Norway bans iTunes store, cuts nose, spites face

"Europe's obsession with media playing technologies developed in the United States (as seen with its millions in fines against Microsoft) seems confined to media player."

Is this tongue in cheek ? I really doubt its some kind of anti-american stunt by us pesky europeans
(I'm a european citizen and i live in the UK , yes that country that is a US war ally in Iraq and Afganistan ,The UK is part of the EU)
I mean us europeans just have a tendency to write to our elected politicians and point out the annoying fact that itunes music should be open to playing on other players than just ipods (designed by a european from the UK) , that is a democratic consumers right , just as CDs should universally play on all players.
Where is the problem ? Since worldwide legal music sales are not sold on Ngage cartridges or razorblades I'm totally missing the comparison.



PS i certainly don't consider myself a socialist and what that has to do with value for money and consumer rights is an even bigger guess.

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From the article in post #2:

A coalition of rivals charged on Friday that Microsoft Corp.'s new Vista operating system coming out next week will perpetuate practices found illegal in the European Union nearly three years ago.

MS has rivals?  I thought they were all bought out, partnered,  or killed? 

In regards to Brad's original post: If a company wants to restrict it's product in any way, that's a business choice and the market should be allowed to sort it out.

This week Norway banned Apple from selling "sons" via iTunes?
I hope thats a typo...

Why would you want to use anything else but Gillette?

I know frogboy, that whole protecting consumer rights thing is horrible. It is comforting to know that I can buy a copy of WindowBlinds and actually use it even though I didn't purchase my computer from Dell.

LOL! This is too funny. It's amazing how people just want to cause problems. Why can't people just let good things happen. I have never once had a problem with Apple. I love my ipod, and will not trade it for anything else. Besides, there are tons of other avenues they could explore with itunes. Seeing that you can burn a cd of your songs means you can still transfer it to another device, you just have to get clever and re-rip it. =P Consumers are usually not all that bright, and I know I have had my share of faults, but at some point you just have to accept resposibility for your choices, and get clever when you have a problem while not pointing fingers.
Hopefully they don't try to make xbox play ps3 games, or nintendo play playstation games.... see where this is going?

I wouldn't want Apple Inc. selling my sons on iTunes either. I kinda like my sons.    

Good lord! Theyre selling sons in Norway! Savages!

I gotta say I'm with Norway on this one. Apple's iTunes, whether you like it or not, has one of the best collections of legally downloadable music available but its only of use to you if you use an ipod. I personally dont like ipods, they're not to my taste, but I would love to be able to dl music from iTunes and put it onto whichever media player I wished without the rigmarole of burning to a cd and then re-ripping it.

I'm not in the frame of mind that all the music should be DRM free, I think that in Apples attempt to monopolize on the media downloads market, it/they failed to realise that they'd get many more customers if their media was in a format compatible with all media players. Even if this meant that their own format be more readily licensed out.

The 'Nokia N-gage' and 'Gillette' comments are childish at best Brad, if I make a cup of coffee, I want to used whatever cup I want. If I want to download media, I want to use whatever player I want. My 5 cents (in euros).

wow are they being sarcastic? lol

Yah, you can tell a Norwegian, but ya can't tell 'em much.

Give Brad a break everyone. He's a busy guy, and he'll fix it when he's able to.

but its only of use to you if you use an ipod

You don't 'have' to have an iPod to use iTunes. You can download iTunes and use without the iPod.

Fix what Big Boug? We're just giving him a hard time about the 'sons'. No harm meant.

Good lord! Theyre selling sons in Norway! Savages!

Get them now quickly while we got a two for one offer!

Fix what Big Boug

hee, hee. Big Boug.  

Good lord! Theyre selling sons in Norway! Savages!

I told you! Those blond children go for a mint!

The 'Nokia N-gage' and 'Gillette' comments are childish at best Brad, if I make a cup of coffee, I want to used whatever cup I want. If I want to download media, I want to use whatever player I want. My 5 cents (in euros).

I wasn't aware that Apple was forcing people to buy music from iTunes.  You don't have to buy your music from iTunes's music store.

If I make coffee that only can be used in my cup, you can choose not to buy my coffee.

