The European Union (EU)'s antitrust regulators have ordered record labels operating across Europe to modify laws that stop online music retailers from offering the same music and albums throughout the EU.
Although EU physical record sales continue to drop, the market has not been able to embrace digital music downloads, with extremely complicated, restrictive rules one of the main reasons behind struggling online music sales.
"There is clear willingness expressed by major players in the online distribution of music in Europe to tackle the many barriers which prevent consumers from fully benefiting from the opportunities that the Internet provides," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told the AP in an article.
Apple has had an extremely difficult time with its iTunes music and video store, as the U.S.-based company has been unable from creating just one EU iTunes store. Apple must individually get approval and proper licenses before it is able to work in a specific market, which takes a lot of time and resources.
Online retailers routinely are forced to limit music depending on where a consumer lives, where the music originates, or it won't be allowed to be sold in Europe, as the copyright laws currently used are overly complicated. Apple is leading the way to try and get a legal change so it can open one iTunes music store that is able to provide coverage for all of the EU.
I'm curious to see how much pull Apple now has in the EU, and which countries will begin to fall first. France appears to be willing to work with an EU-wide collection agency, with several other countries likely to follow in France's footsteps in the coming months.
