Legal online music sales available only in the U.S.


The internet has no borders they say, unless you want to buy music that is. That's right, if you want to buy music legally online,you must respect the national borders of the physical world. Even music lover Shawn Yeager, who recently scurried up north to Canada and is also a an Apple iTune fan can no longer get his fix. Simply because the licensing deals for Apple's iTunes Music Store and other legitimate online services, including MusicNet and Rhapsody, dictate domestic sales only. That's because the music industry has yet to figure out how to ensure that everyone gets fairly paid. 

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Shortly after iTunes Music Store launched in April, when he was living in Illinois, Yeager snapped up 12 songs from Beck's new album and a Sigur Ros single. He could still play those tunes in Canada but can't buy new ones from the Apple store, which checks the billing addresses listed with credit cards.

"I understand the logic, but it's customer-hostile," Yeager said.

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society states:

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"For the consumers who want to have simple transactions at low or no cost and enjoy the music how they like, they'll be dismayed to see barriers re-imposed by zoning and other rights-management technologies," Some copyright holders have already taken steps to make their music more globally accessible.

Broadcast Music Inc., for instance, signed an international treaty of sorts with its counterparts in two dozen countries in 2002. That permits easier copyright clearances in those countries, said Richard Conlon, BMI's vice president of business development.

According to the article some online music holders are
taking steps to alleviate the situation. Such as Broadcast Music inc. They
signed 24 international treaties with their foreign couterparts in 2002. Also,
International distribution is a goal for her company, says Lisa Amore of
RealNetworks. Phil Leigh, analyst with Raymond James & Associates says
that enforcement for the record industry would be difficult if these
properties were allowed to legally escape the invisible borders of the United
States. If there were cases of piracy abroad, they would have to find the
parties involved and sue. He goes on to say that may be difficult in other
countries.

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Source: yahoo.com/

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