I feel compelled to comment on this. I'm gonna have to side with Norway on the issue. Here is my point of view: Apple does not own the songs they sell, nor do they make the songs they sell. They are only a store where you purchase the music. Lets say I went to a Best Buy to buy a CD but I can only play the CD on a Best Buy CD player. But, I could play it on different equipment if I ripped and re-burned it. Now that's getting to be a bit much to be able to listen to a CD that a legally bought for my own use. But..if I didn't want to do that, I could maybe go to FYE and get my CD there...uh-oh, I have to have a FYE CD player to listen to it. See where this is going? Apple doesn't make the music, they are only selling it. What if every store made you use their own equipment to utilize a product that you bought? That would really suck.

What if every store made you use their own equipment to utilize a product that you bought? That would really suck.

Indeed. Apple doesn't force anyone to use iTunes, but a lot of the music on iTunes isn't available on DRM-free or more relaxed DRM digital music stores. iTunes has special deals with record labels that their music will only be on iTunes, so in essence, you either have to buy a CD, use iTunes, pirate the music, or go with out. None are horrible options, but as 'thecoomester' was saying, if every company created a closed environment (especially for a product they don't actually own), the consumer loses.

I feel compelled to comment on this. I'm gonna have to side with Norway on the issue. Here is my point of view: Apple does not own the songs they sell, nor do they make the songs they sell. They are only a store where you purchase the music. Lets say I went to a Best Buy to buy a CD but I can only play the CD on a Best Buy CD player. But, I could play it on different equipment if I ripped and re-burned it. Now that's getting to be a bit much to be able to listen to a CD that a legally bought for my own use. But..if I didn't want to do that, I could maybe go to FYE and get my CD there...uh-oh, I have to have a FYE CD player to listen to it. See where this is going? Apple doesn't make the music, they are only selling it. What if every store made you use their own equipment to utilize a product that you bought? That would really suck.

Let's say we agree totally on your point. How does that make Norway's GOVERNMENT right? Norway's government is preventing its people from making a free choice.

Indeed. Apple doesn't force anyone to use iTunes, but a lot of the music on iTunes isn't available on DRM-free or more relaxed DRM digital music stores. iTunes has special deals with record labels that their music will only be on iTunes, so in essence, you either have to buy a CD, use iTunes, pirate the music, or go with out. None are horrible options, but as 'thecoomester' was saying, if every company created a closed environment (especially for a product they don't actually own), the consumer loses.

Before iTunes, you didn't have a legal non-DRM free way getting music convenient.  Today, you have lots of choices besides iTunes.

Norways stance on forbidding (or make it impossible?) their citicens to download music from the i-tunes stores is certainly not fair to the consumer as well. After all they should be able to decide by themselves wether they want to be locked into using the i-tunes/iPod combination or not.

But one has to add here that the big companies like Apple and Microsoft tend to just ignore any other means of legal repression (fines...., time ultimates...), or at least did so in the past.
As mentioned above, Apple has absolutely no legal right to "Music" or the "mp3-format", but still they force the use of their products upon it through their monopolised stores.

If the idea behind it was to cause a financial loss for Apple, and therefore force them to rethink their business-ethics, then that might not work, since Norway by itself is problably just too small to hurt their business. But if more countries would follow......

I haven't seen the complete legislation behind it, but I would hope that Norway introduced this new law on the premises that it would be nullified as soon Apple stops its DRM-locking on the music they resell. If so, the whole action would be more of an "enforced strike".

Still, its certainly a risk to do so. At the end, the Norwegian Parlament will have to pay its price at the next election if it didn't work out as intended, or if the outrage over this law is too big.

Apple forces me to buy iTunes music They convinced other people who dont know whats going on to buy me an iPod as a present. I could either re-sell it for less than fair value, which would be insulting to those who got it for me, or use the gift cards they got to buy music and then thereafter continue to buy music from iTunes, since I can't buy music from anywhere else now that I have it. Wasn't my choice, it was the choice of others who got suckered by the brand and marketing

I'm so glad I don't have an iPod.

I agree with Norway in theory .. Apple should not have the right to decide what media player and what Portable media devices I should be able to listen to my music on....Im thinking this is an effort to Force Apple to lift the DRM strangle they have on music sold in Norway...If norway can get it changed, think of what a bigger country can do...

I love my Ipod and wouldnt get rid of it .. but it stinks I cant hook my kids non APPLE Media players up and let them use some of the music...without having to jump through hoops like crazy... I was buying them music from I tunes to listen to now i dont. Now I use Itunes as my Ipod library only.


IMO DRM has gone way to far in the music industry...they have the right to block theft and illegal sale of music (piracy)... they dont have the right to keep me from playing music I payed for on what ever media player I choose.