+record+firms+for+iTunes+limited+access/2100-1027_3-6173093.html?tag=nefd.top</a>'EU blames record firms for iTunes' limited access'"Our current view is that this is an arrangement which is imposed on Apple by the major record companies and we do not see a justification for it," Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd told reporters.Looks like the EU understands this situation pretty well. It's too bad that people on here don't, and doubly too bad that people think that the digg down button is for comments you don't agree with, instead of just to hide spams and trolls.
r3zonanceApr 4, 2007
I don't want to buy from the EU store though, cos my bank and most credit card companies tack on a 1GBP handling fee. Which will double the price of purchasing a single.