Why can't we use iTunes Store internationally?

To rehash material (as it is as relevant as ever):

In order to buy from another country's iTunes Music Store, you must have either:

a) a credit card with a billing address in that country, or

b) a mailing address in that country and a gift certificate or a prepaid card that was bought in that country.

If you cannot fulfill one of these two sets of conditions, you will not be able to purchase from any given country's iTMS.

Yes, but WHY? What is the point of this stupid restriction? For what reason? Please explain someone.

This, BTW, is due to restrictions placed on Apple by the record companies and other rights holders (who are often completely different from country to country and so all require their own individual negotiations and contracts), not by Apple's choice.

I don't believe that one bit. If Amazon can wheel and deal across nations (I have a US, Japan, and China account and use them all with the same card) then so can mighty Apple. You can buy copyrighted books and music (including mp3's from Amazon) so obviously for a company as huge as Apple it WAS their choice to negotiate in this restrictive way. This argument that Apple has no choice is bunk. It has more to do with regional control I guarantee. I thought we were trying to foster a more global society, not be cordoned off into zones.

So it still begs the question. Defenders of the no choice argument can insist all they want, but why can't I but my daughter in Japan a Japanese iTunes Store card? Why do I have to have an address in Japan to buy Japanese music when I can just go to Amazon and buy it from them? And I would do that for my daughter but she needs apps, and there is no other place to get them. If that's not monopolizing, I don't know what is.

It's down to licensing. All content is licensed to Apple by the content providers (record companies, app developers etc) to sell on a country-by-country basis, so each country has to have its own store, and you need to be in a country (and have a billing address in that country on your iTunes account, and if using a credit card then that needs to have issued by a bank in that country) to be able to use its store.

I'm struggling to think of any other vendor that imposes this sales on a nation by nation basis, and I can't think of a single company. Just about anything you can thing of is available internationally. So are we saying that Apple has been singled out as the only company forced to sign these restrictive license agreements? Again, I think Apple took the initiative in setting up its stores this way, though I won't speculate as to why.

By the way, what do people with iphones and ipads do in countries where is no iTunes Store?

I may sound like I like to rant, but I don't. I want to point out suspicious business practices and scrutinize them. If an individual feels they are unfair, they can vote their disapproval by using another company to meet their needs. I would not do that with Apple peripherals over this restriction, but neither do I accept the explanation that Apple was forced to do business this way, and when it comes to apps, it really ***** that they do because they are constricting the flow of knowledge and art in the world. Apple has tons of cash and super smart people behind it. Obviously the country by country model was one Apple chose. For problematic copyright issues on an individual basis, they could have easily made restricted selections unavailable. Apple also won't ship any hardware overseas through the Apple Store. Clearly, they like to keep a very tight control on their inventory and pricing. That also is not a complaint, but just an observation. Apple does everything this way.

As far as App-developers goes, you know as well as I do that the only they can port to iOS is buy going through the App Store, and that Apple takes a cut from every sale. Aside from jailbreaking (which can give you access to overpriced and unreliable apps), that is the ONLY way. So it not a case of App-developers protecting their programs but rather one of being forced to go through Apple to sell to iPhone, iPad, and iPod users. Clearly this is not the case with Mac OS, where you can download applications freely from anywhere, each having their own pricing system completly independent of Apple. But you cannot surf the net and download apps for your iPad- you have to go through the App Store or iTunes. Without a doubt that is in Apple's interest, not the developer's (although it does give better visibility for App makers and probably increases their sales- I've bought my share of fairly useless 1 buck apps).

I don't particularly mind this system either (in practice though but not in principle) but let's call a spade a spade.