# iTunes Canada has different content than iTunes US



## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Hey am I missing something or do we get different content in the Canadian iTunes music store than the US one.

Just check out Moby in the Canada store and then check out what albums are available for him in the states.


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## Barnahog (Feb 19, 2005)

It's true. In fact, it's easier to find some Canadian Indie bands in the U.S. store than the Canadian, it seems like ours is just a subset of theirs.

Ours is cheaper though, so you could buy the stuff we don't have from the U.S. store, just at a slight premium.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

This is due to each country or region of countries in this world all having different publishing and distribution agreements. This is not Apple's fault. The record labels -- and the publishing companies they own -- need to get with the program and modernize their distribution agreements to reflect the realities of legal, web-based music acquisition. _Don't hold your breath._


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

It will be different in every country. The US store has to sign agreements with whomever owns the US rights, for example, while the Canadian store has to deal with whomever owns the Canadian rights. No different than your local record store.


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## zhusain (May 9, 2007)

This sucks. We can not access any of the TV shows or movies that are available in the US! I am glad that I did not rush out and buy the Apple TV! With the internet you can purchase CDs from any country and have them shipped back home, why can't we do this with digital media?


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

You can, actually, if you buy a US-based ITMS gift card via eBay. In doing so, you don't even need to provide a credit card. 

Details: iTunes Store: How to use your iTunes gift certificate


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## BikerRob (Sep 19, 2007)

I would double check that before buying a US iTunes gift card. My brother bought one for my daughter, and she couldn't use it until she set up a U.S. account using his address and credit card (he lives in the States). 

As for no tv shows, etc. ... don't get mad at Apple ... this is 100% a CRTC thing. Up until very recently, you couldn't even access some of the U.S. cable websites (such as Showtime). They had to block Canadian IP addresses because of CRTC rules. It's a joke, but it's all CRTC.

I'm fortunate that I am set up with my brothers' iTunes store account so that I can view all the U.S. stuff ... but I do with I could do it on my own site.


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## wcg (Oct 13, 2007)

From the link provided above:

"f you do not already have an iTunes Store account, you will be asked to create one after correctly entering in your iTunes Store gift certificate. A credit card is not required to set up an account if you followed these instructions."

This makes sense - kids who get these shouldn't need a card to sign on. Would you want to have your credit card assigned to your kid's account? 

I'm going to try it. I travel to the US a fair amount, perhaps try it out on a $20 card first....


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## BikerRob (Sep 19, 2007)

Let us know how it goes then! All I know I tried exactly that, and I needed a US account in order to use a US card.


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## mikemchugh (Feb 21, 2001)

You can indeed set up a US (or UK) iTunes account without a credit card. You need to provide an address, but you can make one up. I purchase from the CA, US and UK stores all the time. I buy US gift cards when I'm in the States on business, and they work fine. For the UK it's a bit more complicated; they don't have gift cards there (or at least they never used to), but you can send someone a gift card electronically. I get a friend over there to send me "gifts" and I send him the money.

It's all to do with licensing and royalties (and nothing to do with the CRTC). When you buy a CD from abroad the money is actually spent in that country and goes to the owner of the CD; apparently the same sort of arrangement can't be set up electronically (though I don;t really see why it couldn't be).

Mike McHugh


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## (( p g )) (Aug 17, 2002)

If you're buying an ITMS gift card via eBay, simply look for sellers who offer to set up your US account for you as part of the transaction. The good ones don't charge you for it. Just make sure that the card you're buying allows you to download all media from the store...some of the cards are just for songs only. 

I've seen some great offers recently on eBay, including a $50US card selling for $37CDN.


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## whytookay (Apr 6, 2008)

*ummmmmm...*

 Not sure if it's legal, but can't you just go into view account and then change what country it says you're from? It seemed to work for me a while back (took me ages to get it back to the Canadian Itunes store). 

PS. you need to not have any money on your account to change it.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

whytookay said:


> Not sure if it's legal, but can't you just go into view account and then change what country it says you're from? It seemed to work for me a while back (took me ages to get it back to the Canadian Itunes store).
> 
> PS. you need to not have any money on your account to change it.


You need an American billing address. Anyone can just change their country...


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

1 infinite loop
cupertino, california
usa


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## Robbie_Mac (Nov 20, 2005)

Hey Jonesy, it all comes down to one thing. Publishing rights. It seems out-moded in the digital age but not every body is interested in or able to making world wide agreements, or even North American wide agreements. Happens in book publishing all the time.


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

Old. Threads. Should. Die.


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## Bigj42 (Apr 4, 2008)

I wish you could buy itunes from whatever country you wanted. The UK itunes actually has some awesome stuff on it that we don't get for a really long time in North America. Not much you can do about it though.


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## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

zhusain said:


> This sucks. We can not access any of the TV shows or movies that are available in the US! I am glad that I did not rush out and buy the Apple TV! With the internet you can purchase CDs from any country and have them shipped back home, why can't we do this with digital media?


Because those places that will ship to Canada are likely violating agreements with the distributors. Amazon.com won't ship US-only CDs to Canada either.


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## Darien Red Sox (Oct 24, 2006)

Because of the curent exchange rates if you use US iTunes Gift cards you will acutley be saving money on the iTunse store.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

hayesk said:


> Amazon.com won't ship US-only CDs to Canada either.


Do you just assume or do you know for sure? In 2003, I purchased "A View To A Kill" from amazon.com _because amazon.ca did not have it._


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

Holy crap, talk about resurrecting a thread from the dead!  I started this 3 years ago.... crap I am getting old


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## Bigj42 (Apr 4, 2008)

I know this if a little off the topic but it pisses me off that the same thing happens with watching tv shows online from nbc.com or other networks. I don't understand why this happens. Oh well. I need to get someone i know from the US to front me an address.


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