French lawmakers have finally decided to compel Apple to open its iTunes music library to non-iPod music players, or face closure in the country.
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| iPod advertisement in the capital city Paris, France. Photo: Reuters. |
Yesterday, both the French Senate and National Assembly voted in favor of the country’s digital music law. According to many analysts, the new law could lead to the closure of Apple’s iTunes in France and also cause the company’s iPod to lose a core market.
Currently, songs on iTunes can only be played on iPods, and iPods cannot read music files from other music stores such as Sony’s Connect or Napster. Thus, the iPod and iTunes form a closed music system, which has contributed to Apple’s success up to today.
Earlier this year, Apple described the draft law in France as a “government-sponsored” law, but has yet to comment on yesterday’s vote.
In a statement after French lawmakers decided on the voting timeline for this bill, Apple expressed hope that the decision would be determined by user choice: which music player and music library are preferred. This indicates the significant impact that the iPod and iTunes have on the music preferences of French youth.
However, the results of yesterday’s vote suggest that the iPod could potentially disappear from the country unless Apple makes the iTunes format and technology widely available for users of various music players to download.
The outcome of the vote in France may influence decisions in other European countries that also wish to compel Apple to open iTunes in their regions.
Thanh Vân
