So iTunes is now fully available in the Philippines and everyone can now buy songs, movies and TV series in the iTunes Store. This huge push includes several countries in South-East Asia.
Each song is selling for around $1.29PHP 76INR 109EUR 1CNY 9 $0.69PHP 40INR 58EUR 0.66CNY 5 each (goes up to $1.29PHP 76INR 109EUR 1CNY 9) while albums may vary from $4.49PHP 263INR 381EUR 4CNY 33 to $14.99PHP 880INR 1,270EUR 14CNY 109. The single “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepson is on the top of the charts.
Movies are not available for rent, unlike in the US. The HD versions are more expensive though at $19.99PHP 1,173INR 1,694EUR 19CNY 145 ($14.99PHP 880INR 1,270EUR 14CNY 109 for SD version). TV Series are selling at $2.99PHP 175INR 253EUR 3CNY 22 per episode are not yet available though.
If you already have a Philippine iTunes account, you will automatically see these content in the store with the “Buy” icons in them.
So now, the bigger question is — are Filipinos going to start buying?
Updated: Ok, I was looking at my US iTunes account earlier and not the Philippine iTunes account.
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Jay says:
I think I’ll still use my iTunes US account to purchase!
Neil says:
Hindi kasama TV shows sir Abe. :D Saka standard pricing mg singles sa PH iTunes Store is $0.69 as opposed to $1.29 sa US. http://mrjongo.co/OojZ7g
JKisaragi says:
Thanks for sharing a link to that post. :)
And wow! At $0.69 per song, then that is good. The CD vs Digital argument in my first comment just turned to dust because of this. Haha!
alainL says:
ayos to ah. kelan kya sa Google Play? lol
JKisaragi says:
“So now, the bigger question is — are Filipinos going to start buying?”
Me thinks it’s not gonna happen anytime soon, as long as there are “other sources” of getting it at a “much cheaper price” (read: free).
Then there’s also their physical CD counterparts which are still cheaper compared to the prices stated above. (That is, if my conversion is correct, $1 = Php 43 and assuming that an album at your record bar still costs the usual Php 400-500. If it’s cheaper now, then that’s good).
Not a fan (defensive) but I think you ought to know: it’s “Jepsen” not “Jepson”. :)
Hazar says:
How can I get cheaper ITunes gift card in the Philippines?
Harley Mah-Son says:
Sir Abe, I need your assistance. I currently have Sony Ericsson Arc and a blackberry 9320. Is it a good thing to get the iphone 4s or wait for the new iphone? Kindly reply. I was tweeting you yesterday but it seems you didn’t answer back. @heidewhite
Sonn says:
“So now, the bigger question is — are Filipinos going to start buying?”
– yes, I am. After my US account runs out of credits.
“Then there’s also their physical CD counterparts which are still cheaper compared to the prices stated above. (That is, if my conversion is correct, $1 = Php 43 and assuming that an album at your record bar still costs the usual Php 400-500. If it’s cheaper now, then that’s good).”
– I’d rather spend $0.69 to $1.29 on one good song than spend 200 to 400 on a CD that has one to three good songs and nine others that aren’t
JKisaragi says:
“I’d rather spend $0.69 to $1.29 on one good song than spend 200 to 400 on a CD that has one to three good songs and nine others that aren’t”
I was looking at it on a “per album” basis as mentioned in first release of the article. With most of the songs costing $0.69, a whole digital album would be cheaper than their CD counterpart (something I acknowledged in Neil’s comment).
I failed to take into account the fact that you can pretty much filter out songs and only buy ones that you like. Point well taken. That’s another plus for buying digital music online.
Thanks! :)
imitator101 says:
Sobrang sabog ng post na to haha
Marcelino says:
Hahahahaha!!
Paolo says:
Ok na ako sa Torrent. :)
Berkano says:
0.70 USD per song translates to 30 per song, as opposed to 35 pesos in Mymusicstore.com.ph
This will definitely shake their model.
crackinthewall says:
Not to mention that you get properly tagged files, with a high quality album art, and there a semblance of permanence to your iTunes collection that you would never get with mymusicstore.
