Problems with Canada/USA iTunes Store

[BiReL41r]

Alright, I'm having a problem with the Canada and USA iTunes Store. The Canadian iTunes store doesn't sell videos and movies, only music and music videos. On the other hand, the USA iTunes does so I'd like to purchase some TV shows from the USA iTunes but when I try to it says that my account is only valid for Canadian iTunes purchases. What can I do?

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at this point. In order to use the U.S. iTunes Store, you must have a credit card with a billing address in the U.S., a gift certificate purchased by somebody who has an account on the U.S. iTunes Store, or a gift card purchased from an Apple Store in the U.S.

Note that the use of U.S. gift certificates or gift cards by non-U.S. residents is technically a violation of the iTunes Store terms of use, and could even be very technically construed as fraud (since you would have to create a new iTunes Store account with a U.S.-based address).

 

[BiReL41r]

Aw, that sucks....was really looking forward to getting the Office season on my iPod....

 

[Eric Lewis]

I live 1/2 the year in canada and 1/2 in usa for work so when i go to states for 1/2 the year could i buy stuff movies and shows there...i have a adress and amercian visa? and then use the canada store when i get home? can i use two itunes accounts on one ipod-tv shoes from usa and music from canada? like manual sync my ipod? please email me

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Yes, you can have two different iTunes Store accounts on the same PC. You will need to authorize the appropriate accounts for any other machines you want to play that content on, but otherwise it works just fine, even with automatic sync.

 

[Eric Lewis]

so its legel since i live half in canada and usa to buy tvshows and movies?

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Well, I'm no lawyer, but it's at best a grey area. The bottom line is that I'm sure if you have a legitimate address in the U.S. and a credit card that matches that billing address, I can't see it being a problem.

It's the people who are using gift certificates/cards with fake addresses that are likely more at risk.

However, if you have a legitimate U.S. address, I doubt Apple is going to get that picky about the technicalities of legal residency when you're basically giving them money....

 

[Eric Lewis]

thanks, i kinda wanted to be checked so im not arrested! will apple release tv shows in canada? or are they working on the rules etc?

 

[Jesse Hollington]

Mostly it's a licensing thing for the content. I suspect we'll probably see movies available in Canada before we see TV shows.

The problem, as I understand it, is that TV shows are licensed for sale on the iTunes Store in much the same way they're licensed for broadcast. The Canadian media companies (Canwest, CTV, et al) have exclusive broadcast rights for much of the U.S. programming, so Apple would have to negotiate distribution rights with them rather than NBC/ABC/CBS.

Movies, on the other hand, are licensed for sale in the same basic way that CDs are. Therefore, it's actually easier for Apple to get international distribution rights for movies than it is for TV programming.

 

[BiReL41r]

Damn that sucks, is there anyway at all though that I can get or someone can get me those Office shows for money?

 

[BiReL41r]

Hi guys, I'm still having troubles with Gapless Playback. I've set certain songs on and off of 'Part of a Gapless Album' and it makes no difference when playing on iTunes but there not gapless on my iPod when I sync it, can someone please give me some help!?!