Apple has announced an expansion of its iTunes Store into Asia by adding a dozen countries across the region. The countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Missing from the list? Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country (Well, Myanmar can’t count due to the various embargoes) not on the list [East Timor isn’t either -Ed]. Other than Indonesia, South Korea isn’t on the list as well [even though it was back in March -Ed].
What does this expansion of iTunes Store mean? With credit cards issued within those countries, consumers will be able to purchase more than 20 million songs available from iTunes Store including Asian idols such as Jay Chou, Girls Generation, and Andy Lau. Songs from iTunes Store are available as 256Kbps AAC with no DRM. Consumers will also be able to buy or rent various movies in high definition, thanks to the cooperation with major film studios.
Then why isn’t Indonesia on the list? This question always comes up. Why is Indonesia always the last in Southeast Asia to have an Apple product launch? The most recent one is the launch of the third generation iPad which won’t be available here until June 29. At the end of the day, the main suspect is, as always, disagreements between local music labels and download service providers. It may be due to other technical reasons, such as government regulations or other potentially large issue that forced Apple to step back from launching the iTunes Store in the country.
Of course, this may be a blessing in disguise for local industry players. They can catch a breath for a little bit more, at least until iTunes Store finally arrives. For those whose business is selling music and film content locally, Apple’s presence in the region is serving as a yellow light. This is an opportunity to improve the service quality so when the day comes, they’re ready to compete.
For now, you may have to keep using your gift cards to buy songs from the iTunes Store from other countries.