Lady says:
About time! Yes~~ Definitely buying!
I’ve only been listening to some British & US singers online (and through illegal DL *gasp*) because sadly they don’t have an album in the Philippines yet, some don’t even have labels yet.
Thanks for the info!
Iyan Sommerset says:
How do you buy if you don’t have a credit card?
razorous says:
iTunes gift cards?
Meyer says:
@Iyan
Use a debit card (prepaid). The most preferred cards are Smart Money or BPI. As long as you have the card number and the cvv you’re good to go. I use both my cc and db and for seven years now there’s no problem so far.
Ver says:
I’ve been using my US and AU accounts for the longest time by asking my friends abroad to buy the gift cards for me. This is a very welcome development that I can now use my local credit card to buy some hard to find songs legally.
For those who have been stealing music, then nothing will change, they will never buy as long as they can steal their way for free.
JP says:
DO NOT CHANGE YOUR iTUNES US ACCOUNT TO iTUNES PH, if you still want to have your iTunes Store US purchases intact on your cloud.
Lezure2010 says:
Some people are forgetting the difference between digital and CD audio.
Does the iTunes store offer songs in ALAC format? Or just lossy mp3 or aac? If not then I’d still rather buy a CD, then rip it to a lossless format then convert it to aac or mp3 when needed.
crackinthewall says:
CD:
I pay for everything, even those songs I don’t want.
I get to keep the CD forever and rip the songs in any format I want.
CD/DVD drives are being phased out by PC manufacturers and honestly, ripping them to a lossless format and then converting them to MP3 and AAC as needed is too much of a hassle. Not a lot of people can hear the difference between a 256 VBR MP3 and FLAC so for most people, it shouldn’t matter.
iTunes Audio:
I get to pick and choose which songs to buy off an album and they’re encoded in high quality. Not lossless audio format but I don’t really need a lossless copy when I can just download a new one from iTunes.
If ever there is an upgrade in the audio quality of iTunes track, you can just delete the old file and download the new one (because you already paid for it). MP3 and AAC are here to stay and instead of ripping to FLAC, I’d rather leave the storage problem to Apple and I’ll just worry about getting more music to my library.
ARL says:
Glad to know that a local iTunes Philippines is now available. Sana available ang mga hard to find songs dito! Been using gift cards eversince…
M says:
YOU! Dont Own Anything with a Download!
CD and old reliable Vinyls pa rin ako…
Jay Q. says:
That’s not entirely true. Owning something doesn’t really mean it has to be physical goods. A good example would be your email. It’s not tangible but it’s yours. (or is it?)
Buy the song burn it on a CD so you can play it on your discman :D
Toni says:
I wanted to buy, but unfortunately the Japanese artists that I wanted is not available in itunes. I still have to stick on buying their CDs/DVDs on online selling (like cdjapan and yesasia). Hopefully the agency will be amicable to opening up their artistes songs in international itunes
Dr.G says:
TV Shows would have been nice… especially the older and/or less popular ones that aren’t available completely using “alternative” means.
Lonnie says:
Futile really when 99% of iPhone owners here just jailbreak their phone.
Reng says:
So effin true!
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Noel says:
Where can i purchase itunes using my BDO online banking to make payment?
Ritchell dela pena says:
Hi just asking…sn b pde mka avail ng itunes card??
Jeffrey Downey says:
Go to any groceries shop or supermarket
Musinu says:
Which store we can buy us iTunes gift card in Philippine
Joselina Hingpis Mateo says:
Where i can buy this iTunes gift card and how i can pay it here?
daisy says:
hello po san po ba pwede kumuha ng app store itunes card
Vickie says:
Question po good evening. I have a friend and, she’s in Atlanta right now. I checked itunes, denomination and there is a 15usd worth. Where can I buy one? Does SM stores have them and if I buy it from our country will it work in Atlanta?? ? Please I need a reliable reply asap. Thank you for your time In replying.
Krystal says:
How to itune
harry says:
iTunes