Apple today announced it has launched its iTunes Store in fifty-six countries, including Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa. iTunes Stores are now available in a total 119 countries where it is offered as a free download.
The company made a point of saying it will feature local repertoire in each market citing, “Elka in Russia, Sezen Aksu in Turkey, AR Rahman in India, and Zahara in South Africa,” as examples of how it is tailoring its content for the new territories.
The full list of countries where the service is launching (below), span the globe and a range of devloping and emerging nations, including such territories as Azerbaijan, Burkina-Faso, Fiji, Kyrgyzstan, Antigua & Barbuda, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.
Read the rest after the jump! [Billboard.biz]
Apple is also offering movies for rent or purchase from its iTunes Stores from major studios including 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures. Movies are available today in Russia, Turkey, India and Indonesia, and will be available in select additional countries.
iTunes will continue to offer major Western popular artists including The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, and renowned classical musicians including Lang Lang, Yo Yo Ma and Yuja Wang – all part of Apple’s 20 million song catalog.
All iTunes Stores also have access to its App Store with more than 700,000 apps.
The launch of iTunes in new territories may help reinvigorate the service which in the last few years has seen streaming services encroach on the download market. The news also comes as the issue of piracy in countries such as Russia were thought to be a major — and perhaps insurmountable obstacle — to iTunes opening in some territories.
Full List of Countries Where iTunes Is Launching
1. Anguilla
2. Antigua & Barbuda
3. Armenia
4. Azerbaijan
5. Bahamas
6. Bahrain
7. Barbados
8. Belarus
9. Belize
10. Bermuda
11. Botswana
12. Burkina-Faso
13. Cape Verde
14. Cayman Islands
15. Dominica
16. Egypt
17. Fiji
18. Gambia
19. Ghana
20. Grenada
21. Guinea-Bissau
22. India
23. Indonesia
24. Israel
25. Russia
26. Saudi Arabia
27. South Africa
28. Turkey
29. United Arab Emirates (UAE)
30. Jordan
31. Kazakhstan
32. Kenya
33. Kyrgyzstan
34. Lebanon
35. Mauritius
36. Micronesia, Fed States of
37. Moldova
38. Mongolia
39. Mozambique
40. Namibia
41. Nepal
42. Niger
43. Nigeria
44. Oman
45. Papua New Guinea
46. Qatar
47. Saint Kitts and Nevis
48. Swaziland
49. Tajikistan
50. Trinidad and Tobago
51. Turkmenistan
52. Uganda
53. Ukraine
54. Uzbekistan
55. Virgin Islands, British
56. Zimbabwe
